Religion and Spirituality in the Workplace Faith in the workplace and the level of accommodations employers should allow is an increasing problem. Moreover, the influx of people from different backgrounds bringing with them different religious practices has caused organizations to seek help from organizations such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the courts, and legal firms on how to deal with this new reality. Thus, the complexities surrounding religion and spirituality in the workplace and recommendations on the cause and solutions were examined. Faith-at-Work Scenario One 1. What are the possible explanations for the person’s behavior? The need to be accepted or included is a fundamental tenet of the human race. Moreover, people express themselves through relationships. Examples include community involvement, work relationships, and religious affiliations (Baker, 2001). Also, acceptance by others improves a person’s overall well-being and improves their ability to give and receive friendship (Baker, 2001). So, when a person is or perceives to be degraded by others it can adversely affect their behavior (Lueders, 2011). Consequently, this is the genesis of a hostile work environment (Williams, 2011). Offensive conduct can create a hostile work environment (Williams, 2011). Hence, a hostile work environment refers to, “any change that results in an alteration of an employee’s mood or behavior based upon the conduct” (Williams, 2011, p. 1). Thus, the unwelcomed comments based on negative stereotypes of Sonia’s religious attire by her coworkers caused her to feel self-conscious and withdraw. 2. How should management/leadership respond to this situation? Religion is a federally protect... ... middle of paper ... ...reover, there are many people in my office who share the same faith. We have an online prayer page whereby people share prayer requests and praise reports. Happily, the number of people involved continues to grow. So, I know that my faith has made me a better supervisor, co-worker, and employee. Conclusion Faith in the workplace offers various degrees of complexity. The rights of individuals coupled with the requirements of organizations presents a daunting task. Hence, employers must utilize all the resources at their disposal such as the EEOC in order to fairly and adequately align business objectives with accommodating employee religious practices. Moreover, in order to manage conflict, resentment, and misunderstandings the organizational culture must transform into an environment of inclusiveness, understanding, and continuous communication.
As leaders, enterprises give them authority and require them to act responsibly to create a hospitable work environment by guiding others in practicing mutual respect. Overt or implicit bias in the workplace undermines potential. People of varying ages, genders, ethnicities and regions all have valuable contributions to offer, and as the corporate world draws from a global talent pool, fostering understanding is increasing in importance even for small organizations.
“Religion in the American workplace is among the most contentious and difficult areas for employe...
In this article, the woman in question is Carole Smith, a security worker at a major airport who identifies as a Wiccan witch. She has had numerous incidents of workplace complaints from those she works with and she herself has filed complaints against her coworkers unrelated to her religion. However, all of these serious complains came in after her report of religious discrimination. These c...
The author, Patricia Borstorff, is a distinguished professor of management at Jacksonville State University. In this article, Borstorff (2011) contributes to the discussion of accommodating religious expression in the workplace. The article discusses the increasing diversification of today’s workforce regarding ethnicity, culture, religion and language. It also discusses the need for employers to become better prepared to deal with religious issues. “Businesses should
The article “Faith in the workplace”, featured in The Economist, is about a new admonition that came up last month from America’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which stated that last year there were 3, 721 religious discrimination cases in the workforce, which makes the year 2013 with the most amount of religious discrimination cases. Therefore they enforced a law, because it’s a human right for firms to respect their workers and provide them with religious needs, that all the bosses and managers of the Western part of the world, must respect and have to allow their employees to display their religious faiths and beliefs and let them practice it while at work, for example: letting Muslim women wearing their Hijab (head scarf), letting people celebrate their special holidays. That is why all Business firms and companies have changed their rules in order to meet employee’s expectations such Abercrombie Fitch, because if they don’t meet their expectations and discriminate them they will have suffer from lawsuits and so on.
I have read many articles from outsiders reporting on the Muslim faith. But I have never read an article more incorrect and damaging than the piece done by Robert Holstrom "Muslims or Demons". Robert Holstroms' article details the belittlement and atrocities afflicted towards Islamic women by Muslims. Mr. Holstroms' presents followers of the Islamic religion as militant drug dealers and mercenaries, which perpetrate their ideas while using false Islam, foreign money, and opium to get their way.
I find comfort and security in knowing that love and forgiveness, regardless of my mistakes, is never withheld. Not believing in something greater than myself soon leaves me in the darkness and despair of the unknown and I feel like the meaning and purpose of my life is robbed from me. My religion also impacts my nursing practice. I have faith that God hears our cries and prayers. I believe that he does answer them, although it may not always be in the way that we want, expect or understand. If a patient of mine is struggling I can turn to God for assistance in caring for one of his children. If they happen to disclose their beliefs and are open to talking about them, I can walk beside them on their journey with life and death. An individual’s beliefs, culture and diversity impact actions and behaviours in the workplace (Harris,
I strongly believe that religious accommodations have positive and negative impact for the businesses. The religious accommodation required specific scheduling and change work assignments. For instance, my mom worked in Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, Emily Herrmann, manager of Alverno Laboratories said, “She understands the needs of employees and accommodates their needs.” Because employees have to work Sundays, some of them are capabl...
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Accommodating religious expressions in the workplace can be a very hard and touchy issue. There are many concerns and legal issues that need to be addressed by an employer to make sure that everything works out smoothly. Unfortunately this whole process is easier said than done. Just simply the fact that there are many religions that need to be accommodated for. Such religions are Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism just to name a few. Each religion has different sets of beliefs and opinions, and it is the HR manager’s job to make sure that each member of the team is treated fairly and respectfully.
Religion as defined in, You May Ask Yourself, is a system of beliefs, traditions, and practices around sacred things, a set of shared stories that guide belief and action (Conley 613). Meaning, religion, is the way people can navigate their world and distinguish right from wrong, and good from bad. Everyone has their own belief system and often that belief system does not go with the norm of the rest of society but, what happens when a person 's belief system based off of that of the social norm? That is what society considers religion. Religion, not only in America but also the rest of the world is the basis of not only peoples beliefs but also the way they choose to live their lives. Majority of all people in the western world
In my professional life I need to ensure that I do not let secular or post-modern worldviews influence my decisions and how I conduct my own personal behavior. My worldview should be an example to others, co-workers, and students. Finally, consistently pray and ask God to allow me to be his servant and light in a world that is increasingly turning their back on Him and His word.
A negative work environment can make employees feel irritable, anxious and defensive. This can cause poor productivity, lack of motivation and poor communication in the workplace which in turn can cause problems for the company. An employer’s abuse of power can cause mental or emotional distress on employees and also disrupt the workplace. Examples of employers abusing their position include humiliation, undermining, disrespectful language, discriminatory comments, yelling and intimidation. When employees are surrounded by this on a daily basis it can affect their self-worth. Employers can resolve these issues by allowing open lines of communication and by not giving employees the impression that it is acceptable to act negatively and disrespect fellow employees.
The issue at hand must be addressed, and the programs that attempt to correct the current state of religious tolerance aren’t working well enough. These programs attempt to promote religious tolerance through diversification and education. University programs attempt to subject people to more belief systems than ever before, and public schools teach students the beliefs and practices of religions new, old, and unfamiliar. This sort of constructive action definitely helps to reduce the insecurities that religious diversity creates, but it still only magnifies the differences between those who practice separate religions. It may improve relations for some, but for others it may have a negative effect. The true solution to the problem is to promote a philosophy that allows people to maintain their faith and simul...