ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2008 > January > 15
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Prayer Room at the office?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Six engineers who worked at a technical facility in Cary, North Carolina for a relatively large organization went to their manager to find out if the company would provide a room at the facility for them to pray during the day, specifically around noon.
After careful thought and consideration, the company’s leadership team took an old supply room and converted it into a room that could be used for prayer and reflection.
These six engineers were of the Muslim faith, which advocates prayer five-times a day.
Establishing the room drew concern from other employees, and it was decided to ensure the room was available for all employees regardless of faith had the opportunity to reserve time in the room.
All employees receive two 15-minute breaks and 60-minutes for lunch. The six-gentleman who participated in the Islamic prayer process were given make adjustments in their schedules, adjust breaks, lunch time, etc. as long as their personal time (payer, lunch and breaks) was managed within the 90-minutes of total allotted time.
This became a win-win for the employees and the company.
This is an example of how one company managed one dimension of diversity an effort to retain talent within the organization.
Does your office have a prayer room? Has the option ever been discussed or was the notion shelved?
