A quarter of the world’s population is about to approach the month of Ramadan and change their daily practices for a whole month.
Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calender and is expected to begin on the 22nd of March, depending on the sighting of the moon.
Muslims around the world during the month of Ramadan fast during daylight hours. This means they do not eat or drink during the day…yes, NO food or drink!
Here are some useful workplace tips to support work colleagues and managers to embrace Ramadan in the workplace:
– The Islamic calender is aligned with the lunar calender, this means the beginning of Ramadan and also the the celebration of Eid-al-Fitr has no fixed date. Please try to be flexible with annual leave requests.
– On the point of flexibility, be open to flexible working and remote working patterns where possible, to accommodate for individual needs.
– Fasting can be a physically and emotionally demanding task. Take into consideration people’s energy levels especially towards the end of the working day. Allow for more breaks, opportunity to rest during the day and avoid evening meetings.
– Try not to go crazy about hiding food/not eating infront of someone that is fasting. Everyone is different, you know your colleagues, if unsure what they’d prefer, just ask. I would prefer people eat infront of me and enjoy their sandwich than avoid me like the plague during lunchtime or keep apologising about eating their lunch infront of me.
– Be patient if a work colleague takes longer to respond to emails or perhaps they don’t seem their usual self, remember they haven’t eaten or drank much of that day.
– Don’t assume all Muslims will be fasting. Fasting is physically and emotionally testing. Please do not judge someone if they are not fasting. Everyone is on their own journey.
– Some colleagues may not be fasting due to health reasons or women during their monthly (…you know what I mean). Avoid embarrassing someone by highlighting their absence in fasting. Please don’t say openly infront of other people a comment like: ‘Aisha, why ain’t you fasting today?’
– You may see a colleague who you might not view as the religious taking part in daily prayers, a woman wearing a hijab (head covering) etc during Ramadan. Please do not judge them or make harsh comments like: ‘Imran, are you serious? you’reeee going to the mosque to pray’. This month gives an opportunity to recalibrate and focus on the importance of life. Everyone does this directly.
– Common greetings used during the month include Ramadan Mubarak, which translates to Blessed Ramadan and Ramadan Kareem, which translates to Generous Ramadan. Saying Ramadan Mubarak/Kareem means alot coming from their colleagues.
Whether you are celebrating Ramadan, supporting your family, friends or work colleagues during Ramadan….Ramadan Mubarak from me to you!!#
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:7041744999381626880
