DiversityInc - Winter 2012

How Does Your Company Handle Religious Holidays?

BY SHANE NELSON

How do other organizations allow their employees to handle holiday decorations and celebrations? We want to allow people to tastefully decorate/ celebrate and we also want to make sure that we are not offending people.

ASK DiversityInc

Before I answer this question directly, I’d first like to address the issue of religion in the workplace.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace
discrimination based on religion, national origin, race, color or
sex. Companies abide by this policy, but the more progressive
ones create inclusive environments in which employees are
encouraged to integrate their mandated religious practices into
their day-to-day jobs. This helps companies build loyalty, raise
morale and productivity, and reduce one of the hidden costs of
ignoring religious diversity: absenteeism.

FLOATING RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS

74%

ONSITE RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATIONS

70%

OF DIVERSIT YINC TOP 50 COMPANIES WITH RELIGIOUS ERGs

26%

42%

2003 2011

DiversityInc Top 50

64%

28%

2011

DiversityInc Top 50 Participants

SHRM national statistic*

32% 2003 2011 DiversityInc Top 50

4% 2005 2011 DiversityInc Top 50

*Society of Human Resource Management respondents offering paid leave for days outside of regular holiday calendar

These statistics are important when it comes to handling
holiday celebrations. Official U.S. holidays are predominantly
Christian, so most of the holiday celebrations will be of
Christian background. Celebrating other religions during this
time can get tricky. Religious holidays should be good educa-
tional opportunities (“We value differences instead of homog-
enizing them”). So celebrating and offering training on cultural
competency for religious holidays is critically important.

Here are some suggestions to ensure your company’s holiday celebrations are inclusive of
all religions and that they run smoothly.

Proactively Accommodate Some issues are constants, such as wearing religious attire or the need for time off for observance. Other issues, such as celebrations, occur once or twice a year. Thinking through what policies will work for your organization and making sure all employees know which accommodations are available before they have to ask are critical.

Implement a Process & Clarify It Employees are often uncomfortable asking for what they need. Implement a process for requesting celebrations and make it clear. Train managers to respond to requests appropriately and make sure everyone knows HR is a resource.

Get Help

If you have a religious employee-resource group (ERG), utilize it to educate your employees about all religions. If you don’t have a religious ERG, go to the one place that is sure to have people from different religious backgrounds: your other ERGs. Bounce ideas/requests off of members and gain valuable insights.

At American Express, No. 13 in The
2011 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies
for Diversity and winner of DiversityInc’s
2011 award as Top Company for
Employee-Resource Groups, there
are longstanding religious groups for
Christians, Jews and Muslims. All three
groups are encouraged to educate their
colleagues about their culture and share
their traditions. The groups host events
around the holidays. While the company
has no formal policy regarding office
decorations, all employees are encour-
aged to express themselves in a manner
that is respectful of those around them.

Surveys

Use surveys to gain critical feedback on implementing or expanding celebrations. Incorporate questions specific to religious celebrations in your diversity surveys. Gather, analyze and share responses with key stakeholders and constituencies.