Free Custom «Religion and the workplace» Essay Paper

Introduction

The right to worship any religion is constitutional. Therefore every individual may choose to join any religion. The employers therefore do not use consider the religious background of people when recruiting new employees (Hood, Hill and Spika, 2009, 172). As a result, most organizations have employees who belong to different religions. Ideally in any particular workplace, people are expected to respect the religious beliefs of their colleagues. Therefore people should not encounter difficulties working with each other. However, this is not always the case because members of different religions are known to harbor different characteristics. These include; unique dressing styles, following certain diets, avoiding certain types of behavior, recruiting others to their faith and observing certain religious holidays (Hood, Hill and Spika, 2009, 174). These characteristics may often lead to disagreements in the workplace.

However, religion is not always a source of constant conflicts in the workplace. In fact, it is beneficial to have people from different religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds working together. Company’s which accommodate and promote diversity of their employees stand a better chance in providing goods and services that are suitable to the entire target population. Today morals and ethics at the workplace are on the decline. Religion upholds both ethics and morals in any particular environment (Deb, 2006, 309). Ideally employees are expected to practice professional ethics at the workplace. Religions such as Christianity encourage their followers to practice their faith at the workplace. It is important to note that most religious teachings especially on moral are consistent with the organization’s moral requirements (Deb, 2006, 312).

Role of religion in promoting ethics at the workplace

Today, ethics and morals of employees and the organization affect the company’s performance equally. Companies that have good ethics and morals attract customers who are keen to be associated with morally upright organizations. Companies without good ethics and morals often have a bad public image. Business ethics is about prioritizing morals and values in the workplace. Employers may assume that employing people who are religious may help improve ethics at the workplace. However, this is not necessarily the case because although people confess to belong to a certain religion it does not mean that they will uphold ethical and moral values in the workplace. They can act totally different from what their respective religions may recommend. Therefore religion on its own is not sufficient enough to determine the morality of an individual.

In some situations some institutions and organizations within the civil society may identify themselves with a particular religion. They may also recruit workers from a particular religion in order to practice their faith. In such institutions each activity that is conducted by the organization or any of its members must be consistent with the teachings of the respective religion. These organizations also partner with other similar organizations which practice the same religion (Deb, 2006, 309). These organizations organizations have been faced with problems relating to ethics and morals. Therefore an individual or organizations religious affiliation cannot be used to determine the morality of a person

Workers have an obligation to practice professional ethics. The source of their motivation may arise from their religious affiliations (Deb, 2006, 310). It is true that workers find it easier to integrate the ethical codes with their religious inclinations. In some cases a worker may refuse to carry out some morally wrong activities because his religious background does not allow him to. This situation could occur when it comes to application of unfair strategies aimed at edging out competitors.

Conclusion

The teachings of most religions tend to be consistent with company’s professional ethics and issues of morality. Religion therefore may integrate well with professional ethics because it gives motivation to individuals. It is important to note that an individual’s inclination to a particular religion does not guarantee that he is morally upright. Therefore employers should always embark on other strategies to help the workers practice professional ethics.