The Experience Economy, Marketplaces, and Spirituality

The premise of this chapter is the assumption that a spiritual shift is taking place globally and that the labour landscape and essence of work has changed dramatically. The working individual spends more time at work than at home, with the consequence that people bring more to work than just their body and brains. They also bring their soul and spirit to work. Spirituality is also increasingly impacting the behaviours of consumers. Spiritual motivations are not restricted to the choice of a particular sect, guru, or religion. Corporate firms are increasingly using spiritual appeals to identify and bond with consumers. The result of this stance is that employees in the workplace become the facilitators through a certain product, brand, or service delivery of the consumer's spiritual experiences. In that sense, the employees in the workplace, persons such as retailers, restauranteurs, waiters, salespeople, and people in the tourism and hospitality industry are “replacing” the shaman or priest as the facilitator of the ritual during the spiritual experience of the consumer.