{"id":11670,"date":"2017-01-08T15:53:10","date_gmt":"2017-01-08T15:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/ganeshproducts\/2017\/01\/08\/cultural-and-religious-events-affecting-the-workplace-and-scheduling\/"},"modified":"2017-01-08T15:53:10","modified_gmt":"2017-01-08T15:53:10","slug":"cultural-and-religious-events-affecting-the-workplace-and-scheduling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/blog\/2017\/01\/08\/cultural-and-religious-events-affecting-the-workplace-and-scheduling\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultural and Religious Events Affecting the Workplace and Scheduling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Richard T. Alpert<\/strong><\/p>\n

President, Diversity Resources, Inc.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a complete list of cultural events affecting the workplace, enjoy a free trial of our online diversity calendar<\/p>\n

Religion and the workplace are becoming increasingly intertwined. More workers expect their religious beliefs and practices be accommodated in the workplace, with days off to celebrate holidays and time during the workday to practice religious beliefs. Globally, these accommodations have long been common.\u00a0 Most countries have populations with a dominant religion with practices reflected in many aspects of the country’s life, including the workplace, public holidays, and societal values. Our cultural calendar lists all such events.<\/p>\n

Christian Holidays<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although subtle or even taken for granted, Christianity is the main religious influence on U.S. business. Christianity represents about 33% of religious practitioners worldwide, but in the United States estimates range between 76 to 82 percent.<\/p>\n

The two main Christian holidays are<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Easter, variable, and in 2011 is on April 24<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Christmas, a fixed holiday, always occurring on December 25.<\/p>\n

These holidays result in the almost complete closings of business in the United States, and predominantly Christian countries or regions. In non-U.S. regions where Christianity is the dominant religion – such as Western Europe – the days after Easter and Christmas are also celebrated with most businesses closed.<\/p>\n

Jewish Holidays<\/strong><\/p>\n

For observant Jews (1.2% to 2.2% of U.S. population), several cultural calendar holidays require absence from work. These include:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 first two days of Passover (April 19-20)<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rosh Hashanah (September 29-30)<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yom Kippur (October 8)<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 first two days of Sukkoth (October 13-14)<\/p>\n

Observant Jews may request time off on other days associated with these holidays or others. In Israel, business is usually disrupted<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 for 7-8 days during Passover<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 during Hanukah(December 21-28)<\/p>\n

Islamic Holidays and Scheduling Needs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some 22 percent of the world’s population is Muslim. From the Middle East to countries such as Indonesia \u2013 which has the world’s largest Muslim population \u2013 there are profound effects on how and when business is done.\u00a0 This is also increasingly true in Europe, with expanding Islamic immigrant populations. While the Muslim population in the United States is relatively small, some areas – such as Michigan – have larger Islamic populations.<\/p>\n

According to our online multicultural calendar, key Muslim holy days include:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ramadan, floating event, which in 2011 begins August 1<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Eid ad-Fitr, floating, in 2011 begins August 30<\/p>\n

Regular Islamic practices that must be accommodated include time and space for daily prayers \u2013 especially Friday noon – and washing before eating and prayer.<\/p>\n

Buddhist Holidays<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asian holidays often fall on weekends and thus have less impact on the domestic workplace. However, the global impact is much more noticeable.\u00a0 In China, Vietnam, South Korea, Cambodia, and Thailand, New Year celebrations see many businesses and government offices closing for a few weeks. Buddhist holidays also affect countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.<\/p>\n

According to our online culture calendar 2011, these include<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Buddha’s Birth, April 8<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bodhi Day (Buddha’s Enlightenment), December 8.<\/p>\n

Many countries also have additional secular holidays.<\/p>\n

Hindi Holidays<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hinduism, the dominant religion in India, has many holidays, reflecting its extremely diverse culture. Some of the most important are<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Maha Shivaratri (Shiva’s Night)\u00a0 March 2<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Holi, March 19 to 20<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bikarami Samvat (Lunar New Year) April 4<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ramanavami (Birthday of Rama) April 12<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Vaisakhi (New Year), Hindu April 14<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Janmashtami (Birth of Lord Krishna) August 21<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dassehra (Durga Puja) October 6<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Diwali October 26.<\/p>\n

Diversity \u2013 Opportunity and Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Diversity presents many opportunities, from the workplace to the market. But it also presents challenges. Be sure to use an online cultural diversity calendar, to ensure your teams can work together effectively and productively.<\/p>\n\n

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by Richard T. Alpert President, Diversity Resources, Inc. For a complete list of cultural events affecting the workplace, enjoy a free trial of our online diversity calendar Religion and the workplace areRead More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4140],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11670"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11670\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ganesh.com\/ganeshproducts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}