Religious Expression In The Workplace Essay

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.

As was stated a few sentences ago, there are many legal concerns that are raised when it comes to religious expressions in the workplace. Eileen P. Kelly says in her article “Accommodating Religious Expression in the Workplace,” “In general, employees bring religious discrimination suits on three bases (1) disparate treatment, (2) religious harassment or (3) failure to reasonably accommodate their religious beliefs.” (Kelly, 2008). Well according to the United States Department of Labor, “Title VII (Civil Rights Act of 1964) requires federal agencies, upon notice of a request, to reasonably accommodate employees whose sincerely held religious beliefs, practices or observances conflict with work requirements, unless the accommodation would create an undue hardship.” ("Religious Discrimination and Accommodation in the Federal Workplace," 2015). An undue hardship is when an employee’s need for an accommodation requires too much

action from or resources from the employer as we saw in the text. This could involve a situation where a Muslim woman would need to abide by the Islamic dress code for women. Some jobs would be inclined to make an exception for such a woman since it is not an enormous burden. However, if the woman were to ask that the cafeteria would not serve pork, then that is considered an undue hardship for that would not be fair to the other employees who do not have an issue eating certain foods. This is just one type of concern that an employer must deal with. One other issue that a HR manager or employer must continually deal with is making sure that employees are showing each other respect. As is clearly seen across the world, sexual harassment amongst employees is an ongoing epidemic. Another form of employee abuse can come in terms of religion. Members of different faiths are always going to find each other and that can sometimes create friction. Take for instance Christianity and Islam. These faiths have a lot of differences between them and that can lead to disharmony at work which leads to poor performance. A good and effective HR leader will bring the employees together and help to resolve any differences before things get out of hand. One effective way to bring employees together is through little get-togethers and hang outs. In other words, let the employees get to know each other outside of the work environment and good things could come about.
Nobody or business is perfect, and all are going to have a fair share of problems.

But being a good manager is having the ability to limit these problems and keep them to a minimal. When situations do arise, it is important to be calm and stay focused. One of the greatest tools of a successful HR leader is the ability to listen. Listen closely to each and every employee’s concerns. That in return will make obstacles much easier to

tackle.