RT Article
T1 Transcendent Moments at Work: Breaking Through the Boundaries of Professionalism
JF Journal of management, spirituality & religion
VO 23
IS 2
SP 178
OP 206
A1 Franck, Henrika
A1 Nåls, Jan
A1 Eronen, Lotta
A1 Savage, Paul
A2 Nåls, Jan
A2 Eronen, Lotta
A2 Savage, Paul
LA English
YR 2026
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1966707290
AB Professionalism provides structure and fairness but often discourages emotional openness, limiting recognition and ethical connection at work. This article explores how professionals move through, and at times beyond, these constraints to experience transcendent moments ‐ episodes of mutual recognition that suspend formal roles and enable authentic interpersonal connection. Drawing on Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition, we distinguish between ethical agency (value-driven moral courage) and spiritual agency (openness to transcendent connection and meaning) and show how their intersection enables transcendent moments. Using qualitative data from interviews, reflective diaries, and testimonials of middle managers, Executive MBA students, and undergraduates, we identify how professionals navigate tensions between detachment and vulnerability. Our findings highlight the role of inner struggle, relational risk, and mutual recognition in enabling these moments. The study advances workplace spirituality theory by framing transcendence as an embodied, relational achievement rather than an institutional program, and extends recognition theory by conceptualizing mutual recognition of vulnerability as a work-specific form of affective recognition.
K1 Axel Honneth
K1 Ethical Agency
K1 Professionalism
K1 Recognition
K1 Spiritual Agency
K1 Transcendent Moments
K1 Vulnerability
K1 Workplace Spirituality
DO 10.51327/LRUM7250