Workplace spirituality and hospitality employees’ sustainable performance: the mediating effect of connectedness

Purpose To examine the effect of workplace spirituality on hospitality employees' sustainable performance and whether connectedness mediates this link in a cross-cultural Asian context. Design/methodology/approach Using survey data from 303 hospitality employees across hotels, events, tourism and recreation organizations in Nepal, this study applied partial least squares structural equation modeling with SmartPLS 4. Reliability, validity and predictive relevance of the model were assessed using established criteria. Findings Workplace spirituality has a significant positive effect on employee sustainable performance, with meaningful work and a team sense of community emerging as the most influential dimensions. Workplace spirituality also positively influences connectedness, particularly through meaningful work and inner-life opportunities. However, connectedness does not significantly predict sustainable performance and does not mediate the workplace spirituality-sustainable performance relationship. Research limitations/implications The study is limited by its cross-sectional design, self-reported data and single-country focus, which restrict causal interpretation and broader generalizability. Future studies should adopt longitudinal and multi-source designs and examine cultural and organizational boundary conditions. Practical implications Hospitality organizations should foster meaningful work, community, value congruence and reflective inner-life practices through leadership and HR initiatives. While connectedness did not serve as a significant mediator in this study, it remains an important relational outcome that may contribute to employee well-being, retention and workplace harmony. Originality/value This study contributes to the workplace spirituality literature by demonstrating its direct association with employee sustainable performance in a non-Western hospitality context. It further advances theory by showing that connectedness, although conceptually relevant, may operate as a context-sensitive rather than universally effective mediating mechanism.