As Easter approaches and spring time celebrations pick up speed, it’s worth noting that this time of year is not only significant in Christian religious traditions. The same can be said for any other time of the year, for that matter, and it’s important that your workplace cultural observances, schedules and paid time off policies are inclusive of religious diversity.
More than 16 million people in the United States identify with a religion that is not Christianity, leaving them in a position where they have to tap into PTO to observe the holy days that their faith holds dear.
This Meeting in a Box is designed to help you understand other religious traditions, shape a calendar and time off policies that are more inclusive and create a workplace environment where employees feel comfortable being themselves.
- DOWNLOAD Meeting in a Box: Respecting Different Faiths in the Workplace
The Holidays You May Not Know
While there are different sects of every religion and several less populated faiths, we will narrow this section down to four faiths that the majority of the population of people who identify with a religion will fall into.
This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but a view into the variety of holidays that one may need to consider to be truly inclusive of employees from other cultures and countries. Some of these holidays may require employees of non-Christian faiths to dig into their paid time off if the company does not allow them to observe their holidays as part of their benefits, having a negative impact on a culture of inclusion.
- DOWNLOAD The Holidays You May Not Know
Holiday Calendar
To provide you with the best tools and resources we can, we’ve created the following calendar to mark important dates across the major religious faiths to show when employees may have observances that could affect their ability or desire to work. Here are some of the key holidays for 2022 with letters indicating the faith each holiday belongs to.
- DOWNLOAD Calendar of Remaining Religious Holidays for 2022
Workplace Policies That Drive Inclusion
As you look through this Meeting in a Box, it might occur to you that it’s difficult to satisfy everyone and nearly impossible to develop PTO and work scheduling policies for specific personnel. However, there are workplace policies that can create the type of flexibility and understanding needed to be inclusive of all cultures. Here are five that have been proven to help make employees of different faiths feel seen and understood.
- DOWNLOAD 5 Workplace Policies That Drive Inclusion of Different Faiths
