Many people look forward to celebrating the end-of-year holidays, but for some it can be a time of angst. Those who do not celebrate Christmas can be irked by all the decorations, pressure to give a gift or having to listen to seasonal carols. However, it’s still an excellent time of year to show appreciation and help the less fortunate, no matter what you celebrate.
According to Joyce Dubensky, CEO Emerita of the nonprofit Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding in New York, “There’s no month quite like December, where multiple joyous religious holidays collide with good intentions to create a potentially toxic mix of misunderstandings and intolerance. Some who don’t celebrate still enjoy the season, while some just accept it. Others are annoyed but silent, downright uncomfortable or even hostile.”
Effective leaders need to make sure celebrations don’t lead to hurt feelings, discomfort or even worse—a charge of religious discrimination. But rather than scrap holiday celebrations altogether, as some companies are now doing, why not take the opportunity to celebrate diversity in the workplace? Management can take the initiative to prep and ensure employees are respectful of holiday traditions being observed, keeping in mind that not everyone celebrates them.
“I tell my clients that rather than tiptoeing around, go directly to your employees to ask their opinion on what we can do to be more inclusive of your traditions,” says Jason Greer, president of the labor relations and diversity consulting firm Greer Consulting, Inc. “A company can be held liable for a charge of religious discrimination, but if you have these conversations and document them, it will help avoid any issues later.”
Here are 10 ways to help ensure everyone feels included during the December holiday season:
1. Form a celebrations committee and include members from a variety of cultures and religions
This committee will recommend ways to celebrate holidays all year round. Be sure to include members who do not celebrate Christmas in order to obtain feedback and help ensure no one will feel left out. The committee will consider activities with the goal of having everyone feel comfortable participating.
2. “Adopt” a family
Rather than giving each other gifts, take up a collection and sponsor a food drive to donate a holiday meal for one or more families in need. Talk to a local social service agency for recommendations.
3. Have a White Elephant gift swap
Everyone wraps up a hated wedding gift or something else they have lying around the house and brings it in for a gift swap. The more outrageous the gift, the more fun. Each person draws a number and takes turns choosing a present. After unwrapping, he or she can decide to keep it or trade it for what someone else with a lower number has already unwrapped. Any money that would have been spent on buying a new gift is donated to a charity that everyone votes on.
4. Help children in need
Ask a local family service agency to provide a list of children with their first name, age, gender, clothing size, etc. Anyone who wants to participate can choose a name and buy a gift or two for that child.
5. Choose a different time of year to celebrate
Rather than having a traditional Christmas party in December, think of other ways to celebrate the holidays. For example, The Verdi Group marketing agency in Rochester, New York, has a Beaujolais party every year when the new wine comes to market on the third Thursday in November. It’s a great time to launch the season of celebration before numerous other parties are scheduled. A variety of cheeses from all over the world are offered, as well as desserts and non-alcoholic beverages.
6. Consider a Festive Friend vs. Secret Santa
Secret Santa’s holiday allegiance is right there in the name—Santa, Christmas’ secular superhero. To make this traditional gift-giving game more inclusive, simply change the name to “Festive Friend!”
7. Decorate with neutral office displays
Don’t try to please everyone by displaying manger scenes, menorahs and symbols from other religions, as you are bound to leave someone out. Instead, deck the halls with winter themes using artificial greens and berries or display cuttings from evergreen bushes along with electric candles and paper snowflakes.
8. Create unique tree decorations that represent your industry
Instead of decorating a tree with traditional Christmas ornaments and tinsel, ask everyone to bring in something that reflects the mission of your company. A medical office could hang all kinds of syringes, bandages, stethoscopes and cotton on a tree, while employees at a transportation company could bring in toy boats, trains and trucks.
9. Have a potluck lunch with foods from different cultures
It will be educational, as well as a lot of fun, for everyone to bring in a dish of something they serve to their family during the holidays. A small flag from one’s home country will add to the celebratory atmosphere.
10. Welcome everyone
If you decide to have a holiday party, Greer suggests the CEO, president or regional manager give a welcome speech that starts by greeting everyone in a variety of employees’ native languages. “Even if you butcher the pronunciations, there will be so much enjoyment from the audience that you tried,” Greer says.
“Your employees just want to be included,” says Greer. “If you take the time to learn about other traditions, you will find that not only will it be good for the moment, but those employees will remain loyal to you because you went out of your way to get to know them.”
Photo courtesy of PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock
