Multifaith Fasting and Delayed Gratification: Implications for Organizational Functioning

This conceptual paper argues that fasting, as a spiritual practice rooted in delayed gratification, can enhance organizational functioning, particularly in multifaith workplaces. Building on self-regulation theory and the concept of delayed gratification, we propose that fasting cultivates patience, self-control, empathy, and shared discipline, which positively influence teamwork, leadership, and organizational culture. The Lebanese context in 2025 provides a unique case where Christians and Muslims fasted during overlapping periods, generating a dynamic of shared spiritual discipline across faiths. Using this real-world occurrence, the paper develops a model that links fasting-induced self-regulation to organizational culture, including enhanced trust, group cohesion, task performance, and inclusive, values-based leadership. Traditional self-regulation research views impulse control as an internal trait, while our model posits that through employees’ synchronized, multigroup fasting, self-regulation becomes socially reinforced, creating an external environment that strengthens internal regulation and demonstrates that it can be cultivated and magnified through cultural practices embedded in organizational life. By integrating insights from spiritual leadership, workplace spirituality, and entrepreneurial behaviour research, this study contributes to conversations on workplace spirituality, inclusive HR practices, and behavioural antecedents of productivity. It fills a critical gap by connecting a profound human discipline to measurable organizational outcomes within faith-sensitive environments.