The laughing buddha finds a place at work

The laughing buddha finds a place at work

According to a new survey titled ‘Superstitions@Workplace,’ the overall faith in personal belief or superstition is quite high (62 per cent) among employees in India

    We may like to believe that we are thinking, rational individuals. However, a recent survey reveals otherwise. The Indian corporate workforce still relies on superstitious beliefs to give them that boost of luck. Practices like vaastu shastra, feng shui and other lucky charms are very popular at the workplace, says a survey. According to a staffing company that conducted the survey titled Superstitions@Workplace, the overall faith in personal belief or superstition is quite high (62%) among employees in India and more than half of the respondents (51%) follow superstition at their workplace. While vaastu shastra and feng shui are the most common practices followed at the workplace, personal favourites are lucky charms like the laughing Buddha, the musical fountain, frog, tortoise and even the simple bamboo shoot stand that find a place at workstations across the country. The study further said that management in India is generally adaptive to various superstitious beliefs of employees and does not restrict them from practicing it at work as long as it does not negatively affect productivity.
    Nearly half of the respondents (48%) felt that practising superstition at workplace has had a positive effect and modern organisations impose fewer restrictions on such practices. Furthermore, senior management are of the opinion that superstitious beliefs and practices are common at workplaces, they do not have any significant influence on people and the corporate culture. Meanwhile, a higher percentage of female employees (80%) are happy with superstitious practices as compared to males (68%). Among the cities, it was observed that the level of superstition seems to comparatively less followed in Ahmedabad and Pune whereas it was higher in Bangalore and New Delhi. The survey covered 800 companies across the top eight cities — New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, B a n g a l o re, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad.