Career Couch: Avoiding Collisions of Church and the Workplace
July 3, 2010 by admin
Filed under Career News and Advice
Q. You want to take time off for a religious observance that does not occur on your day off or on a paid holiday. Should you tell your manager the reason, or just take it as personal time and leave it at that?
Chris Reed
A. Although some companies give employees paid personal days off — and don’t require them to ulge the reason — it’s a good idea to be upfront about it, according to Mary Hladio, chief executive of Ember Carriers, an organizational development consulting firm in Cincinnati.
Speak to your manager privately, letting her know that the time off is for a religious observance, so she understands why the day off is important to you, Ms. Hladio says. If you don’t have unpaid personal days but don’t want to use vacation days, offer to make up the time, says Laurie Beth Jones, C.E.O. of the Jones Group, a business consulting and coaching firm in San Diego and author of “Jesus, Career Counselor.”
Ms. Jones suggests proposing a solution to your manager, like coming in early or working later for several days.
If it’s crunch time for your team, however, don’t expect to take the day off without making arrangements for others to cover for you. “Be aware how your request affects the rest of your team,” she says, “and give as much advance notice as possible.”
Q. What about asking for things like separate cabinet space for kosher food, or the ability to pray several times a day? Do you risk being seen as a demanding employee or someone who gets special treatment?
A. If you approach the request …
Read the original article at NYTimes