Accommodating Religious Expression in the Workplace

Religious expression in the workplace has been gaining more prominence and attention with the increasing diversity of the population. Employers are legally required to reasonably accommodate the religious practices and beliefs of their employees. This article will examine the most common types of religious expression in the workplace and will discuss the extent of the legal obligation of an employer to accommodate those expressions.     

Cultural Discrimination: The Reasonable Accommodation of Religion in the Workplace

Reasonable accommodation of religious practices continues to be a problem in the workplace. Recent Supreme Court decisions have enabled employers to exclude employees from the decision-making process of what constitutes a reasonable accommodation of their religious beliefs through the de minimis standard. In this article it is argued that, in most cases, the reason employers have been allowed to discriminate against these employees is the contentious nature of minority religious beliefs with the mainstream religious culture. Because judges view discrimination based on religious beliefs as distinct from the other reasons for discriminatory practices, such as race, sex, or national origin, it appears unlikely that adherents to minority faiths will face any abatement of discrimination in the workplace.     

Workplace Religious Displays and Perceptions of Organization Attractiveness

Workplace religious expression has become an intensely debated topic across news outlets and social media. However research on what constitutes acceptable vs unacceptable workplace religious display is sparse. At a time when EEOC claims involving religion are on the rise there is a clear need for study in this area. In this study participants in two samples read 27 scenarios where an interviewer engaged in a Christian religious display during a job interview. We used Christian religious displays for their ease of recognition in an American sample. Participants rated each workplace religious display in terms of likelihood of occurrence and organization attractiveness. In both samples organization attractiveness ratings were more negative than expected in a predominantly Christian sample signifying that while individuals may value their ability to express their religion they may not appreciate such displays from those who represent an organization. Verbal and physical religious displays received more negative ratings compared to scenarios that spoke to shared experiences such as displaying pictures of one’s children in a religious ceremony. Application in organizations and HR implications are discussed.     

Same Direction,Different Paths: a Phenomenological Study of Employees who are Religious yet Open to Religious Pluralism

While there is a growing interest in workplace spirituality, much of that focus excludes religion even though the vast majority of people are affiliated with a religious tradition. Attempts to bring one’s “whole self” to work can be problematic for those who are religious because of concerns of offense or proselytizing. This phenomenological study explored the lived experience of a group of 15 professional employees who were personally religious while also remaining open to religious pluralism in the workplace. This group was largely Christian, and was chosen from participants in leadership seminars and graduate courses in the United States. Analysis revealed four different postures used by participants to express openness toward religious difference. These approaches are described in detail, and the implications of these finding for the advancement of pluralism in the workplace are considered.     

Religious identity in the workplace: A systematic review,research agenda,and practical implications

We conducted a systematic review of relevant literature to address how religious and occupational identities relate to each other in the workplace. We identified 53 relevant publications for analysis and synthesis. Studies addressed value differences associated with religion and occupation, identity tensions, unmet expectations, and the connection of religious identity to well-being and work outcomes. Key variables in the connection between religious and occupational identities included personal preferences, the fit between religious identity and job-related concerns, and the organization's policies, practices, and expectations. We highlight the personal and organizational consequences of being able to express religious identity at work and the conditions that promote high congruence between religious identity and its expression in the workplace. From these findings, we develop a research agenda and offer recommendations for management practice that focus on support for expression of religious identity at work while maintaining a broader climate of inclusion.     

Keeping the Faith but Losing in Court: Legal Implications of Proselytizing in the Workplace

Proselytizing at work occurs when an employee tries to convince coworkers to change their religions. This presents an interesting set of legal issues, because some employees feel that proselytizing is a requirement of their religion. Therefore, they could perceive a prohibition on proselytizing at work as a discriminatory act against members of their religion. On the other hand, other employees may be offended by attempts to change their religious practices. These employees could perceive workplace proselytizing as religious harassment. Therefore, American employers have to adopt religious harassment policies that are much more complex than their sexual harassment policies. In this paper, we outline the components of a legally compliant religious harassment policy which balances the competing rights of proselytizers and their intended targets.     

Coworker Perceptions of Outcome Fairness of Breastfeeding Accommodation in the Workplace

The effect of workplace accommodation on perceptions of fairness was investigated. Vignettes describing an organization that did or did not accommodate the needs of a breastfeeding employee were used to test the hypotheses. Accommodation had a positive effect on perceptions of fairness. This effect was stronger for participants with children. Perceived personal cost of the accommodation had a negative effect on fairness. Evidence was also obtained indicating that need-based concerns affect perceptions of fairness. For example, participants who believed that breastfeeding is a private issue that does not belong in the workplace reported the accommodation as less fair.     

No,I Do Belong: How Asian American and Asian Canadian Professionals Defy and Counter Workplace Racial Violence during COVID-19

We explore the different types of racial violence encountered by Asian American and Asian Canadians (whom we refer to as Asians) in the workplace during COVID-19 and how they respond. Using a grounded theory approach, we found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Asians experienced different types of workplace racial violence, most of which manifested as microaggressions, including a revival of the yellow peril trope, physical manifestations of bordering behaviour, and identity denial. In some cases, manifestations of physical violence also emerged. The data revealed that Asians demonstrated various types of agentic responses to challenge and counter unwanted and incorrect identities conveyed by the racial microaggressions. We enhance theory by shedding light on the experiences of Asians whose voice has largely been ignored in the organizational literature. Our study draws together and contributes to the theory on racial violence and racialized identity by highlighting the different types of racial violence faced by Asians and exploring the challenges they encounter in the face of racial microaggressions. Finally, we discuss practical implications of our study results and offer insight into how organizations can help support their Asian employees.     

Workplace mediation and the empowerment of disputants: rhetoric or reality?

There has been a growing interest in the field of employee relations in the use of mediation in seeking to resolve disputes in the workplace. Mediation is a model of dispute resolution, it is argued, that lends itself particularly well to situations where the parties have become entrenched in their positions. The study's timeliness is evident in the Government's recent strategic focus on workplace conflict, specifically its current initiative to pilot mediation networks within the small and medium enterprises sector. The research was carried out over a nine‐month period ending in March 2012. It is based on the views and experiences of 60 respondents from over 40 cross‐sectoral organisations in the North of England. Findings revealed that the main reasons for the disputes referred for mediation were relationship problems, poor communication and poorly perceived management style and practice. Significantly, differences in sector or occupation could also impact on whether cases went to mediation.     

Post-9/11 Backlash in the Workplace: Employer Liability for Discrimination against Arab- and Muslim- Americans Based on Religion or National Origin

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, discrimination and violence directed toward American immigrants in general, and Arab- and Muslim-Americans in particular, increased markedly. Yet, despite a November, 2001 joint initiative undertaken by the EEOC, the Justice Department, and the Labor Department to increase sensitivity to and combat instances of potential discrimination or harassment against individuals who are—or are perceived to be—Muslim, Arab, Afghani, Middle Eastern, or South Asian, EEOC charge statistics for workplace discrimination claims involving religion, ethnicity, national origin, and citizenship indicate that the reported incidence of such conduct has continued to increase. This paper examines recent federal court cases that involve employment discrimination claims by Arab- and Muslim-Americans at both the trial court and appellate court levels to identify problematic fact patterns that may give rise to employer liability and to better understand judicial treatment of the legal issues when such cases are taken up on appeal. Management guidance for reducing potential liability when such situations arise in the workplace is developed based on recent findings in the case law. Analogous international implications are also discussed.     

Legal requirements and employer responses to accommodating employees with disabilities

This article focuses upon the legal requirements for accommodating individuals with disabilities in the workplace and the perceptions of employers regarding barriers to accommodation. After a brief analysis of how federal courts have interpreted the ADA's accommodation requirements, the literature on accommodation is reviewed and a theoretical framework for examining employers' attitudes toward accommodation is proposed. The article then tests the framework using the results of a study of 500 New Jersey employers which elicited their experiences with and attitudes toward the accommodation of disabled workers. Suggestions for further research are provided.     

Workplace Bullying: A Review of Litigated Cases

Using policy-capturing methodology, this study examined the nature of workplace bullying in a random sample of 45 litigated cases in the United States. Among the findings were that most of the cases were in the District Court. Nearly one-fifth of the cases involved physical violence, the majority of the cases were in the public sector, and the supervisor was the perpetrator in many of the cases. The presence of a policy banning workplace bullying was present in slightly more than one-third of the cases. A striking finding was that 73.3% of the cases were found in favor of the employer as the defendant. These findings support the fact that even though there are no specific workplace bullying laws in the U.S., victims of workplace bullying can be legally protected. Implications for managerial practice and future research are suggested.     

Religious heterogeneity and fiscal policy: Evidence from German reunification

Theoretical work based on social identity theory predicts that population diversity undermines redistributive public policies. This article tests this proposition exploiting an exogenous shock in diversity due to Germany’s reunification. In contrast to previous work on ethno-linguistic or racial heterogeneity, we specifically analyze religious diversity, which is an increasingly relevant social cleavage in many countries. Our main results corroborate that increasing religious diversity leads to a change in fiscal policies in Bavarian municipalities over the 1983–2005 period. Moreover, we find some evidence of declining individual-level local identification over the post-reunification period, which suggests that the observed fiscal effects are indeed linked to the theoretical mechanism of individuals’ social identification. Finally, we highlight an important mediating role for the democratic process, since the observed fiscal effects strengthen considerably following Bavarian municipalities’ first local elections after the reunification migration wave (March 1996) and a legal change allowing local referenda on public policies (October 1995).     

Workplace Privacy: Employee Relations and Legal Implications of Monitoring Employee E-mail Use

The tradeoff between employees’ workplace privacy and employers’ need to protect company assets, safeguard proprietary information, and avoid costly litigation has been receiving increased attention (Lee and Kleiner 2003; Mello 2003; National Workplace Institute 2004). This tradeoff often favors employers, as the legal system provides much leeway for employers to monitor employees’ electronic communications in the workplace. However, employers need to consider the effect such monitoring has on their employees since employee and employer attitudes about monitoring often diverge. In this article, we explore workplace email monitoring from both employee relations and legal perspectives and discuss implications for employee morale. An earlier version of this research was presented at the 2005 Association on Employment Practices and Principles Conference, Baltimore, MD.     

Leadership behaviors and human agency in the valley of despair: A meta-framework for organizational change implementation

For organizational leaders, implementing change in a workplace means influencing employees to do something new or behave differently. For employees, implementing a change at work requires detaching from familiar routines and social systems, learning and practicing the change, and imagining a future in which the change is valued by the organization. As they apply their agency to implement change, employees may experience loss, uncertainty, and frustration that manifests as despair, which can jeopardize the change process and its outcomes. We assemble a meta-theoretical framework using human agency theory, the Valley of Despair model of organizational change, and Full-Range Leadership Theory to explore ways that leaders' behaviors relate to employees' agentic orientations and behaviors during the implementation phase of the organizational change process. Taking both organizational change leaders' and employees' perspectives into account, the theory derived from our meta-framework argues that leaders' behaviors can shape employees' agency and their behaviors during the implementation stage of change in two important ways: 1) certain leader behaviors are likely to prime agentic orientations that facilitate changing, and 2) certain leader behaviors may help to mitigate employees' despair, enabling the firm to derive value from employees' change implementation behaviors.     

Workplace bullying and absenteeism: The mediating roles of poor health and work engagement

Workplace bullying is a major problem that affects the well‐being and productivity of employees. Some previous studies have found that workplace bullying is associated with absenteeism, which is a major contributor to lost workplace productivity. However, a comprehensive understanding of how different workplace bullying experiences are associated with absenteeism is currently lacking. In particular no previous studies have examined potential mediators of these relationships. The present article aimed to provide new insights into the relationship between workplace bullying and absenteeism. In a 12‐month prospective study of 500 Australian employees, we identified 5 distinct subtypes of workplace bullying experiences using a person‐centred approach. These bullying subtypes were found to be associated with absenteeism via health impairment and lower work engagement. The findings can be used to inform HR strategies to prevent and manage workplace bullying.     

Weight-Based Discrimination in the Workplace: Is Legal Protection Necessary?

Legal protection against weight-based discrimination in the workplace exists in the U.S. However, it is quite limited and its application across jurisdictions is inconsistent. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether such protection is needed—in other words, whether significant weight-based discrimination exists in the workplace, and, if it does, to what extent the legal system should intervene to prevent such discrimination.     

‘Totally Un‐Australian!’: Discursive and Institutional Interplay in the Melbourne Port Dispute of 1997–98*

ABSTRACT We examine how discourses are mobilized and deployed by actors in an inter‐organizational domain during a critical industrial relations event. We identify the ways that business interests and union interests in the Melbourne Port industrial dispute of 1997–98 related to each other. We weave concepts from domain theory and organizational discourse theory in deriving the concept of the discursively ordered domain. This suggests that the main processes that occur in a domain are actors’‘mapping’ texts onto discourses and discourses onto interpretive schemes which make certain courses of action rational and sensible. Methodologically, we join an institutional‐historical analysis and a text‐based discourse analysis to gain a well‐rounded understanding of the situation. We extract several discursive frameworks which the major actors mobilized to make sense of the situation, and draw linkages to the actions that those positions made possible. The main findings are that actors in the two networks performed complex mapping in different ways, the material and symbolic outcomes of the dispute are products of those mapping processes, and the material and discursive aspects of the domain interweave. We discuss the value of the concept of discursively ordered domain for mutually enriching domain theory and discourse analysis and for understanding critical events such as major industrial disputes in new ways.     

Workplace bullying and employee outcomes: a moderated mediated model

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between workplace bullying and employee outcomes in a healthcare setting. Drawing on HR process theory, we investigate the mediating role of the perceived effectiveness of implementation of anti-bullying practices on employee outcomes and whether targeted line manager training was a moderator of that relationship. Our multi-level analysis (utilising responses from 1507 employees within 47 hospitals with matched HR Director interviews), finds that the relationship between workplace bullying and employee outcomes is partially mediated by employees’ perceived effective implementation of intended anti-bully practices. The mediated relationship is moderated by targeted line manager training in anti-bullying practices. The mediated moderation model illustrates that it is effective implementation of anti-bullying practices enhanced by targeted training that is required to reduce bullying probabilities and their associated negative employee outcomes. The paper contributes to resource based view of the firm, HR process and human capital theories. The implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Workplace Practices of Japanese and Australian Multinational Corporations Operating in Singapore,Malaysia and Indonesia

This article addresses occupational health and safety and equal employment opportunity in Australian and Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. the author is concerned with how practices in these MNCs are affected by local conditions in the countries and examines the practices which occur, why different practices occur between countries and how practices interact with local political, cultural and social constraints. the article examines how MNCs adjust to prevailing workplace practices in Southeast Asia. It concludes that MNCs use some workplace practices employed in Australia as well as adapting their workplace practices to those which they either perceive to exist on a cultural and social level or are regulated by legislation in the host country.