The latest barometer of religion in the workplace, published on July 8 by the Montaigne Institute, shows this clearly: the presence of religion at work has become commonplace. Nearly 80% of respondents to this survey identify religious facts in their professional environment.
These facts are multifaceted: wearing signs, requests for schedule adjustments, refusal to carry out tasks or to work with people, women in particular, prayers, proselytism but also stigmatization or discrimination of practitioners, etc.
An identity assumed and claimed
Most situations have little impact on work and professional relationships even if the proportion of situations resulting in conflicts and dysfunction continues to increase. Islam is the most present religion and religious facts are increasingly linked to female practitioners… even if the dysfunctional facts (refusal to carry out tasks or to work with certain people, proselytism, prayers during working hours, etc.) are still predominantly male.
The latest edition of the barometer reveals that the postures of practicing employees are increasingly affirmative of an assumed and claimed religious identity. This presence of religion at work can be questioned from the angle of inclusion. To what extent and in what way can the company be inclusive and what place can it make for people and their singularities, their identities or even their convictions?
To answer this question, it is first necessary to define the purpose of inclusion. In the case of religion, it is up to the company to define what it wishes to include: religion (its dogmas, rules, doctrines, rites, etc.) or the religious practice of its employees? This is not the same as setting up a prayer room or responding to individual requests from employees to pray during their breaks. In the first case, this amounts to institutionalizing the presence of religion in the company; in the second case, it involves considering the personal and specific needs and wishes of employees.
Setting the limits of tolerance
Once the framework of the company policy is established, it is necessary to define the limits of inclusion and to clearly state which facts and behaviors are admissible and which are not. Not all acts and behaviors are tolerable and some are clearly transgressive and punishable. This is the case, for example, of an employee who refuses to work with women or another who systematically stigmatizes a colleague because of his religious beliefs.
Once its policy on religious matters at work has been stated, the company must make the effort to translate it into methods and tools for handling situations. It must translate its political rule into operational rules which are imposed on employees, practitioners and others alike, and set the limits of tolerance and inclusion. It is important to underline here the responsibility of practicing employees in the dynamic of inclusion.
Being included also means including yourself by respecting common rules and agreeing to see your religious practice constrained and restricted. Having to renounce, in circumstances which require it, to wear a religious symbol or to practice a rite does not mean being stigmatized or discriminated against. At work, religious practice should not take precedence over professional practice and the proper performance of the activity.
Good completion of work
Finally, the company and its management must, within the framework thus defined, truly know how to include practicing people. This involves protecting them from stigmatizing and discriminating acts and behaviors, which are on the rise and which concern all practitioners regardless of their religious affiliation. This also involves training local management to handle requests without judgment and a priori and by applying three fundamental principles: primacy of work, justice and equity. In other words, by making decisions focused on the proper completion of work and based on rules that apply in the same way to everyone.
The question of the place of religious facts at work is a sensitive subject which refers to the question of the inclusion of employees as people in work organizations. Inclusion is neither a dogma nor an absolute right. It has limits and results in both rights and duties. For practicing employees, it is in particular the right to be considered with respect and to be protected from the risks of stigmatization and discrimination, but it is also the duty to intelligently articulate professional and religious practices without calling into question the proper performance of the work or professional relations with other employees.
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