Religious Internal Policy Integration Strategy: An Innovative Approach to the Protection of Workers’ Rights in Employment Agreements
Abstract
Protecting workers' rights through internal policies that integrate religious values is a crucial innovative step in creating a fair, inclusive, and sustainable work environment in Indonesia. This study examines the strategy of integrating internal policies based on religious values as an innovative approach to protecting workers' rights in employment agreements. Using a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design, the study involved 15 multi-sector companies in Indonesia, along with 120 workers and 30 management/union representatives. Findings indicate that a strategy of multi-stakeholder collaboration and contextualizing abstract values into operational practices significantly increased job satisfaction (32%), procedural justice (41%), feelings of appreciation (38%), and employee retention (18%), while reducing stress symptoms (27%) and formal disputes (45%). The majority of workers (85%) supported the integration of universal, inclusive, and non-dogmatic religious values. The study also developed the RELIEF Evaluation Model (Religious Ethics-Led Impact Evaluation Framework) as a multidimensional framework for measuring the success of integration. The main contribution of this study is the provision of a tested collaborative implementation model, empirical evidence of holistic impact, and an innovative evaluation framework, which collectively enrich the literature on Ethical Human Resource Management and Employment Law.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Journals:
Alab Alabdali, Mahmoud A., and Abdulrahman S. Basahal. “Strategies for Mitigating Labor Disputes in the Private Sector: Insights from Saudi HR and Legal Experts.” Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal (2024): 1-20.
Arnetz, Bengt B., Matthew Ventimiglia, Pamela Beech, Valerie DeMarinis, Johan Lökk, and Judith E. Arnetz. “Spiritual Values and Practices in the Workplace and Employee Stress and Mental Well-Being.” Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion 10, no. 3 (2013): 271-281.
Ashraf, Sania, Carolyn Moore, Vaibhav Gupta, Anir Chowdhury, Abul K. Azad, Neelu Singh, David Hagan, and Alain B. Labrique. “Overview of a Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Around Shared Services for Health: The Digital Health Opportunity in Bangladesh.” Health Research policy and systems 13, no. 1 (2015): 74.
Barrena-Martínez, Jesus, Macarena López-Fernández, and Pedro Miguel Romero-Fernández. “Socially Responsible Human Resource Policies and Practices: Academic and Professional Validation.” European research on management and business economics 23, no. 1 (2017): 55-61.
Bhatti, Muhammad Awais, and Ariff Syah Juhari. “Exploring the Interplay of Religious Commitment and Spirituality on Psychological and Emotional Well-Being in the Workplace.” (2025).
Borstorff, Patricia, and Kimber Arlington. “Protecting Religion in the Workplace? What employees think.” J. Legal Ethical & Regul. Isses 14 (2011): 59.
Casalegno, Cecilia, Chiara Civera, and Jerome Couturier. “Applying A Company Stakeholder Responsibility Approach to HR Management: The External Human Resources Model.” European Journal of International Management 19, no. 4 (2023): 537-562.
Chacón, Lisbeth Josefina Reales, Gabriela Estefanía Robalino Morales, Andrea Carolina Peñafiel Luna, Jorge Humberto Cárdenas Medina, and Paul Fernando Cantuña-Vallejo. “El Muestreo Intencional No Probabilístico como herramienta de la investigación científica en carreras de Ciencias de la Salud.” Universidad y Sociedad 14, no. S5 (2022): 681-691.
Chenji, Kalaa, and Raghavendra Sode. “Synergizing Workplace Spirituality: Fostering Happiness, Hardiness, and Psychological Well-Being in Organizations.” Industrial and Commercial Training 56, no. 4 (2024): 390-405.
Dalzell, Michael D. “An Old-Fashioned Notion: Stand Behind Your Wares.” Managed care (Langhorne, Pa.) 26, no. 1 (2017): 8-9.
El Maachi, Soukaina, Rachid Saadane, and Abdellah Chehri. “Institutions as a Fundamental Cause for Long-Run Sustainability.” Journal of Risk and Financial Management 18, no. 3 (2025): 114-124.
Fraedrich, John, Othman Althawadi, and Ramin Bagherzadeh. “A Comparative Analysis of the UN Declaration, Global Business Compact, and Religious Morals in Determining Global Values for Business and Their Application to Islamic Marketing.” Journal of Islamic Marketing 9, no. 4 (2018): 913-934.
Goyal, Nihit, and Kaveri Iychettira. “Value Change, Value Conflict, and Policy Innovation: Understanding the Opposition to the Market-Based Economic Dispatch of Electricity Scheme in India Using the Multiple Streams Framework.” Science and Engineering Ethics 28, no. 6 (2022): 58.
Houghton, Jeffery D., Richard A. Oxarart, and Luke A. Langlinais. “Disrupting the Dysfunction: Workplace Spirituality, Dispositional Influences, and Job Satisfaction.” Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion 20, no. 5 (2023): 425-445.
Jeon, Ki Seok, and Byoung Kwon Choi. “Workplace Spirituality, Organizational Commitment and Life Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Religious Affiliation.” Journal of Organizational Change Management 34, no. 5 (2021): 1125-1143.
Karakas, Fahri. “Spirituality and Performance in Organizations: A Literature Review.” Journal of Business Ethics 94, no. 1 (2010): 89-106.
Koburtay, Tamer, Dima Jamali, and Abdullah Aljafari. “Religion, Spirituality, and Well‐Being: A Systematic Literature Review and Futuristic Agenda.” Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility 32, no. 1 (2023): 341-357.
Koehrsen, Jens, and Christopher D. Ives. “The Multiple Roles of Religious Actors in Advancing A Sustainable Future.” Ambio 54, No. 1 (2025): 1318–1333.
Košmerl, Tadej. “Kombinirani Raziskovalni Pristopi Kot Način Združevanja Kvalitativnih in Kvantitativnih Metod.” Sodobna pedagogika 72, no. 1 (2021): 88-105.
Lee, Peter KC, Antonio KW Lau, and T. C. E. Cheng. “Employee Rights Protection and Financial Performance.” Journal of Business Research 66, no. 10 (2013): 1861-1869.
Metz, Allison, Kirsten Kainz, and Annette Boaz. “Intervening for Sustainable Change: Tailoring Strategies to Align with Values and Principles of Communities.” Frontiers in health services 2 (2023): 95-105.
Pawar, Badrinarayan Shankar. “Workplace Spirituality and Employee Well-Being: An Empirical Examination.” Employee relations 38, no. 6 (2016): 975-994
Purgał-Popiela, Joanna. “Sustainability in Human Resource Management Practices Used by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Systematic Review.” Central European Management Journal 33, no. 1 (2025): 87-106.
Roberts, Robert. “Religion in the Public Workplace: A Primer for Public Employers.” Public Personnel Management 52, no. 1 (2023): 117-139.
Rosskam, Ellen. “Work Security in A Global Economy.” New Solutions: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy 13, no. 1 (2003): 19-25.
Susilowati, Kristiana, Lieli Suharti, and Agus Sugiarto. “Unlocking Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Healthcare: How Workplace Values, Service Culture, and Capabilities Drive Excellence in Hospitals.” Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology 9, no. 4 (2025): 663-676.
Syahir, Aminun Nabil Ahmad, Mohd Syukri Zainal Abidin, Che Zarrina Sa’ari, and Muhamad Zulfadli Abdul Rahman. “Workplace Spirituality and Its Impact on Employee Well-Being: A Systematic Literature Review of Global Evidence.” Journal of Religion and Health (2025): 1-33.
Tantalo, Caterina, and Richard L. Priem. “Value Creation through Stakeholder Synergy.” Strategic Management Journal 37, no. 2 (2016): 314-329.
Tejeda, Manuel J. “Exploring the Supportive Effects of Spiritual Well-Being on Job Satisfaction Given Adverse Work Conditions.” Journal of Business Ethics 131, no. 1 (2015): 173-181.
Yarbrough, Jillian Williamson, and Leslie Ramos Salazar. “How Employees’ Motivated Needs Relate to Employees’ Personal and Workplace Spirituality.” Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance 12, no. 3 (2025): 736-755.
Zare, Elham, and M. Beheshtifar. “Effect of Spirituality in Workplace on Job Performance.” J Contemp Res Bus 5, no. 2 (2013): 248-254.
Books:
Martino, Maria Grazia. The State as an Actor in Religion Policy. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2015.
Parmenter, David. Key performance indicators: developing, implementing, and using winning KPIs. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2015.
Topping, Ryan N. The Case for Catholic Education. New York: Angelico Press, 2016.
Chapter:
Heidari, Samaneh, Maarten Jensen, and Frank Dignum. "Simulations with Values." In Advances in Social Simulation: Looking in the Mirror, pp. 201-215. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020.
Herold, Timo, and Florentin Schlegel. “Value-based Compliance: Integrating Integrity and Compliance Management.” In Value-oriented Leadership in Theory and Practice: Concepts-study Results-Practical Insights, pp. 111-126. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2023.
Valk, John. “Universal/Particular Beliefs, Values, and Principles.” In Worldviews: A Comprehensive Approach to Knowing Self and Others, pp. 209-243. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021.
Zellars, Kelly L., Pamela L. Perrewé, and Jeremy R. Brees. “The Multiple Roles of Spirituality in Occupational Stress and Well-Being.” In Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance, pp. 243-256. London: Routledge, 2010.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26532/jph.v12i2.47407
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Jurnal Pembaharuan Hukum Indexed by :
![]() | Jurnal Pembaharuan Hukum | |
Faculty of Law, Unissula | Copyright of Jurnal Pembaharuan Hukum | |
Jalan Kaligawe Raya KM.4, Terboyo Kulon, Genuk, | ISSN 2580-3085 (Online) ISSN 2355-0481 (Print) | |
Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, 50112 | JPH is licensed under a |