Beyond December: Creating inclusive holiday policies for the workplace
✍ Scribed by Lynn Lieber
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2009
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 57 KB
- Volume
- 35
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0745-7790
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
As organizations enter a new year, many are relieved to be past the "holiday season" and the challenges it brings to the workplace. However, organizations that think this way may be unwittingly excluding many of their employees. They may also be putting themselves at risk for higher turnover, morale problems, and even lawsuits.
In today's global culture, forward-thinking organizations are increasingly recognizing the business value of a diverse workforce and going to great lengths to achieve a multicultural workplace. With the business benefits, diversity brings unique challenges. Particularly as religious and cultural differences fill the workplace, tricky issues can arise for employers and supervisors. Consequently, organizations must learn to recognize and respond appropriately to complicated issues related to holidays and religious observances year-round.
HOW DO HOLIDAYS AFFECT ORGANIZATIONS?
Organizations are affected year-round by holidays in many ways, from workplace celebrations to holiday-related requests for time off and special needs, including fasting, prayer, and the presence of religious items at work. Many organizations do not take into account how a workplace celebration surrounding one holiday may offend employees who celebrate another holiday-or do not celebrate at all. Some, in an attempt to avoid traditional religious holidays, may center a workplace celebration around a cultural holiday-without anticipating the negative connotations for certain employees. The way an organization approaches holidays and holiday-related needs can affect the morale of its employees. Organizations that put into place appropriate policies regarding
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