Eileen Fisher started her clothing business in 1984 with $350 and a few design sketches. Founded on the principles of well-being and simplicity, the business received $3000 in orders at the first boutique show at which Fisher exhibited her wares, and Eileen Fisher, Inc. was born. The company now boasts 42 company owned stores, 725 employees, and $254 million in annual revenues.

How can a business be founded on well-being? What does well-being look like in the workplace? Eileen Fisher’s commitment to well-being begins at home and spreads in concentric circles outward to the company’s individual employees, work teams, the organization as a whole, the communities which the stores serve, and the world.

Eileen Fisher practices what she preaches, in her own life and in her family. For example, Fisher practices yoga regularly and commits to being home by 3 PM every day to ensure that she makes time for family. Furthermore, she seeks to foster a sense of wellbeing among the company’s individual employees and work teams. Each employee receives $1000 every year to spend on “wellness and joyful activities,” and another $1000 per year for education. Some stores offer yoga and massages for employees as well.

Work teams learn to support one another, work by consensus, and foster a “joyful environment” in the stores. Lisa Ann Schraffa, a veteran employee at one of the Boston stores, states, “I think of my work as a spiritual practice.”

Stores regularly clear out slightly damaged inventory and donate the clothes to charities in their communities. Boston stores, for example, have donated to the Women’s Lunch Place, serving homeless women, and New York stores have donated to “Dress for Success,” a program providing clothes for job interviews for women recently released from prison. Each spring and fall, stores hold fundraisers for local charities. In addition, the company provides grants to women entrepreneurs and to organizations that elevate self-esteem in women and girls.

With its international suppliers, the company works with Social Accountability International to adhere to the SA8000 standards and to provide economic opportunity for women. In Peru, rural women gather to knit sweaters in their homes where they can tend to their families at the same time. In China, Eileen Fisher works to improve factory conditions and works only with factories that honor basic human rights, scrutinizing such areas as child labor, working hours, remuneration, health and safety, and management systems.

While it’s not always easy to consistently view work as spiritual practice, and to translate the ideal into reality, Eileen Fisher employees don’t stop trying. From day-to-day customer service to seeking the best ways to offer economic opportunity to women in developing countries, daily challenges arise. “We’re not perfect. But when we fail, we admit our mistakes and get back on track,” says Lisa Ann Schraffa.

While not everyone can work at Eileen Fisher, everyone can learn from their example. Work-as-spiritual-practice will have different manifestations in different settings, will face different challenges, will find different opportunities. Each of us can begin where we are and view our work as spiritual practice, beginning with small steps and letting the ripples move outward.


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Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," and "The Soul of a Leader: Finding Your Path to Success and Fulfillment," works with leaders in business, healthcare, churches, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2008 by Margaret Benefiel.