Table Of ContentReligion and Organizational Stigma at Work
Religion and Organizational
Stigma at Work
Stanley Bruce Thomson
RELIGION AND ORGANIZATIONAL STIGMA AT WORK
Copyright © Stanley Bruce Thomson, 2015.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-51455-4
All rights reserved.
First published in 2015 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
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the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-57103-1 ISBN 978-1-137-51456-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137514561
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thomson, Stanley Bruce.
Religion and organizational stigma at work / by Stanley Bruce Thomson.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Work—Religious aspects. 2. Stigma (Social psychology) I. Title.
BL65.W67T46 2015
201’.73—dc23 2015010577
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: September 2015
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xi
List of Abbreviations x iii
Chapter 1 Why Religion? Why Stigma Theory? 1
Chapter 2 What’s Been Said! 9
Chapter 3 The Individual 41
Chapter 4 Individual Solutions 83
Chapter 5 Organizational Theme 139
Chapter 6 National Theme 185
Chapter 7 Conclusion 213
Appendix 1: Research Methodology 221
Appendix 2: The Reality of Collecting Data 239
Appendix 3: Limitations of the Research Project 247
Notes 249
References 251
Index 267
Figures and Tables
Figures
3.1 Individual theme 44
3.2 Four orientations toward religion and spirituality 77
4.1 Individual theme—individual solutions 84
4.2 Integrated model of stigma disclosure antecedents and
consequences 135
5.1 Organizational theme categories, subcategories, and
properties 140
5.2 Four quadrants of religious diversity management 180
6.1 National theme 186
6.2 Religious complaints reported to HREOC and
EEOC, 2000–2006 211
Tables
1.1 Religious affiliation in Australia, 2001, 2006, and 2011 4
2.1 Problems caused by religion in the workplace 19
2.2 Organizational solutions for problems caused by
religion in the workplace 20
3.1 Demographics for interview participants 42
3.2 Demographics for focus group participants 43
3.3 Immigration statistics for Australia, 1962–2005 46
4.1 Muslim and Jewish daily prayer times 93
4.2 Strategies chosen to manage religious aspects by participants 113
4.3 Strategies chosen to manage the religious aspects
of coworkers 114
4.4 Changing strategies for managing the religious
aspects of coworkers 114
viii ● Figures and Tables
5.1 Problems caused by religion in the workplace: Comparison
of literature and participant perceptions 145
5.2 Members of Parliament: Australia, Canada, and Japan, 2007 159
5.3 Solutions for problems caused by religion in the workplace:
Literature and participant perceptions 176
6.1 Perceptions of migrants of Australian tolerance and
discrimination based on religion, race, and culture 208
Foreword
Prior to reading this book I believe it will help the reader to understand
a bit about who I am and why I chose religion in the workplace. I have
over twenty-five years of experience in the business environment,
ranging from customer service to management, to owning and operating my
own business. Throughout that time I was always fascinated by the simple
thought of why people do the things they do. I come from a small city on the
prairies of Western Canada, part of the Bible belt of Canada.
M y father was an academic (civil engineering) and my mother was a stay-
at-home mom. Religion consisted of watching some of my friends go to
church. Yet, there is no denying that my own religious views were shaped by
my environment. At home I was challenged to ask why and seek answers;
to learn as much as I could but still respect God. Outside of my home I
was bombarded with images and stories of God from my Christian friends
around me. As a result of the integration of the two environments I called
myself an agnostic. I believed in a supreme being and saw the Christian
Bible (King James Version) as a guidebook of how to live life. However, I
saw it as a collection of parables to help us to be good people and not as fact.
Organized religion seemed rigid and unforgiving. Yet, regardless of where I
turned religion was an important part of peoples’ lives.
When I returned to university after a long absence, one of the finest
lecturers who I took courses from was a strongly religious man. His religion
was evident through his conviction and desire to inspire us all to live better
lives. He never discussed his beliefs in class and I imagine a great deal of his
students never thought him to be religious. Due to my position as campus
student representative I was able to talk to him on a more casual basis and
engaged in several conversations about ethics and religious belief. It was
through these conversations that I began to realize that religion and work
were not separate entities.
x ● Foreword
So the topic sat on the backburner of my mind for a long time, all
through my bachelor’s and master’s degree. After inquiries to several univer-
sities, the Department of Management at Monash University in Melbourne,
Australia, welcomed me and my project. I was ready and excited to get
started. However, the difficulty was getting people to talk about religion in
the workplace. It took twenty-seven months of my forty-eight-month pro-
gram to get an organization to agree to allow me to talk to their employees.
It took a further fourteen months and a change of methodology to collect
enough data.
To say the journey has been interesting would be a gross understatement.
I have had the pleasure of meeting, interviewing, and learning from some
truly wonderful people. One of whom turned out to be my future wife. I
have also had the pleasure of working with some very gifted academics. I
mourned the loss of my brother. I anxiously waited through a life threaten-
ing illness of my sister. I marveled at the strength of my near-ninety year old
parents as they recovered from open heart surgery and cancer. I found my
faith through the Baha’i writings and accepted the Baha’i faith. I discovered
the joy of teaching in Australia (Monash University), Grenada (St. George’s
University), and here in Canada (MacEwan University and the University of
Alberta). Amidst this turmoil, joy, and discovery I wrote this book.
Acknowledgments
To the organizations and individuals that took part in the project,
without you none of this could have taken place. Thank you!
I would like to acknowledge the help and support of the staff of
the Faculty of Business and Economics, and more specifically those of the
Department of Management at Monash University. Without their finan-
cial, material, administrative, and moral support I could not have taken
up this challenge. A special thanks to Dr. Wendy Smith, Professor Mike
Knowles, and Professor Gary Bouma for their encouragement and support.
To my colleagues, many thanks are owed to you for the hours of discussion
and distraction. Aashish, Preety, Eric, Tatiana, and Abdulmajeed: I thank
you, my friends, for your wisdom, encouragement, smiles, and your gift of
friendship.
I could not have done this project without the support and encourage-
ment of my family. My wife, Farah, thank you for being there! To my three
sisters, Heather, Kathy, and Beth, your encouragement and love made each
day better. To my mother and father, you are both an inspiration and guid-
ing lights for every step of my journey and it was easier because of you.
To my brother, Terry, this is dedicated to your memory.
