Does religious and sexual discrimination impact hiring and retention

 Religious discrimination impact on hiring

In comparison to other forms of discrimination, religious discrimination disputes are growing swiftly across the globe. Strong emotions and opinions have been sparked by religious expression, and the workplace is not the only location where this difficulty exists. According to Webley (2011), practically all organizational corporate or social behaviors have a religious foundation, and how an organization deals with this is crucial if it is to uphold its core ideals. Religious identification is a role in workplace discrimination, according to a 2013 survey in the United States. It is not shocking to learn that there is alarming bias in the workplace between evangelicals and atheists. Nearly 60% of atheist employees claimed that their employer disregarded their religious beliefs, and nearly 60% of white evangelicals concurred that Christian employees were subject to discrimination.

Figure 01: Religious discrimination on hiring

Any step in the hiring process could be biased. The inherent and frequently unconscious biases of recruiters can affect their assessment of candidates throughout the application process, from the job description to the CV to the interview. These prejudices are frequently founded on unimportant traits like the applicant's gender, ethnicity, or religion.

While it may be against the law for a recruiter to inquire about a candidate's religion during an interview (if it is not necessary for the post), the candidate's religion may be inferred through other channels, such as from their name, nationality, or attire.

This is especially true when it comes to employment because religious discrimination may target certain religious practices either directly or indirectly. This could manifest as:

• Direct religious discrimination occurs when a person is singled out and given unjust treatment because of their religious convictions. For instance, if a job candidate is turned down because their religious convictions forbid them from working on specific days of the week.
• Indirect religious discrimination occurs when an organization's policy that applies to all employees conflicts with a particular religious practice and causes followers of that belief to feel oppressed. A follower of a religion like Sikhism, which calls for the wearing of specific headgear or a beard, might feel discriminated against if a company has policies regarding appearance such as prohibiting facial hair or headgear.

Sexual discrimination impact on hiring

Figure 02: Sexual discrimination on hiring

Sexual harassment incidents within an organization have serious ramifications and consequences for the company. Laws have been established in several countries to safeguard both employees and employers from the damaging effects of sexual harassment. Low morale, disgruntled workers, and high absenteeism rates will soon be reflected in lower productivity and profits in a workplace environment that fails to adequately address the issue of sexual harassment. Companies should prepare for higher staff turnover rates, additional costs associated with hiring and training new employees, and the cost of sexual harassment lawsuits. The company will incur significant financial losses as a result of a sexual harassment lawsuit, in addition to reputational and brand-name harm. It will spread the words among the probable candidates, they will not apply for the vacancies of the company. (Chinn, K.-A., 2016).

By infiltrating the workplace of targets and observers alike, sexual harassment lowers job satisfaction will lead to their intentions to leave. As a result, sexual harassment is likely to increase turnover, which comes at a high cost. The cost of turnover accounts for the largest share of the overall cost of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment increases employees' intentions to leave their jobs. Employee turnover is one of the biggest effects of toxic work environments. Employees are less likely to stay in a toxic environment if they have the possibility of getting harassed. Another way that sexual harassment affects the workplace is through the replacement of departing employees, which can be equally problematic. According to some researches those who saw "unfairness" in the workplace in the previous year would "to some degree" dissuade prospective employees from working for the company. Everyone suffers when harassment and discrimination are present in the workplace. The hostility engendered by harassment leads to employee absenteeism, low morale, rumors, hostility, stress, and anxiety. The prevalence of low productivity is higher in settings with high rates of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment victims and witnesses are more likely to resign, which results in high employee turnover and higher hiring and training costs. Additionally, it will be more challenging to find top talent in a toxic environment.

Employers need to uphold high standards for both themselves and their staff. Everyone should be expected to act like responsible adults at work, and everyone deserves a workplace free from harmful harassment. Not only could workplace harassment result in costly lawsuits, but it also fosters a toxic workplace environment that will affect to hiring and retention.

 Reference

Chinn, K.-A., (2016). GO1. [Online]
Available at: https://www.go1.com/blog/post-impact-sexual-harassment-workplace
[Accessed 28 11 2022].

EVERFI, (2021). EVERFI Blog. [Online]
Available at: https://everfi.com/blog/workplace-training/the-effects-of-sexual-harassment-in-the-workplace/
[Accessed 28 11 2022].

Training, 3., (2018). EFFECTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE. [Online]
Available at: https://www.360training.com/blog/effects-of-workplace-sexual-harassment#:~:text=Victims%20and%20witnesses%20of%20sexual,recruiting%20top%20talent%20more%20difficult.
[Accessed 28 11 2022].

Webley, S. (2011). Religious Practices in the workplace. Institute of Business Ethics, 24Greencoat Place, London. SW1P 1BE.