This March 2024 HR Roundup explores strategies for supporting employees during Ramadan, celebrating neurodiversity, and assisting remote workers with childcare. We highlight the importance of flexibility, inclusivity, and support, as well as offer insights on enhancing workplace wellbeing and productivity by accommodating diverse employee needs.
Supporting employees observing Ramadan
Ramadan began this year on the 10th of March, marking the beginning of a fasting period for those observing it, usually lasting 30 days. This is due to it following the lunar phases.
Due to the period of fasting lasting from dawn to dusk, it may cause practicing employees to have less energy than usual throughout the day, dehydration, and difficulty concentrating. With this in mind, there is the possibility of it affecting their overall productivity compared to usual.
So how can employers support their employees observing Ramadan? Below are a few possibilities to consider:
- Flexible working hours: if this is a possibility within your business, it could be beneficial to offer flexible working hours to employees observing Ramadan during the fasting period. This could mean an earlier start and finish to their day, to better align with their fasting schedule. It could also mean reviewing break times to either be shorter to allow an earlier finish, or slightly longer to accommodate naps or rest to help improve their energy levels.
- Quiet spaces for work and relaxation: providing an area for observing employees to be able to work without distractions can help these employees’ concentration and productivity levels. They can also be spaces for employees to relax ad recharge throughout the day without noise or chatter.
- Mindful meetings and scheduling: being mindful of an employee fasting for Ramadan is crucial in fostering a supportive environment. For example, avoid scheduling meetings over lunch when people may be eating, and try and schedule important meetings earlier in the day to accommodate their levels of energy.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week
Neurodiversity Celebration Week, which was celebrated this year from the 18th to the 24th of March, is an annual event that emphasizes the strengths and unique abilities of individuals with neurological differences, such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and others. In the workplace, this initiative promotes inclusion, encouraging organisations to recognise and harness the diverse talents and perspectives that neurodiverse individuals bring.
However, whilst Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a great time for companies to recognise their neurodiverse employees, it is still essential to ensure that these employees are supported throughout the entire year during their time at your organisation.
There are a few ways that employers can consistently support these employees, such as the following:
- Access to Work Scheme: Access to Work is a government-funded initiative designed to assist disabled individuals in obtaining or retaining employment. It offers both practical and financial assistance to those with disabilities or physical or mental health conditions. For example, it can provide funding for equipment or adaptive technology to aid a disabled employee in the workplace (such as text-to-speech software), mentoring, additional training, or phased return-to-works for those who have had absences related to their disability. It can provide continuous or short-term support to disabled individuals at work who may experience difficulties others do not in the workplace, and this includes neurodiverse employees such as those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other conditions.
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP): an EAP is an employer-funded program that provides employees with round-the-clock access to private support, expert guidance, and short-term counselling services. It’s designed to assist in addressing both personal and professional issues that affect employees’ physical and mental health in the workplace. It is well-known that life comes with many challenges, such as managing finances, personal relationships, caring responsibilities, mental health, and overall wellbeing. These kinds of issues can impact an employee’s health (both mental and physical), and therefore can lead to long-term absences from work, reduced productivity, and overall satisfaction at work. An EAP can help employees manage these worries by providing the right resources, and as a result, can improve their working lives just as much as their personal lives, leading to better productivity, work satisfaction, and absence levels.
87% of homeworkers take care of children whilst working
Employees with childcare responsibilities often face significant challenges in balancing their professional and personal lives. These challenges include managing unexpected childcare emergencies, attending to the daily needs of their child(ren), and finding reliable and affordable childcare solutions.
Additionally, it has been revealed in research by Capital One UK in 2023 that 87% of homeworkers take care of children on the job, with 85% of respondents having to work in the same room as their child(ren). This has the possibility to lead to a reduction in employees’ productivity and availability during working hours due to these responsibilities.
There are ways that employers can support their employers with childcare responsibilities:
- Flexible working: employees with childcare responsibilities may request a flexible working schedule to accommodate childcare or transport to and from school. Since the 6th of April, employees now have the right to request flexible working from their first day of employment. As a result, it would be advantageous for employers to take any childcare responsibilities into consideration if they do receive a request for flexible working.
- Review policies on childcare: does your organisation have policies regarding leave for childcare reasons, such as child sickness or emergencies? Is the return-to-work process for those returning from paternal or maternal leave robust enough? If not, it may be worth considering highlighting your organisation’s practices in relation to these situations clearly within the company handbook, so employees with childcare responsibilities are aware of their options when dealing with these issues. If no such policies or procedures exist, it is important your organisation decides on their approach to these and implement them. One way to ensure these policies are fair, balanced, and in line with your company’s values, is to have input from your organisation’s HR advisor, if you have one.
- Support for employees with childcare responsibilities: not all support for these employees has to involve change of policy or working patterns. Establishing a network within the organisation of employees with childcare responsibilities could provide employees with a place to connect with other working parents and guardians and trade advice or support with one another. This can foster a family-friendly culture within the workplace and help employees with such responsibilities feel less isolated and better seen.
By considering flexible working arrangements, reviewing policies addressing childcare issues, and creating a family-friendly workplace culture, employers can alleviate some of the pressures faced by employees with childcare responsibilities. This can then lead to improved employee satisfaction, retention, and overall productivity.
