(FORTUNE Magazine) – Beautiful desk in the corner. Such an odd angle, such an unusual exposure to natural light. Quirkily appealing. It's feng shui, a design scheme of Chinese origin that's gradually going global. It gives an ordinary office an unexpected touch of character. Harmless.

But this is more than just interior design. There's a very thin line between superstition and spirituality, one that's becoming increasingly difficult to negotiate in today's workplace. Everyone reads his horoscope, but no one ever takes it seriously, right? What no-nonsense executive would ever rely on astrological charts, tarot readings, numerology, or crystalline energy before making a mission-critical decision? Then again, how many executives say a quiet prayer--and mean it--before making a hard business choice? Where do you want to publicly draw the line between them? The hard-driving CFO who soulfully glances down at her WWJD? bracelet before justifying a budget to the board--is her gesture of faith public or private? Suppose that WWJD? (which asks, "What would Jesus do?") is appended as part of her e-mail signature? Does that cross a line?

A fundamental tension between rational goals and spiritual fulfillment now haunts workplaces around the world. It's not enough that workers feel "productive" and "effective." Survey after management survey affirms that a majority want to find "meaning" in their work. The Industrial Age concept of "a day's pay for a day's work" is yielding to the postindustrial perception that work itself should be a medium for self-expression and self-discovery. People are entitled, encouraged, and even expected to find meaning in their work.

As the boundaries between work and personal life continue to erode, it's no surprise that both New Age tokens and symbols of established religions are making their way into the office. The presence of a crescent, a crucifix, or a crystal captures the way many individuals seek to manage meaning in their lives.

Companies are doing what they can to infuse work with meaning. Some of the effort is channeled through the usual suspects: enrichment and empowerment programs and company-sponsored philanthropy. GE and Texaco publicly tout the volunteerism of their employees. Other firms unabashedly ask their employees to consider the company itself a cause. Pharmaceuticals companies like Merck proclaim their work a mission; so do the software companies under the banner of open source. Lifestyle companies like Patagonia see their employees as evangelists. Their language and managerial techniques could come right out of church manuals or spiritual bestsellers.

The expanding quest for corporate meaning recalls Emile Durkheim's landmark work The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. At the core of the French sociologist's work almost a century ago was his belief that there is something valuable in fervent religious experiences even if one does not necessarily believe in the existence of a Supreme Being. Instead of examining complex religions like Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, Durkheim chose to focus on primitive religions that relied on "totems." Under totemism a clan or tribe has a sacred object or totem--usually something found in nature. But what really intrigued Durkheim about totemism was that the tribe usually valued the image of the totem more than the totemic item itself. The totem isn't sacred because of any intrinsic properties it possesses but because of the role it plays in the community. It provides a sense of unity--of oneness--among the tribe. The totem is both the symbol of the community and an expression of what it finds sacred.

Totems like New Age crystals and even WWJD? bracelets are nothing if not attempts to build a sense of community that goes beyond the rational calculations of profit maximizers. As long as businesses position themselves as places where people can make meaning as well as make money, Durkheim-esque totems will increasingly festoon the business landscape. With digital networks and software becoming dominant office media, totems, rites, and rituals will slip into their design. Perhaps your LAN will be laid out according to feng shui principles; work teams will create their own online emblems and mandalas. Ironically, just as management and workers are being called upon to be more rational and productive, basic human nature dictates that issues of faith and nonrational ritual will assume a far greater presence in the workplace. Will that prove more a distraction than a valuable influence? Who knows? But managers will have to spend ever more time and ingenuity balancing the spirituality people bring into the workplace and the culture the firm itself is trying to create.

MICHAEL SCHRAGE is co-director of the MIT Media Lab's e-markets initiative and author of Serious Play. Reach him at michael_schrage@fortunemail.com.