During difficult times, many people turn to faith as an anchor. The last few years have been unlike anything we could have imagined.

With global lockdowns, working from home, a virus that wouldn’t go away, conflict, hatred, and war, it’s easy to see why so many people find solace in their faith.

Places of worship were forced to close as a result of these events, which seemed to be a symbolic reflection of the silence we experienced and the darkness people felt, or are still feeling.

Many people require light at this time. It is not surprising that many people have turned to faith for comfort during these trying times.

For some, it may be a new journey, while for others, it may be a return to a previous one. Because faith is such an important part of so many people’s lives in the workplace, we must not only understand it but embrace it.

Understand your colleague’s faith to enable inclusion

Faith and belief is a personal matter for many individuals. We may know of or have seen members of staff observing their faith in the workplace, but do we really know much about their beliefs?

Other than our assumptions or from hearing their needs around adjustments, do we truly understand the concepts that underpin one of the cornerstones of our colleague’s life?

To engage with our inclusion and diversity strategies and create inclusion, we need to understand the communities within our organisation.

How can understanding people’s faith be helpful?

Cultural competency and interfaith initiatives are vital in creating empowerment for employees, as faith and belief intersect with many of the protected characteristics.

Your understanding of faith is critical to the success of some of your employees.

If employees feel confident to bring that part of themselves to work – that they can confidently undertake the practices that are important to their faith and share as much as they wish about it, without fear of discrimination – you will be enabling them to bring their whole self to work and you will likely get the best from them in return.

There are many benefits of religious diversity in the workplace, for both individuals and the organisation. When employees can thrive, organisations can thrive.

Faith in changing work environments

Over the last couple of years, many have re-kindled their faith as they have been working from home, or have found faith to be an anchor.

As the workplace changes again, whether you are moving into hybrid patterns, returning to the office or continuing to work from home, employers need to think more about inclusion through the lens of faith.

How to celebrate faith within the workplace

Employees perform better where they can be themselves. Think about how your workplace can celebrate and empower faith, not just tolerate or accept it.

You can start to do this by:

• Actively having conversations with your staff to understand what they need and create actions that will make them happen.
• Link in with your interfaith networks
• Review your Equality Impact Assessments
• Think about how the transition from being devout whilst working from home is translated into the workplace.
• Update your documentation, language and spaces to be more inclusive of those from various religious backgrounds

Developing new ways to celebrate the diversity of faiths in your organisation will help to shape your inclusive culture. If you want to understand your employers and reflect your diversity – you need to know your employees.

Not just their reasonable adjustments, but their values and morals too. This will enable you to build a more impactful and inclusive team.

How Inclusive Employers can help you focus on faith

We can support you to strengthen your understanding and action on faith inclusion with our religion and belief training.

We also have a range of resources on this topic which Members can access for free. Non-members, please get in touch here if you would like to learn more on how we can help you.

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Immigration to the UK has meant that there has been a diversification and an increase in people who choose to identify with a religion.

The 2011 census indicated an increase in those following non-Christian beliefs from 5.8% to 8.4% of the population. This is likely to be reflected in many workplaces.

When the data from the 2021 census is released, it is likely to show that this trend has increased. Interestingly, a citizenship survey conducted in 2010 indicated that 80% of self-declared Muslims are likely to actively practice their religion, compared to 32% of self-declared Christians.

The benefits of religious diversity in the workplace

With these influencing factors in mind, it is important to understand how freedom of religion at work can make your workplace more inclusive. Religious diversity will enable you to be confident to attract and retain a workforce that reflects the society you operate in. It will give you the opportunity to address religious bias in the workplace and will bring diversity of thought, alongside many other benefits that are explored in more detail below.

Internationalisation of operations

Internationalisation means that organisations need to be aware of the religious customs and practices in each country or community that they operate in. It’s important to understand these customs and practices in context of your organisation’s values and behaviours. A mismatch can lead to poor employee retention, engagement and dissatisfied customers.

Varied organisational benefits

There is wide acceptance of the organisational and social benefits of workforce diversity. As religious workplace diversity grows, consideration of religious inclusion will be critical to achieve and retain its benefits. 

Our anecdotal research suggests that colleagues with a religious conviction bring strong ethical values and different perspectives to the work they do, which is highly advantageous for many sectors.

In addition, employees who connect with the deeper purpose of their work through their beliefs are thought to be more resilient, responsive and passionate about their work. 

High-quality service delivery

The richness and diversity of thought that religious inclusion brings to the workplace will benefit all sectors. 

For sectors that have a diverse client or customer base this insight and sensitivity towards religious beliefs and practices will be especially valuable.

Examples include those working in, or as: healthcare, social workers, counsellors, psychologists, lawyers, judges and teachers. 

Creates an open culture

Employees today have different expectations of the workplace than their predecessors. 

In many societies people have the freedom to choose their value systems and beliefs. When people are more open like this they can be less willing to disconnect from their personal identities at work.

They expect to be able to express their views freely at work and be respected regardless.

People with strong beliefs may be more likely to seek alignment of their values in their work and in the organisations they work for.

Organisations that enable employee authenticity, like sharing your faith at work, are more likely to reap the associated benefits.

Supports employee well-being

Workplace well-being programmes are generally accepted as being important for organisational outcomes. 

Traditionally programmes focused on health and safety, stress and work-life balance, but more recently have extended to cover ‘spiritual needs’.

This recognises that religion can provide an additional source of well-being and comfort, particularly for those working in emotionally charged environments.  As a result, more organisations are now providing ‘quiet rooms’ for contemplation or prayer.

Creating a faith inclusive workplace with Inclusive Employers

We can see that religious diversity has many benefits to creating an engaged, productive and inspired workforce. To find out more about how to make faith inclusion an everyday reality in your organisation download our Religion and Belief in the Workplace package. It contains useful insight of the ethics and practices of the UK’s major religions and how organisations can accommodate them. Members, please download the package for free here. Non-members, do get in touch here to obtain your copy.

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Inter Faith Week is a time in mid to late November each year in the UK, when the spotlight falls on faith communities and inter faith activity, including engagement between those of religious and non-religious beliefs. This year Inter Faith Week takes place between 14^th – 21^st November 2021.

How we get on as people of different faiths and beliefs is increasingly important and this special week brings a focus to that. It is a time for:

• strengthening good inter faith relations at all levels

• increasing awareness of the different and distinct faith communities in the UK. Particularly celebrating and building on the contribution which their members make to their neighbourhoods and to wider society

• increasing understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs

The Week was launched with those aims in 2009 by the Inter Faith Network for the UK. Inter Faith Week provides workplaces with a unique opportunity to engage with equality and diversity and to encourage religious literacy and positive relations in the workplace.

“Inter Faith Week is a time when the spotlight is on the tremendous contribution that faith communities make to society and on work for inter faith understanding and cooperation in the UK. Work to build connections between people of different faiths and beliefs is enormously important, and at this time of COVID-19 finding new ways to make connections is vital.”

We are delighted that hundreds of organisations will again be taking part: from faith communities and inter faith initiatives to schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, hospices, national and local government, housing organisations, workplaces, the police and other emergency services, chaplaincies, museums and libraries, and many others.”

The Rt Revd Jonathan Clark and Narendra Waghela, Co-Chairs, the Inter Faith Network for the UK

How can organisations get involved with Inter Faith Week?

As well as employees, most organisations have customers and clients of many faiths and beliefs and Inter Faith Week is an excellent time to highlight your appreciation of diversity.

Here are the Inter Faith Network’s top tips for getting involved in Inter Faith Week:

• Hold a training day on religion and belief in the workplace.

• Invite members of local faith communities to provide an opportunity for your staff to ask questions, and to gain insight into the different religions, customs and cultures of their communities.

• Launch, or start planning for, a staff inter faith network.

• Run a webinar or chat with your offices around the country on religion and belief issues and the importance of good relations.

• Hold a ‘Managing religion or belief requests in the workplace’ session for line managers looking at how employers respond to a religion or belief request from an employee. For example a request for time off work for a religious festival or holiday.

• Organise a food event where members of your staff can experience dishes from different faith groups and learn about their traditions.

• Find out about your local inter faith group and offer sponsorship or in-kind support to their Inter Faith Week event or another project. For example, advice, employee time, advertising, use of IT or printing facilities, or discounts on products and services.

• Hold a discussion about the ways in which religious literacy and dialogue might contribute to and strengthen the realisation of your corporate values.

• Make part of your retail premises available for a faith and belief exhibition.

For more information about Inter Faith Week, visit www.interfaithweek.org

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