Accommodating highly diverse religious beliefs and practices within an organization is challenging, but possible. The authors describe the efforts of KT Bank — a firm whose leaders include Muslims, members of other faiths, and people without strong religious convictions — to accommodate and support all beliefs. Two methods stand out: The bank cultivated flexible messaging around their purpose that allowed different groups to interpret those communications in ways that were most meaningful to them, and it provided separate physical spaces and schedule flexibility for employees to be able to practice their faith while at work but away from their colleagues.
We tend to think of business as a secular activity, and workplaces as inappropriate settings for conversations about religious faith or observance. However, given the growing popularity of bringing one’s whole self to work, the trend towards practices such as yoga and mindfulness, and the fact that more than 80% of the world claims some sort of religious affiliation, leaders are increasingly concerned about how best to handle expressions of faith by their employees.
