As many of us return to work following the celebration of holidays which are at least partly religious in origin, new research by business psychology consultant, Pearn Kandola, shows discrimination against religious employees is still common in many workplaces. Surveying the experience of 6,315 workers in the UK and US, this research considered a variety of religious backgrounds, including Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh employees. In doing so, it aimed to raise awareness of the experiences of, and understand the obstacles faced by, employees expressing their religious identity at work.
The report notes some shocking statistics, with 47% of respondents saying they do not feel comfortable discussing at work the religious festivals they celebrate, 32% saying they have had negative experiences when expressing their religious identity at work and 38% saying they feel organisations could do more to be inclusive of people of different faiths. Interestingly, while statistics for these first two points were largely similar across the US and UK, when asked what organisations are doing well to support religious expression, US respondents were more likely to refer to inclusive policies whereas those from the UK more commonly reported organisations making accommodations for religious observance.
The report also considered those who wear religious dress or symbols. When asked about this, 64% of the 3,400 respondents who do, said they were not comfortable wearing these in the workplace, with only 23% of the total number of respondents saying they are prepared to wear religious dress or symbols at work.
There was significant focus on annual leave requests for religious holidays or festivals being rejected in disproportionate numbers for certain religious groups. While only 2% of Christians felt that such requests for time off were rejected without good business reasons, the counter view was held by 31% of Muslims, 25% of Sikhs, 23% of Hindus, 20% of Jews and 14% of Buddhists. Across all the religious groups surveyed however, US employees were more likely to feel that both their organisation and line manager were happy for them to take annual leave to celebrate religious festivals.
Additionally, a nationally representative sample of 2,000 British people were polled to understand wider perceptions about religion, society and work. Of these, 19% of respondents admitted to witnessing someone being judged because of their religious beliefs, with the most common type of discrimination being jokes about religious colleagues. Other examples included people being isolated or excluded from activities, being told not to wear religious clothing or asked to remove religious symbols, or being mocked for eating certain foods.
In looking at causes of this discriminatory treatment, the report found that religion is often overlooked in diversity and inclusion strategies, leading to a lack of understanding of how to support religious employees.
As such, the report has proposed four recommendations to overcome barriers to religious expression at work:
- review existing policies and procedures;
- take an individualistic approach;
- develop skills and knowledge; and
- develop an inclusive culture.
Four laudable goals to herald in a happier and more inclusive new year for all employees and workers.
