In a fast pace environment, how can you ask for a place to pray?

Amatallah,

The discrimination laws cover employers with 15 or more individuals. I don't know a whole lot about religious discrimination, but I think you are still expected to meet your production standards - that is, get your job done, meet your quotas, etc.

Discrimination is rampant, be it religious, disability, or age. I would encourage you to not disclose your needs until after you have an actual job offer, if at all possible. When they ask you a touchy question, try re-framing it in your mind before answering. For example, "are you going to be able to work the various hours that we work?", in your mind, re-state the question as "Will you be able, with or without accommodations, to work the hours that we work?"

After a job offer, talk to HR, and explain what you need.

Now, realistically speaking, I would try to be considerate of employers in asking for accommodations. For example, if you are the Office Manager, and no one else works in the office, you will need someone else who is good enough to cover for you while you take prayer breaks. However, if you are one of 60 people in a call center, it simply means that your calls will get distributed over a lot of other people. Although they are not supposed to, co-workers may take exception to "picking up the slack" while you are not working. You will need to have a plan of action, coordinated with your HR and your supervisor, for those incidents, prior to them occurring.

The Federal EEOC handles complaints concerning religious discrimination. They have a lot of information on their website. If you feel discriminated against, be it in the hiring stage or later, you have the right to file a complaint. I hope that is something you never have to do!

Kim

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I hope to be able to answer this question to your satisfaction and provide some explanations about this matter with regards to the law, labor relations and civil rights.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Hang in there, it’s a long answer. I wanted to give you a full spectrum of criteria to consider and how to ask for what you want or need.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Religion is a very personal choice, and a chosen spiritual path or religion is an individual right, because it has to do with conscience, and deeply held individual beliefs. Some say faith is ordained by higher order that cannot be questioned, others believe that it can be self-guided and that individual choices can be made.That decision is also made only and solely by the person.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">As one becomes older, the path is sought by knowing one-self and what principles he or she is willing to uphold, honor and follow. When we are very young, we simply follow the path that we were taught. As we grow and our understanding of life develops, many start evaluating and internally questioning their belief and affirm it, decide to follow certain principles or confirming or modifying their religious beliefs. This happens at or around the age of 30 to 40.</span>

How does religion fit into the workplace?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">This depends of a few different factors. One, is the company itself and its values, and the other is the employee and what he or she decides to adhere to and hold in high regard in terms of work conditions. The law has some say as well, but mostly it is the company and company values and culture that must support terms for employment and work-conditions and the employees willingness to observe these or insist on their rights as citizens being supported in the work-place as well.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Religion and the right to exercise it is a personal right for all civilians. One does so at any time of day and whenever he or she wishes. He or she is free to exercise this right as he finds appropriate and can practice it at any time. This freedom of religion is protected under constitutional rights for all citizens of the United States. This is the also the law.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Religion and the ability to practice it during work hours is a different matter. </span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Work hours are not your own free and private time to engage in whatever activities you choose, but is time you are paid for in exchange for your skill or labor owed to the company. For your skill and labor you obtain a check at the end of the pay-cycle.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">During the time that you are paid by the company, it is not your free time and the company can decide and make rules of what you can or cannot do. In this case prayers are considered a private activity and not a work-related activity.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">For example, the company can state that employees, cannot sleep during work-time, neither can they engage in arguments and physical fights. They are not supposed to show up late or decide when to come to work. Employees when at work have to focus on work and not on ‘other’ activities. </span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">For </span>some<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> companies, religion is something to be practiced in private time, not company time. For other companies, it is perfectly O.K. for employees to engage in religious practices, yet would have some additional definitions of what is or is not permitted. I have seen some examples myself, at hospitals and in airports where there is designated places and rooms for prayer, meditation or inner contemplation. </span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Religion focussed on the soul and the character of the individual, and thus he alone has the full right to decide on these matters and how much time and when he or she would practice his or her religion. </span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Business is focussed on productivity, and on reaching company objectives in a time frame decided by the company. Here time and the results obtained in this time, are of essence. Because the time is here paid and not free, employees have some say in this but the company makes the final decision. </span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The company’s focus is obtaining its business goals: financial, sales, marketing and operational objectives and focuses less on the spiritual needs of employees, and more on their productivity and his or her direct contribution in attaining these goals.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Usually decisions, and agreements, about work conditions and terms for employment are made in advance by both the employee and company, and before work ever starts. A  contract is then signed by the employee, agreeing to the work conditions and the terms for employment. The applicant may address these needs and concerns before accepting employment at any work-place.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">From a business standpoint, we make great efforts to select employees who will be productive while considering their personal life. Their personal life involves: family, free-time and personal pursuits, medical protection and coverage when needed, and religion, sports and politics. And some people are very passionate about all these issues, because they are personal and individual. There is no right or wrong, only what the individual chooses that may be seen as right or wrong. In these areas, some companies may prefer to steer away from these subjects.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">There is not only one religion that is followed in this country, but many. Some employees observe religion on Sundays, some observe no religion at all, others observe on Fridays, and still other religions require Saturdays to be the holy day. </span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">To accommodate these various views can be quite expensive, not to mention that they can be sensitive subjects for some people.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I am sorry about your mother’s lost opportunity. I trust that she will find a company where religious needs is supported. A proper research of companies, their mission and values should reveal whether they support religious practice at work or not. </span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Times have changed, societies change all the time, and company rules and regulations do to. More and more companies value their employees and support personal needs for quality time with family, childcare and religious needs and take the steps to accommodate this and make the expenditure to support those.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">As for your own stance about religion and work and the combination of the two.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It is more a matter of aligning values of the employee with the company than law. </span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Values are deeply embedded beliefs, about what is fair, what is right, what is important and what is permissible. The law prescribes many things, but it does not regulate conscience nor can change what a person believes is right or wrong. He will believe it anyway.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Search within yourself, whether work is more important, prayer and religion, or perhaps find a work-place that honors employees right to religion and supports this at the work-place. There are many such companies.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">How can you make sure, that you still have (a place) to pray. In a fast pace environment.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">You will be glad to learn, that in a fast-paced environment, stress levels are very high, and that one way to alleviate those high-peak stresses is to find serenity in the midsts of noise and commotions. Surgeon doctors, trauma nurses, train- and Air Traffic controllers enjoy frequent breaks because their work is an environment of high-stress and mistakes can be made if the attention and focus is diminished. Their breaks have nothing to do with religion, it has to do with safety, accuracy and mental capacity. It is required for quality work.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">As for religious expression of some employees, many companies nowadays, in this global and modern world, understand diversity and have no problems at all with accommodating diverse and ethnic employees. Some serve foods that they like, have an ambiance or music that is cultural, others support religious beliefs. You just have to find them. Research these companies in advance and ask these questions only after your skills and education qualify you as an ideal candidate.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">If you are already at work and the need to pray is a deep necessity you cannot ignore, you can always ask for it. If presented in a positive way that benefits the company as well, chances are it might be adopted. </span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Companies too, change all the time. But at work you are more valued for your work, than for your religious beliefs. If there is no place that is built-in that is suitable for prayer, you may find a corner or a suitable space where you can pray.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I pray once a week in the weekends for at least 2 or three hours, but in my own free time, and meditate every day, or as I call it, ‘inner contemplation’. But I take only 5 minutes and do this in my chair, in my office, with closed eyes after my lunch break. No one tells me to do it this way, I run my own company, but my focus while working is on business, not on my soul’s goodness, and on what the company achieves. (I think my soul is good already, I am trying to better my character, and find spirituality the best avenue to search my conscience.)  What the company achieves, is not a matter of going to heaven or not, it’s a matter of practicality, delivering quality products and service, staying in business, dealing with competition and making sufficient revenue to pay employees and to support the company. Anything else is seen as distractions from work. I do not involve too much with what employees do in their private time, but I do very much care to know what they do while at work.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">If you are worried about work-places that have a bias against your religion, please do stay away from them. You cannot force anyone else to see the world as you do. While I am aware that there is religious and racial tensions sometimes, we have to operate in a sphere where we do have control. You will be more satisfied in these places then if you try to change the company’s values that are simply not aligned with yours.</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I hope this answers your question and addresses some of your concerns. Please let me know if this helps O.K. and if you do have any other questions, know that we are all always here for you.</span>