It's always great to have the diversity of our wider society represented in our workplaces. Not only does it enrich our working lives, but it also means that our customers and stakeholders look at our businesses and see people that look like them. This month, I'm looking at whether businesses are equipped to support religious events such as Ramadan to maximise employee productivity.
Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar when I, alongside 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide are fasting during daylight hours. Yes, that also includes water, and no, it doesn’t mean a night-time burger-bingeing session (not for me, anyway).
Every Muslim embraces the month to foster new good habits including praying, giving back to people less fortunate than themselves, as well as reading the Qur’an.
Whilst Muslims enjoy the month of Ramadan as a chance to spend time with friends and family, their productivity in an office environment might be affected. During this month of Ramadan, Muslims in the UK this year are typically observing a 19 hour fast.
It also means interrupted sleep as Muslims will break their fast, pray, sleep for a while, then wake up and eat, pray, and then go back to sleep before beginning the next day. When you factor in some uncharacteristically consistent weeks of British sunshine and elevated temperatures, as you’d expect, it can start to have an impact on employees who are fasting.
No manager wants to see their employees falling asleep at their desks. Some employers might offer adjusted working hours, the opportunity to work from home, and some tech companies even have ‘napping rooms’ to give employees some downtime during their working day, hoping it will give them a much-needed chance to recharge.
What can the month of Ramadan teach your business? In addition to improving cultural and religious awareness within your organisation and instilling understanding for your fellow colleagues, do you have an effective digital strategy which allows your employees to be productive, wherever, whenever, and however they choose to work? Can all your employees work together, work anywhere, and work securely at any time of year?
An effective mobile workforce requires businesses to have solutions in place to keep their employees working as effectively outside of the office as when they’re in it. That means being able to answer any work-related calls by providing mobile devices with the necessary in-built security, and software that allows them to even answer calls across multiple devices (we have Touch Technology at Intercity).
Secure cloud-based solutions mean that employees can access the relevant software and files that they need off-site.
Ultimately, mobility will be the backbone of the modern workplace, inseparable from a robust business strategy. To be a progressive business that can accommodate the needs and desires of all of their employees, Ramadan or otherwise, businesses need to develop an environment that will fit their workforce to propel them forward.
To everyone observing Ramadan this month, Ramadan Kareem!
