c. 2006 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) A Muslim employee’s daily prayers. A lunchtime Bible study group. A Jewish employee’s observance of the High Holy Days.
What does any of this have to do with conducting business? These days, plenty.
More Americans are bringing their faith to work, and employers need to be sure their workplace policies are keeping pace with the trend.
That doesn’t mean simply putting a menorah next to the Christmas tree in the lobby once a year. It means balancing the needs of expressively religious workers with those of employees who may think the only higher power that matters at work is the one signing the paychecks.
Two studies, one by the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Studies and another by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, indicate religion has taken on a more prominent role in American culture. That translates to an increasing emphasis on those issues in the workplace.
“I notice that there seems to be more of an acceptance of talking about” religion, said Andrea Capuano, director of human resources for ComDoc Inc., an office-machine supplier based in Ohio. “It used to be something you wouldn’t talk about. Now more people feel like, `Why do we have to leave (our beliefs) at the door?”’
Experts on the subject suggest four factors are contributing to the trend:
_ Baby boomers are aging and searching for meaning.
_ Expressions of faith have become part of the nation’s political discourse, from city halls to the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court.
_ As people are spending more time at work, the line between personal life and professional life is being blurred.
_ The workplace is a microcosm of an increasingly pluralistic society. That may cause some to hold tighter to their own traditions and declare them more loudly.
Whatever the cause, the Rev. Norm Douglas is happy to see spiritual forwardness coming into fashion. Douglas and attorney Larry Vuillemin founded Akron, Ohio-based Heart to Heart Communications 16 years ago to encourage the integration of faith and work. The idea was that greater mutual understanding and ethical commitment would follow.
“We have a separation of church and state, but that doesn’t mean we can’t show our faith,” Douglas said. “And we can find values that a lot of faith traditions hold in common. All emphasize living with integrity, caring for each other, having a higher purpose in life than making money.”
Some experts suggest the most valuable accommodation may be creating a workplace atmosphere that welcomes talk of faith and spirituality.
That has been ComDoc’s approach. And it has worked without controversy, Capuano said.
“I’m not seeing people preaching in the workplace,” she said. “I don’t see people coming in and hanging big crosses at their desk. It’s more of a subtle thing.”
It might be a break-room prayer group, a conversation about a church fundraiser or an employee sharing details of a particularly moving worship service.
And it all plays out with ComDoc’s corporate blessing.
The company has sent more than 30 employees, including Roy Ismail, through Heart to Heart Communications’ leadership program.
Ismail, who is Muslim, said the spiritually open environment _ one that is predominantly Christian _ has helped him connect with some of his co-workers in a way he might not have done otherwise.
“Everyone should be proud of who they are and where they come from and be able to share that at work,” said Ismail, a technical support analyst for the company. “I think ComDoc is on the right track.”
The navigation comes from the top. W. Riley Lochridge, chairman and chief executive officer, makes a bold distinction between spirituality and religion when it comes to the workplace.
“Spirituality can be a catalyst or a reinforcer for the personal and professional development process,” said Lochridge, who is Christian. “If you have people who are really open to all the beauty and strength within and around them, the workplace becomes much more enriching.
“There are more people in business today who want to be able to talk about this issue. Why would I want to get in the way of that? I want to encourage that as long as they are not invasive.”
That’s where the issue becomes thorny.
What may seem like spiritual openness to some may be proselytizing to others. Employers are under pressure to find a balance.
Michelle Weber, assistant director of Religious Diversity in the Workplace at the Tanenbaum Center in New York, said organizations should make it clear what is expected of their employees. They can do that through leadership that honors employees’ religious practices without compromising the rights of those who are uncomfortable with the subject.
“There is no line you can draw in the sand and say, `X is proselytizing, and Y is not,”’ Weber said. “It depends on the perspective of the receiver. I would hesitate to put anything down in a policy. Just take it on a case-by-case basis.”
Tom Wiencek, chairman of labor and employment law at the Brouse McDowell law firm in Ohio, said an organization can lay out its expectations of employees through a mission statement or code of conduct.
But it is very difficult to restrict religious expression or the backlash from it, he said. The tension between gay and lesbian employees and employees who denounce homosexuality on religious grounds is just one high-profile example.
The issue could become more pressing. Separate bills in the U.S. House and Senate propose strengthening the law that protects workers’ rights to religious expression. That law states employers must accommodate workers’ religious requirements as long as doing so does not create an undue burden on the business; the new law would raise the standard of employer hardship.
Wiencek offered this example: A Jewish employee’s observance of the Sabbath could make him unable to work certain shifts on Fridays. As the law stands, an employer would not be required to excuse the employee if the Friday work was necessary to the operation of the business.
Wiencek said the new law would place greater strain on companies that already bend under the weight of workplace regulation. And, he said, it is unnecessary.
“The current accommodation standard provides employees protection, and it invites dialogue,” he said. “When you continue to legislate the workplace culture with more restrictions, you just elevate the cost of doing business.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes the House and Senate bills, neither of which is expected to make it into law any time soon.
Still, momentum is gathering behind the idea. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., has 18 co-sponsors from both side of the House aisle for his Workplace Religious Freedom Act. The bill was given a subcommittee hearing in November.
Regardless of what Congress does, the workplace climate seems to be shifting.
Weber, of the Tanenbaum Center, said it’s up to organizations to see the change as an opportunity rather than an obstacle.
“If handled with sensitivity, (bringing spirituality into the workplace) can result in more engaged employees, and engaged employees are good employees,” she said. “The challenge is in how employers choose to handle it.”
(Candace Goforth wrote this story for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.)
KRE/PH END GOFORTH
Editors: To obtain an illustration to accompany this story, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.
See sidebar, RNS-WORK-TIPS, transmitted May 22, 2006.
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