Religion in the workplace is difficult – but employers and employees lose when it becomes a total taboo

(The Conversation) — Because we spend so much of our lives at work, it’s only natural that conversations with colleagues extend beyond the work at hand. People share interests and hobbies, family problems, health concerns, and hopes or goals, from the silly to the serious.

However, the subject of religion can cause fear. Many people may echo what the Muslim CEO of a tech company told us: “If you want to express faith, do it! Just do it on your own time.” Uncertainty about the role of religion in the workplace often leads to silence. Even among researchers who study workplaces, Religion is often ignored.

Yet for many people, faith is a core component of their identity – part of the ‘whole self‘ those are employees increasingly encouraged bring to work. It is an important aspect of diversity, but one that managers often ignore. And for many Americans, faith is one of the reasons they show up to work every day: 1 in 5 view their work as a spiritual calling.

We are social scientists who has spent the past five years conducting research on the role of faith at work. Our findings – from more than 15,000 surveys of a nationally representative population, and nearly 300 in-depth interviews with some of these employees – confirm that there are many challenges when religion enters the workplace. However, the costs of ignoring or suppressing the workers’ faith often outweigh these risks and challenges.

Conflicts and discrimination

The most common concern we heard about bringing up religion in the workplace is that it will lead to conflict – including conflict from people trying to change each other’s beliefs. A Catholic woman who works in elderly care told us: ‘I think we shouldn’t talk about religion at work because that’s when the problems arise. I’m going to defend what I think, and they’re going to defend what they think, their way of being, their religion.”

Several other people we interviewed also expressed concern about some forms of religious expression can make people uncomfortableor even turn into intimidation. One non-religious security guard noted that some of his Christian colleagues will say at Christmas and Easter, “’God bless,’ ‘let’s pray,’ and things like that. It becomes very uncomfortable for me, uncomfortable.”

It may seem like the easiest way to avoid these problems is to ask employees to bottle up their faith as they start the workday. Some employees we interviewed agreed with this sentiment. As one Muslim federal employee told us, “If I wear my religion like a badge on my shoulder, it will rub someone the wrong way. So why would you do that?”

Furthermore, silence around religion may seem like a neutral request. If no one expresses their faith, then neither will anyone can be discriminated againstno one can be offended, and no one is seen as receiving special treatment because of his or her religious beliefs.

Not so neutral

However, there are a few problems with this logic.

First, employers are legally obliged to provide reasonable accommodations related to the workers’ religion. Under most circumstances, this includes such things as providing time off for religious observances. It usually also includes adapting clothing and grooming practices being tied to one’s religion, such as wearing Sikh turbans or Christian crosses.

Furthermore, vague expectations about not recognizing faith at work are not necessarily so neutral and often tend to be disproportionate harm minority groups.

In our survey, we asked individuals whether they “conceal their religious beliefs at work out of fear of others’ perceptions.” Nineteen percent of Jewish workers, 51% of Hindus, 29% of Muslims and 28% of Buddhists said so. In contrast, only 9% of evangelical Protestants, 15% of non-evangelical Protestants, and 13% of Catholics reported that they hiding their faith at work.

A Jewish project manager at an engineering firm told how she tried to hide her faith from others: “The times I had to pray, I even walked outside to a closed corner in the hallway.”

In the same survey, we asked individuals if they have been “treated unfairly” at work because of their “religion or non-religion.” Overall, 31% of American adults agreed, and such experiences are true most common among Muslim and Jewish employees.

One Muslim woman we interviewed described how her colleagues made her life extremely difficult by calling her derisive names, and said she received little support from her employer. During one meeting, her boss “stood up and talked a lot about me as a Muslim, and it was all negative.”

Contentment and belonging

Whether their coworkers or managers like it, many American adults see it their work and faith are intertwined.

For example, one of our surveys asked employees if they “turn to faith for support during stressful times in their work lives.” Nearly half agreed.

For many Americans, faith is also part of why they do their job in the first place. According to another study of ours 20% of American adults “see their work as a spiritual calling.” Among certain groups, such as evangelical Protestants and Muslims, this percentage is higher: 33% and 30% respectively. Viewing work in spiritual terms is also more likely among women (24%), and among black workers (31%).

And it’s not just workers in explicitly religious jobs who view their work this way. A marine biologist explained to us, “I believe all truth comes from God and as a scientist I seek to understand and reveal the truth about how the world works.”

Importantly, our research shows that individuals who feel a sense of spiritual connection to their work report greater job satisfaction, find more meaning in their work and better cope with negative experiences they encounter in the workplace.

Social science research has shown that people well-being, social interactions and performance are harmed when they feel the need to suppress an important part of themselves within a group or organization. In other words, everyone suffers when individuals are not allowed to bring their whole selves to work.

Welcome to work

Despite such evidence, our research shows that many organizations are not taking even basic steps to accommodate individuals’ religious lives.

In one surveywe asked employees whether their ‘workplace provides accommodation that allows people to practice their religion’. Nearly a fifth of employees disagreed. This percentage was highest among Muslim workers: 54%.

Employees appreciate it as their employers take active steps to let employees know that religious accommodations are available and that religious expressions in general are not prohibited. Having conversations in advance about what is or is not appropriate – not only legally but also socially – can go a long way in setting boundaries.

For example, a Muslim optometry technician we interviewed shared how grateful she was when her boss told her, “If you ever do prayers or anything, feel free to go into that room – it can be your space, you can leave your mat in it. there.”

Ideally, however, organizations would take active steps to establish and communicate policies to all employees, rather than reacting to situations as they arise.

While we recognize the challenges of addressing individuals’ beliefs in the workplace, proactively engaging in conversations about the appropriate role of religion in the workplace is better for employees and workplaces.

Denise Daniels receives funding from the Lilly Endowment.

Elaine Howard Ecklund receives funding from the Templeton Religion Trust and the Lilly Endowment.

(Christopher P. Scheitle, Associate Professor of Sociology, West Virginia University. Denise Daniels, Chair of Entrepreneurship, Wheaton College (Illinois). Elaine Howard Ecklund, Professor of Sociology, Rice University. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of the Religion News Service.)