Prayer In The Office

A not so common practice could be just what the work place needs to lift spirits.

In the current economic crisis, layoffs and stressed workers are all too common.

One man thought he'd change that feeling by adding some prayer.

NY Money Authority Lisa Murphy visited Grubb & Ellis real estate firm for a little inspiration.

Text of Lisa's Story:

Like any successful executive, David Arena is a risk taker, but as president of real estate firm, Grubb & Ellis, David covers territory even the most daring fear to tread.

“You see all the bad behavior that is occurring in the world. Well, that bad behavior may be because when we come to work we in a sense discount that we are fully human and fully spiritual,” says Arena.

For five minutes every Monday, David, raised as a Catholic, turns the firm's weekly planning meeting into a prayer session of sorts. He hands the reins over to Alan Lurie who is both a managing director and an ordained rabbi.

“We may want to return to days that we think in some way were better then we are experiencing now and through a sense of uncertainty some of us may be feeling fearful. Iknow sometimes i do,” says Lurie.

Five minutes may not seem like much time for such a weighty topic, but Alan says these moments make a lasting impression.

It's very hard to lift yourself up to more spiritual, lofty goals because you're just in a survival mode, but that's the time when you need it the most.

Gayle Meredith says she was well aware of Grubb & Ellis' sterling reputation before joining the team, but she was surprised at how literally the firm practiced what it preached.

“I had never really seen or heard things like that in a sales meeting and I have been in New York real estate since 1993. I’ve been through some pretty knock down, dragged out sales meetings,” says Meredith.

It’s not only helped with morale -- it's also helped with the bottom line

When you get out of your own self-serving ways you feel better, you act differently and I think the results are tremendously better.