Religious Differences In The Workplace

In “Working it Out” by Diana Eck, she writes about religious oppression in the workplace. The examples she gives on the many ways people have been fired, or the ways in which people's faiths have been compromised, reiterates that the amendment that states freedom of religion in the United States, is

The United States is one of the most culturally and religiously diverse countries in the world. The founding fathers of the United States wanted to ensure that its people would have the ability to practice their religion with no threat of persecution. In order to accomplish the goal of religious freedom and continue to ensure that all people of any religion would be free to practice their religion, the United States passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits an employer from discriminating based on the religious views of its employees. As the citizens of the United States spend a large amount of time in their places of employment, religious practices that these employees feel are necessary for the true observance of their religion must be accommodated by the employers. This law contends that in cases where the accommodation of religious practices of its employees does not create undue hardships, an employer must make reasonable accommodations for employees to practices the beliefs of their religion. As the demographics of the United States continues to change with more religiously diverse people immigrating to the country, employers are coming under more pressure to ensure they are taking all possible precautions to accommodate the religious practices of its employees. These precautions are important as the once an employee has established a bona fide complaint of religious discrimination, the burden of proof then falls on the employer to prove they

Reasonable Accommodation & Religion: The law requires an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause difficulty or expense for the employer. This means an employer may have to make reasonable adjustments at work that will allow the employee to practice his or her religion, such as allowing an employee to voluntarily swap shifts with a co- worker.

time off from work to practice their faith and celebrate religious holidays. Employers may face

Thank you for sharing your thoughts regarding why organizations fail and spirituality in the workplace. While many organizations make the claim that God is a stakeholder, these words are of non-effect unless the leader first partakes in whatever is necessary to ensure the followers share the vision and are led by example.

Religious difference has been a question not just for theological schools and religious institutions but, increasingly for some businesses and corporations, offices and factories. In the past ten years the equal employment opportunity commission, which considers workplace complaints that may violate the civil rights act, has reported a 31 percent rise in complaints of religious discrimination in the workplace.

An employer can accommodate their employees religious obligations by making an adjustment. For example, if the employee religion requires him/her to pray during the workday than the employer can provide a location where the employee can pray in private. Another example is if the employee is scheduled to work on the sabbath day than

Religion in the workplace can introduce some of the most challenging concerns employers have to tackle. Solving these issues involves an understanding of the law as well as attempting to balance the business 's needs with an employee 's desire to practice his or her religion. One of the most controversial conflicts when dealing with religion in the workplace is between an employee 's desire to take time off to acknowledge religious days or holidays and the potential reduction in productivity and profitability.

Religion should be allowed in the workplace to an extent. If the vast majority of people in a workplace belonged to a certain religious group utilitarian would allow religion in the workplace. Since it is what the greatest amount of what people want it would be benefiting the greater good. This would be the simplest choice for the utilitarian view point. A utilitarian would also feel obligated to please those people who are the minority in this situation. This is why religion in the workplace would be allowed to a certain extent. A utilitarian would allow religious practices such as prayer to go on in the workplace as long as they didn’t interfere with the work that needs to be done. To take away the practice of a workers religion would be consider morally wrong, so allowing religious practices as long as it doesn’t take away from work would be beneficial to the greater good. I also believe a utilitarian boss would support religion because studies have shown that people with religious beliefs have a higher decision making skills. Thus pleasing those who would rather leave religion out of work and who would like to incorporate things such as prayer. The integration of faith and work has had positive implications at the personal level, as well as for corporate ethics and the broader economic sphere. The study of religion has often investigated beliefs, rituals, and practices, and how they have manifested in various spheres of life (Fry, 2014).

Cultural differences in the workplace can sometimes become a challenge in the work environment. In order to facilitate these differences, there must be some form of cultural awareness. Cultural awareness can help employees face the challenge of responding to individuals with different religions in the workplace, expose religious practices, and eliminate stereotyping in the workplace. Awareness of religions, and the beliefs associated with different religions, can be accomplished in many ways, such as training courses, workshops or company handouts (Thomas Kochan, 2003, p. 4). Companies must embrace multiculturalism and diversity.

In some case, religion does influence an individual’s occupation choice because it depends on his or her way of thinking as well as principles. Occupational choices also play a major role in religion. This is the reason why many would never become police officers, military, or correctional officers because of the physical force and violence that occurs on the job. Social network does affect an individual choice because religions have their own personal networks and support for people. The personal support offers opportunity for group collaboration amongst people who see eye to eye, develop relationships as well as social bonds (Lim & Putnam, 2010). Views on marriage are definitely influenced by religion because many people have a tendency to

suggest that there is an obvious solution that is fair. When it comes to fairness, I think it is fair

Religion in the workplace can bring up some of the most difficult issues employers have to face. Resolving these issues requires understanding the law and balancing the business's needs with an employee's desire to practice his or her religion. One of the most contentious conflicts is between an employee's desire to take time off and the potential reduction in productivity and profitability. In ruling on Title VII religion cases, the courts have held that employers aren't required to accommodate employees' religious activities when it involves increased financial costs, transferring supervisory personnel or employees from other departments resulting in inefficiency, or discriminating against other employees or violating seniority systems. Accommodations that don't constitute undue hardship to the employer include voluntary substitutions or employee "swaps," flexible work schedules, floating or optional holidays, staggered work hours, and allowing employees to make up lost time. Transfers and job changes also are options if they don't cause reduced efficiency or

Because Sonia’s co-workers are gossiping and raising concern, and as a consequence Sonia’s work performance is falling, management needs to personally address Sonia and discuss the comments that are being made. Another steps that management should take in this situation is to encourage a culture that is more accepting and understanding of religious diversity. It seems as if the culture of this organization does not understand the importance of recognizing and accepting religious diversity and management could address this through the creation of religious affinity groups. This would offer an effective strategy to help employees better understand the existence of religious diversity and the importance of respecting one another’s beliefs.

Therefore, as Adams & Csiernik (2002) points out, workplace spirituality is thus an embodiment of positive valuation, acknowledgments and respecting the employees’ innate abilities in a meaningful and goal-oriented context approach that encourages creativity, sense of belonging and personal fulfillment. Therefore, the debate lies on whether the relationship between corporate social responsibility and spirituality at the workplace is convergence or divergence.