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Religion and the work place
Jul. 30th, 2003 06:01 pmThis entry isn't titled "Religion in the workplace" because...well, you'll see. So. I'm back working at Dairy Queen (Unclean! Unclean!) and recently Kelly, our manager, has invited people to come to some special church thing. I'm not really sure of the details but apparently it's focused towards teenagers headed to college or something like that, and that's most of our work crew.
Now, this is not actually what I'm ranting about. I would be very uncomfortable if Kelly was pressuring people to do this or constantly talking up her Godly views, but I honestly feel that she was just offering something she thought would be fun to people she has a friendly relationship with. I mean, I didn't go, and she hasn't bugged me about it or even mentioned it to me since the initial invitation. (Of course, if this changes later, I will certainly revise my opinion.)
That brings us today. Apparently Bob, one of the three lawyers who owns the story, "yelled at" Kelly for inviting people to church. I have no if he actually yelled at her or just expressed disapproval. I wasn't there and I obviously wasn't getting Bob's point of view. Elizabeth, who is a few years younger than me, seemed particularly annoyed by this, and towards the end of my shift I heard her talking to Kelly about it in the back, something like "Well, if he's so offended by that, he can..." I was getting someone's order so I didn't hear all of what she said, but it was starting to really annoy me and I took the opportunity to go home early a short time later.
What am I pissed about? Not Kelly's invitation, actually. I don't feel like she was acting inappropriately--but she could have easily done so. Religion is a tricky issue, especially in the workplace. It would take almost nothing for her to cross the line and make some people uncomfortable. Hell, as my mom pointed out, maybe she did make someone uncomfortable and that's why Bob "yelled at" her. But whether she was or wasn't acting appropriately--Bob does not know for sure. He was not there. Just because some people, like his daughter, have assured him that it was okay, does not prove that it was. It's his ass on the line of someone decides to sue for religious discrimination or something.
Is yelling at Kelly the right solution? I don't really think so. A calm, serious discussion with the point that if she wants to invite co-workers to religious recreation that she make damn sure she isn't doing it in a way that pressures or makes people uncomfortable would probably work better, but for all I know that's what did happen. It just really annoyed me that I seemed to be the only person to understand Bob's point of view. This is a situation in which he damn well should err on the side of caution. Just because her invitation was sincerely meant does not mean things couldn't easily go sour. If people were offended by it, that means there wa sprobably something worth getting offended over.
Now, this is not actually what I'm ranting about. I would be very uncomfortable if Kelly was pressuring people to do this or constantly talking up her Godly views, but I honestly feel that she was just offering something she thought would be fun to people she has a friendly relationship with. I mean, I didn't go, and she hasn't bugged me about it or even mentioned it to me since the initial invitation. (Of course, if this changes later, I will certainly revise my opinion.)
That brings us today. Apparently Bob, one of the three lawyers who owns the story, "yelled at" Kelly for inviting people to church. I have no if he actually yelled at her or just expressed disapproval. I wasn't there and I obviously wasn't getting Bob's point of view. Elizabeth, who is a few years younger than me, seemed particularly annoyed by this, and towards the end of my shift I heard her talking to Kelly about it in the back, something like "Well, if he's so offended by that, he can..." I was getting someone's order so I didn't hear all of what she said, but it was starting to really annoy me and I took the opportunity to go home early a short time later.
What am I pissed about? Not Kelly's invitation, actually. I don't feel like she was acting inappropriately--but she could have easily done so. Religion is a tricky issue, especially in the workplace. It would take almost nothing for her to cross the line and make some people uncomfortable. Hell, as my mom pointed out, maybe she did make someone uncomfortable and that's why Bob "yelled at" her. But whether she was or wasn't acting appropriately--Bob does not know for sure. He was not there. Just because some people, like his daughter, have assured him that it was okay, does not prove that it was. It's his ass on the line of someone decides to sue for religious discrimination or something.
Is yelling at Kelly the right solution? I don't really think so. A calm, serious discussion with the point that if she wants to invite co-workers to religious recreation that she make damn sure she isn't doing it in a way that pressures or makes people uncomfortable would probably work better, but for all I know that's what did happen. It just really annoyed me that I seemed to be the only person to understand Bob's point of view. This is a situation in which he damn well should err on the side of caution. Just because her invitation was sincerely meant does not mean things couldn't easily go sour. If people were offended by it, that means there wa sprobably something worth getting offended over.
