Religion and the 21st century workplace in harmony - most of the time

What is it about?

Quakers enjoy their work. They tend to work in places which share their ambitions to make the world a better place. But how do Quakers respond when things go wrong? What we find is that the work organisation sets out the terms upon which Quakers try to improve the world. Quakers generally accept these terms. But when Quaker and work horizons diverge, it is the organisation's terms which prevail.

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Photo by Guilherme Cunha on Unsplash

Photo by Guilherme Cunha on Unsplash

Why is it important?

What counts as religion in the everyday has been surprisingly little explored. Religion is one of ten protected characteristics identified in the UK's Equality Act (2010). But this law shies away from defining what counts as religion in the public sphere. It relies on case law to do so. My article fills this gap in our understanding of how religion is lived out in the everyday. It is important because it is based on empirical research. It identifies how religious people see their workplaces and, moreover, it reveals the capacity of the workplace to shape religious belief and practice. It also suggests that the differences between religious and non-religious claims in the work setting might not be clear-cut in practice. This similarity should be more widely recognised by researchers, employers and policy-makers if they are to understand more fully our 21st century workforce.

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