When I had just graduated from college, one of the first things on my mind was finding the right company. Like many young people beginning their careers, I imagined an ideal workplace full of energy and enthusiasm. I thought about the job, the people I would work with, what I could learn, and whether I had found a place where I could build my future.
Then one morning, something very small surprised me.
One of my coworkers was preparing to meet a customer, and I noticed that he was wearing an old pair of shoes. I asked him why he had chosen those shoes for an important customer meeting. He told me that whenever he wore them, things usually went well. He had closed deals in those shoes before, customers seemed happy, and over time he had come to think of them as his lucky shoes.
I laughed when I first heard his explanation. At the time, it sounded a little strange to me. But after spending more time in the working world, I began to understand that people deal with pressure in very different ways. Sales targets, KPIs, commissions, deadlines, customers, and the possibility of failure can put a lot of pressure on us.
That experience also made me notice something I hadn't thought much about before. Even in a modern workplace, where everything seems to revolve around numbers, plans, reports, and results, small beliefs about good luck and bad luck still find their way into everyday life.
Knocking on Wood
“Knock on wood” is one of those expressions you may hear in an American workplace, especially when someone has just said that something is going unusually well.
Perhaps a project is moving forward without any problems, or a customer seems ready to approve a deal. Someone says confidently that everything looks good, then quickly adds, “Knock on wood,” sometimes actually tapping a wooden desk or chair nearby.
The meaning feels familiar to me because I grew up with a similar idea: don't speak too soon about something that hasn't happened yet. There is always that small worry that talking too confidently about a good outcome might somehow cause things to change.
I find this interesting because the action is so simple. There is no ceremony and nothing particularly mysterious happening in the room. It may be nothing more than a hand touching a wooden table for a second, yet behind that small action is an old idea about not tempting fate.
Lucky Things We Carry With Us
Some people pay attention to what they wear or carry when they are preparing for an important day at work. It might be a shirt, a watch, a tie, a piece of jewelry, or even a pen that has been with them during an important success.
The object may not have been special in the beginning. Its meaning develops because something good happened while it was there. Perhaps a salesperson signed an important contract with a particular pen. Maybe someone wore a certain shirt when giving a presentation that changed their career. After that, the object becomes connected with the memory of success.
For someone who believes in luck or spiritual energy, it may feel as though part of that good energy remains with the object. For someone else, simply holding something connected with a previous success can bring back a familiar feeling of confidence.
Either way, something ordinary can gradually take on a meaning that wasn't there before.
A Lucky Meal Before an Important Meeting
Sometimes it isn't an object at all. Some people develop a habit of eating at a particular restaurant or ordering a certain meal before an important meeting, presentation, or event.
Maybe the first time was completely accidental. They ate there, went to the meeting, and everything turned out better than expected. When another important day comes, they return. After several good experiences, the restaurant or meal begins to feel connected with a good outcome.
I can understand how a small ritual like this develops. When we're worried about what is about to happen, returning to something familiar can make the day feel a little more comfortable. And when that place is already connected with good memories, we may hope that a little of the same good fortune will follow us again.
A Place or Symbol Connected With Previous Success
There is another kind of workplace belief that interests me: the meaning people give to a place or an object associated with those who came before them.
A simple example is the presidency of the United States. Presidents change, but the White House remains the official residence and workplace associated with the presidency, while the Oval Office remains one of the strongest symbols of that position. Each president can change the room and make it their own, but there is still a sense of history in working in a place where previous presidents made important decisions.
A much smaller version of this can happen in an ordinary company. A new manager may take over an office previously used by a successful manager. There may be a desk, an old company award, a photograph, or another object that has remained there for years. Sometimes these things are kept because they represent continuity and previous success.
The object itself may be ordinary, but its history gives it another meaning. For someone with a spiritual perspective, it may even feel as though some of the positive energy created by previous achievements remains around that place or object.
I was reminded of this when my former company moved to a new workplace. My boss brought a small plant from his old office and placed it beside his desk in the new one. That experience later inspired me to write about office moving superstitions and good luck traditions.
The “Q Word” in Hospitals
One workplace belief that really caught my attention comes from hospitals and emergency departments.
Among some healthcare workers in the United States, “quiet” can become the Q word—something you don't want to say when a shift is going smoothly.
Imagine that the emergency department has been unusually calm. Someone looks around and says, “It's really quiet tonight.” That may be enough for a coworker to tell them not to say the Q word.
The belief is that once someone points out how quiet the shift has been, things may suddenly change: patients begin arriving, emergencies pile up, and the peaceful night disappears.
What interests me is that such a small tradition can become part of the culture of a serious, modern workplace. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers can spend their days surrounded by technology and professional procedures, yet an old idea about not tempting fate can still find a place in an ordinary conversation.
In a way, it reminds me of knocking on wood. When everything is going well, sometimes people would rather enjoy the moment than say too much about it.
Friday the 13th and the Number 13
The number 13 is different because its unlucky reputation reaches far beyond the workplace. In the United States and other Western countries, avoiding 13 has been around for generations, and Friday the 13th has become one of the most recognizable unlucky dates.
You can even see traces of this belief in everyday buildings. Some hotels and high-rises skip the number 13 when labeling floors, moving directly from 12 to 14. People may also prefer not to choose Friday the 13th for something they consider especially important.
That feeling can naturally enter the workplace as well. If someone has an important contract to sign, a business opening, a major project, or another event they have spent a long time preparing for, choosing another date can simply feel more comfortable.
The history behind the number 13 and Friday the 13th is much larger than the workplace, so I explored it separately in why the number 13 is considered unlucky. What matters here is that this is one of those old beliefs that has never completely disappeared.
Is There Something Spiritual Behind These Workplace Beliefs?
I have my own way of thinking about this.
I'm not a very good swimmer, although I enjoy being in the water. When I'm in a large pool, especially in deeper water, I like having a float nearby. With it, I feel safer and more confident about going farther than I normally would.
I sometimes think a lucky object can give us a similar feeling. Something that was with us during a previous success may remind us of that moment and make us believe we can do it again.
For someone with a more spiritual view of life, there may be another layer to it. An object, a place, or even a familiar routine can feel as though it carries some of the positive energy of what happened before. We bring it with us because we want that good energy to continue.
I don't think we always need to explain that feeling too much. If something harmless makes us feel more confident and gives us a stronger belief that things will go well, perhaps that feeling itself is part of its value.
Should We Keep These Little Beliefs?
I think if a harmless tradition gives someone confidence or makes an important moment feel more positive, there is nothing wrong with keeping it.
We already do something similar at other important beginnings. When a business opens, people may bring something to express a wish for prosperity. When someone moves into a new home, friends and relatives may choose housewarming gifts and their meanings because they want to share their good wishes with the family.
The same idea appears in new home traditions for good luck, protection, and prosperity. The traditions may be different, but behind them is a very simple human hope: we want something important to begin well.
A Different Kind of Spirituality in the Workplace
The workplace is very different from a place of worship or somewhere we normally think of as spiritual. Most offices are ordinary places where people work, make decisions, solve problems, and try to build their careers.
Yet small beliefs still find their way inside.
What interests me is how easily an ordinary thing can gain a different meaning after being connected with success. Something that once meant nothing may later become a reminder of a good moment, a source of confidence, or, for someone who sees life more spiritually, something that seems to carry positive energy.
These traditions can become even more noticeable when someone moves from working for a company to starting a new business, where financial risk and uncertainty are much greater. New business owners may develop their own traditions around opening day, the first sale, lucky objects, blessings, or even choosing a favorable date to begin.
When I first entered the working world, I found some of these habits strange. Over time, I began to see them differently.
Perhaps workplace superstitions survive not because the office is a spiritual place, but because the people inside it still carry their hopes, fears, memories, and beliefs with them.