Managing Religious Diversity in the Workplace ─ Examples from Around the World

Many observers propose the exclusion of all religious related aspects from organizational life, others promote a more tolerant approach of certain practices, symbols and ceremonies, and few commentators highlight the values, diverse religious beliefs and experiences that employees could bring to the organization. Arguments, conclusions and recommendations are often contradictory and inconclusive due to the complexity and dividing nature of religion diversity. In Managing Religious Diversity in the Workplace the editors present a selection of essays, conceptual papers, empirical studies and case studies about how religious diversity and spirituality are managed. The book explores how firms address organizational and managerial challenges deriving from the religion diverse backgrounds of their employees. The different contributions discuss policies and practices, how implicit and unmarked religious norms influence the a€?managinga€? of religious issues in organizations, and what the benefits of a religion diverse workforce are. It also includes contributions which address aspects of spirituality in the workplace, and the role of legal frameworks and their influence on organizations and their policies and practices regarding religion diversity. The perspectives and contributions include a wide range of disciplines by authors from leading academic institutions around the world.

Stefan GrA?schl is Professor at the ESSEC Business School, Paris, France. He has published four books on leadership, international human resources management and diversity management related aspects (three with Gower). Stefan is widely known as a diversity management expert and has shared his expertise in a wide range of academic and public arenas. Regine Bendl is an Associate Professor at Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna), Austria. She does research on gender, diversity management and subtexts in organization theory. She has published refereed articles and books and received several awards. She is editor of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal and of Diversitas: Zeitschrift fA?r Managing Diversity und Diversity Studies.