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Employees at Our Lady's Hospice in Ireland find that the challenges of the daily work call them to love more deeply.
We all know the dangers of the soap opera kind of love in the workplace — romantic entanglements deteriorating into sexual harassment suits, ineffectiveness at work and the breakup of families. But there is an equal and opposite danger — the danger of staying so guarded at work that you never open your heart toward coworkers, clients and customers.
 How can love be practiced in appropriate ways in the workplace? Our Lady's Hospice in Dublin, Ireland, provides one model. Love is the operative principle at OLH, founded in 1879 by the Sisters of Charity. In hiring, Our Lady's Hospice managers seek people who resonate with the mission. Above all, a candidate must exhibit "loving care." Skills can be learned, but a loving heart must already be part and parcel of who the person is.
Not only are caregivers expected to treat their patients with loving care, there is also an expectation that loving care will be exhibited toward coworkers. Michael Connolly, now a nursing instructor at OLH, relates his experience of receiving this "loving care" in practical ways when he first came to Our Lady's Hospice as a nurse:
"When you came with your paperwork, nobody was too busy to help you, to make sure that you were going to get paid on time, to make sure that you were settling in OK. You were met at the door and given a tour and shown the places that you needed to go to work, to training, where you'd get breakfast, and then you would go onto the ward and the ward manager was introduced to you and you were given somebody to actually mentor you in your first couple of weeks."
Connolly experienced "loving care" in his first days on the job, and thus was introduced to the culture of Our Lady's Hospice. He experienced openhearted colleagues who, by their behavior, encouraged him to be openhearted.
In the daily stress and strain of caring for the dying, a loving heart is essential. Employees at OLH find that the challenges of the daily work call them to love more deeply, and because of the supportive love they are given by colleagues, they are able to move to this deeper level of love.
Furthermore, the love they practice in the workplace helps employees become more loving family members and community members. Loving in the workplace, they find, helps them better love in all spheres of their lives.
This Valentine's Day, try being a better lover at work. It will not only improve your workplace, it will improve your family and community life as well.
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations" (from which part of this column is drawn), works with healthcare leaders, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com .
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