Let’s face it, religion is a hot button issue in today’s society – which stands to reason since our religious beliefs are deeply intertwined with our stances on many of the moral issues upon which we define ourselves. However, as we continue a diversity and inclusion program focused largely on ethnicity, with that comes people of different religious beliefs. Beliefs that require a high degree of acceptance for teams to flourish.
While completing our own research on religious diversity, we happened upon an article from Diversity Council Australia https://www.dca.org.au entitled “Practical Ways to Promote Religious Diversity in the Workplace https://www.dca.org.au/opinion-pieces/practical-ways-promote-religious-diversity-workplace .” We suggest you review this article. It’s a quick read. With that said, here are a few of our favorite take-aways:
- Create a quiet room for times of reflection or meditation.
- In addition to “floating holidays,” consider having “floating cultural holidays” where an employee can take culturally significant days off.
- Encourage work socialization that involves eating rather than just drinking alcohol.
- Add religious diversity as part of your educational series.
We continue to wish you success in your D&I journey.