Religion in the Workplace

Religion in the Workplace

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[edit on 28-10-2007 by Sanity Lost]

This is an old story which I haven't found posted here before, but I'm usually wrong, so shame on me in advance.

I'd rather see the workplace and everyone's personal lives to be two seperate things. Just today I logged a complaint about religious music being played at work and employees emails promoting their faiths.

Do you feel that businesses getting involved in employees spiritually thinking is helpful or a harmful to the employees and the company?

ATS/BTS is made up of such a diverse group of fine individuals. My next question is, would you particapate in company sponsered religious activities if you do not follow the same beliefs as is being promoted? Would you do so just as an aid to climbing the cooperate latter?

Do you fine that companies promoting religion are just using it as a way to brainwash the average worker?

www.businessweek.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

i think they think that maybe it would help and with the money they can dump in, why not try.

what do i think? of course i think they are trying to brain wash.


don't get mad at the lady next to you that used all the lettuce, just ask god to go get you some more

reply to post by Boondock78

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Would they be able to use this money spent as tax deductions as well?
Has anyone seen any recent stats showing faith in business is good for the employee and/or the business?

i really don't know but it would not suprise me in the least.
churches are all tax free. these places are having church people come in...
i don't know how it would work but it would not baffle me in the least if they got tax breaks or even friggin some kind of benefit for doing this program.

Well for some of it, I don't really see a huge issue on other things i can see where it is bad. Pretty much as long as they aren't favoring one group or another I don't see a huge issue. As far as the religous music at work well if you are getting the opportunity to listen to what you want to I don't see a real problem with it but yes the emails should be stopped. I would imagine if Wal-mart is dong it, it must have some effect on the bottom line.

reply to post by Jovi1

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Thank you for your thoughts on this post. The thing about the music at works is we are not allowed to have any to begin with. On the flip side we are not allow to eat at our desk or browse the internet either but this still goes on. I'm guessing this goes on because my department deals with the company's most important clients and most of the employees have been there for at least twenty years. I've only been working there a few months.

Two thoughts on this.

First, I think this could work but ONLY if it came from the workers; grassroots. It probably will not work if it comes down from above, because it smacks of control and manipulation (imo), though it needs to be funded and supported by mgmt.

Second, I've seen people have religion and prayer come into the workplace, but it was really weird the way it happened. Basically it was like a warzone where mgmt and the work was getting very difficult and even lift-threatening and people banded together and said prayers just to get through the day. (Think MASH unit, like in Korea). So if this happens, basically it means things are spiralling out of control.

Think of Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs. If you're still trying to handle emotional needs at work, then things are not going right

[edit on 31-10-2007 by Badge01]

reply to post by Badge01

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I think most of us, regardless of faith, say some sort of pray at work just to get by each day. It's a shame that we have to work at whatever place will hire us as opposed to doing something for pay that we may enjoy.

Thank you for the link to the page on Maslow. One quote of his sits right at home at Top Secret.

reply to post by Sanity Lost

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Yeah, it's sort of like the old saying 'there are no Atheists in foxholes'.

I'm thinking they definitely pray more at places like NASA when they're launching the Shuttle, for instance. Just a guess, but you get the idea: professions where things seem to sometimes be out of your hands.

I think chanting also helps. It serves to block out the bad 'internal dialog'; again, it's a desperation tactic and, to me, means that things are not going well, whether it's a job you love (like at NASA) or not.

Looking at Maslow, ime, when you're at the top of the pyramid 'Self-Actualization', there's a lot less of 'religion' and reliance on a 'supreme being'; I think people in that stage frequently are in a 'we are god' state of mind. One example might be when you're really playing in an immersion state in a video game, or when you've been up all night programming - anything with full immersion, maybe.

When you're stuck in the 'Belonging' stage and below (especially the 'Safety' level), you might tend to start getting into religion - looking outside one's self for salvation and stuff.

Thanks for the comment.




[edit on 31-10-2007 by Badge01]

Update...

No one has been playing Christian music or sending Christian related emails since I complained about it.

Hopefully I'm not on anyone's death list now.

reply to post by Sanity Lost

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my experiences at work have been an unpleasant battle with "superiors" that have thought that they were "priests" of the state religion while harassing me for not being a member of that religion nor my being willing to participate in what they believe is "normal religion"-----to them.

for 35 years while working for the government i kept what to them were viewed as jewish holy days which the system is not set up to accommodate while with the enforced christmas/new years/easter/haloween/sunday rules of the catholic religion---being thought normal.

i would have been very pleased and relieved if the government and their agents had kept their noses out of my religious beliefs but it was not to be--------even after 1 very unpleasant episode where i had to resort to the legal judicial system to get my government "superiors" to back off and stop trying to order me to not keep my religion back in 1981-------the tensions never subsided----a continuous yearly battle of them forgetting that i was not part of their religion while trying to make me participate in theirs with the mandatory catholic idea of when to party at work to honor their "god"----------not Mine------at the moment i am nearing the end of a sabbatical away from that madhouse with my pension due to kick in the end of june------i had a great job except for the incompetent bosses that constantly interfered with me working efficiently in every which way they could dream up to waste tax payers money while frustrating me.