{"id":3227,"date":"2021-03-18T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/?p=3227"},"modified":"2023-03-14T15:59:07","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T13:59:07","slug":"religious-diversity-in-the-workplace-toward-exemplary-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/escp.eu\/thechoice\/tomorrow-choices\/religious-diversity-in-the-workplace-toward-exemplary-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Religious diversity in the workplace: toward an exemplary management system?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“A new study<\/a> reveals that (…) religious inclusion has overwhelmingly been left out of corporate diversity initiatives<\/mark>. This is despite research<\/a> showing the world is becoming more religiously diverse and faith continuing to be a core identity for the vast majority of workers worldwide<\/strong>,\u201d explains Religious Freedom & Business Foundation President Brian J. Grim<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees may choose to express their religiosity in varying degrees of demonstrations and demands. Each employee thus negotiates with his or her different identities<\/a>. One option is to decide to reveal, or not, his or her beliefs<\/a> with the risk of being stigmatized. Another option is to assert one\u2019s atheism. At the other end of the continuum, another posture could be to adopt radicalized behaviours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Religious issues in the workplace have been relegated to a submerged dimension of the iceberg of diversities<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, companies are potentially confronted with various religious facts<\/mark>, ranging from personal demands (absences, prayer time, etc.) to transgressive ones (refusal to shake hands, to receive orders, etc.). These facts have long been hidden<\/strong>. They were considered a \u201dtaboo subject\u201d<\/a>, particularly in countries attached to secularism like France, where corporate management also tends not to interfere with the affairs of the church(es). Thus, religious issues in the workplace have been relegated to a submerged dimension of the iceberg of diversities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, companies have been forced to act<\/mark>. The latest Barom\u00e8tre du Fait Religieux en Entreprise<\/a> study (2019) underlined that more than 70% of the responding companies had regularly or occasionally encountered religious situations to manage during the year, compared to 44% in 2014. More than half of these various manifestations of employees\u2019 religiosity required managerial interventions in 2019 (a quarter in 2014).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This subject is thus at the core of “sensitive” Human Resources Management fields<\/a><\/mark>, where actions and analysis are delicate. But how have companies dealt with these managerial challenges?<\/strong> What have they done in terms of processes and practices?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A significant evolution of management practices in French companies<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In our last academic publication<\/a>, we analysed the data we collected as researchers as well as exchange facilitators in a professional think-tank gathering 26 of the biggest French companies. During 12 meetings over a period of three years, we shared experiences, benchmark actions and experimented new tools. Our data analysis highlights that these companies have all followed a similar process:<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n