In this episode, Jamey focuses on navigating religious diversity in the workplace by highlighting the integral role that religious beliefs and practices play in many people's lives and how these elements are naturally brought into work environments. The episode also discusses the challenges organizations face, from dress codes conflicting with religious attire to dietary requirements during work events. Jamey talks about the importance of creating inclusive and respectful workspaces that accommodate religious practices, such as prayer times and religious holidays, while also considering legal implications under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which mandates accommodations for religious practices.

Throughout the episode, Jamey outlines best practices for organizations integrating religious inclusivity. This includes avoiding assumptions about employees' needs, developing anti-bias policies, and implementing inclusive practices such as providing quiet spaces for prayer. Jamey also stresses the value of training programs that educate employees about various religious beliefs without placing the burden of representation on employees of specific faiths. By fostering an environment of respect and inclusion, organizations can help ensure all employees feel valued, leading to greater buy-in and engagement from staff, especially those from minority religious backgrounds.

If you're interested in the resources that Michelle discussed, visit: https://www.equity-at-work.com/

Key Topics Discussed:

• Importance of religion in the workplace
• Common challenges with religious practices at work
• Legal considerations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Best practices for fostering religious inclusivity
• Impact of religion on decision-making and bias
• Creating accommodating environments for religious observance

I'm Jamie Applegate, Senior Director of DEI at Equity at Work and this is your DEI Minute, your go to podcast for leaders looking to navigate the ever evolving landscape of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. Whether you're just starting out with DEI or looking to sustain your long term successes, each episode will provide you with the actions you can take to move DEI forward at your organization, all in fifteen minutes or less. Join us every other week as we break through the noise and help you do DEI right. Let's get to it.

Today, we're gonna talk about religion in the workplace. Religious faith is a foundational part of many people's lives, and people bring their religious beliefs and practices with them to work. It is critical for organizations to have a cohesive plan to navigate potential challenges. So today, we're gonna talk about how religion shows up in the workplace, common challenges that organizations might face as they support religious individuals, some legal considerations, and then we'll end with some best practices. So how does religion show up in the workplace? Religion guides how people behave and how they interact with others, and it can show up in the workplace in many ways, from individual decisions about how to dress and what to eat and taking time to pray, to conversations about weekend and holiday and vacation plans, to team based events and activities. So some common challenges that organizations may face as they navigate religion in the workplace, one is dress guidance. Many religions prescribe certain forms of dress, and these might conflict with organizational dress codes and guidance. For example, Sikh men are expected to grow their beards out, and policies around facial hair might conflict with this religious practice.

Food is another common area of challenge. So many religions require a specific diet, either prescribing or disallowing certain foods, which might be an issue at any work activity in which food is present. So for example, Muslim individuals often eat only foods that are halal. Pork is not halal, but it is very common in The United States. So if you're doing a breakfast bar, be aware that if you have pork products, just be aware that there are certain people who might not be able to enjoy that. So maybe think about offering an alternative or simply not having pork products at that meal. Prayer is another one. So some religions require private prayer at times during the workday.

So, for example, Muslim individuals pray up to five times each day. So some of this might occur while at work, and so it is critical to make sure that, one, Muslim employees know that it's okay to pray, and, two, that they are given space and time to do that daily prayer. A forthcoming challenge is holidays and observances. Each religion has holidays and observances, and these may or may not align with the dominant workplace calendar, which can cause challenges in terms of PTO and language. So for example, Yom Kippur and Passover are important Jewish holidays, but those observances are rarely included on organizational calendars. And so as an equity concept, organizations should think about, are we giving people floating holidays to allow them to take days off for those religious observances? Or in an inequitable world, we are requiring them to use vacation days for their religious observances while we maybe allow the whole organization to be off for other holidays that are not observed by Jewish individuals. Another challenge, and this one can be really, really tricky, is proselytization. So some religions promote proselytizing, which is attempting to convert people to their religious beliefs.

This can create uncomfortable situations in the workplace where individuals who maybe are not part of that religion are being proselytized to, and they don't necessarily want that. So, for example, a Christian employee might regularly invite an atheist employee to join them at church, and the ace atheist employee might feel uncomfortable with that but not really know how to mention that or say that they're uncomfortable, especially if there are power dynamics at play. And the atheist employee is maybe a newer employee, and the Christian person inviting them is a more veteran employee. So just being aware of those dynamics and really setting guidelines for what is and is not appropriate in the workplace. And then finally, this is probably the biggest challenge that most places face in terms of religion in the workplace, is bias in decision making. So people often feel an affinity for other people who share their religion, and this can have profound impacts on hiring and promotions. An example would be a director level employee might be more likely to promote a manager level employee who attends the same house of worship as them. They might feel like they know that person better or that they think that that person has really strong morals or is an upstanding person because they see them in that space.

And it doesn't mean that the other candidates might not also meet those criteria, but they're simply not given the opportunity. So it's really, really critical to be aware of how someone's religion might introduce a bias when we're making decisions. In terms of legal considerations, the biggest thing to remember is title seven of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It requires employers to prohibit discrimination based on religious beliefs and practices and to provide reasonable accommodations on the basis of religion. Failure to do so can constitute a hostile work environment. So if an employee says that they have a specific religious belief or observance or practice and they ask for an accommodation, as long as it does not inhibit their ability to do the job in an unreasonable way, you are legally required to do it. And, otherwise, you are potentially creating a hostile work environment, and that can lead to legal action. So some best practices around religion in the workplace.

Number one, avoid assumptions. Ask employees about any needs they might have based on their religious beliefs and practices. So as you're planning any events, look at the calendar. What holidays or observances might be coming up? If you are planning a lunch, look at the calendar again. Is it something like Ramadan where Muslim employees might not be eating during the day, and it would actually be kind of harmful for them to be in a position where they're just staring at other people eating and staring at food? Number two, develop policies for discrimination, harassment, bias, and accommodations. Ensure that employees know that religion is a protected class. Implement anti bias trainings with a focus on hiring and promotions. Train employees on how to request accommodations, including dress guidance, flexible work schedules, vaccine exemptions, and religious expression.

Number three, implement inclusive practices. Create an inclusive dress code. Designate a quiet space for prayer and reflection. When planning events and activities, consider holidays and observances, prayer schedules, dietary rules, and other restrictions. And number four, create opportunities for learning. Develop trainings around different religious beliefs and practices. But as a huge note on that, do not expect people from various faiths to be spokespeople for their religion. They are not required to share their religious beliefs even if we know what they are, and they are definitely not required to do trainings even if they have shared some information with us.

Making that expectation can be a little bit uncomfortable. So just we can have trainings around different religious beliefs without requiring people to be spokespeople for their entire religion. So, again, remember to avoid assumptions, develop policies for discrimination, harassment, bias, and accommodations, implement inclusive practices, and create opportunities for learning. Religion, again, is incredibly important for so many people, and it is a huge part of how people view the world, act in the world, and show up at work. And so it's really important to make sure that we are acknowledging and honoring people's religious beliefs and creating spaces for them to share how that might be impacting their ability to show up at work. So remember, avoid assumptions, develop policies for discrimination, harassment, bias, and accommodations, implement inclusive practices, and create opportunities for learning. Religion is a critical part of so many people's lives. They we think of it as something separate from work, but it definitely impacts how people show up to work and the ways that people engage with each other at work.

And it can be really, really empowering for a workplace to support people who are religious by having those policies, having spaces for people to practice it, creating spaces for, people to share their religion with each other in a non proselytizing way just to share different practices and beliefs. So organizations that do that will see more buy in from their employees. They'll see employees that feel really, really seen and heard and valued, especially those from maybe less dominant and less majority religions. So please do check-in on folks, ask them what they need, and create those spaces for people to to bring their religion with them to the workplace in an appropriate and professional way, and you will see tons of benefits. If you have any questions about how to do this, it can be really tricky to navigate, but we're here to help. So please do reach out to us. Let us know what you need, and thank you so much.

That's a wrap. I'm Jamie Applegate, and that's your DEI minute for today. Thanks for listening. Please be sure to follow us wherever you listen to podcasts and don't forget

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