How to Manage Muslim Staff

October 16, 2007

Author: Ingrid Tharasook

Source: CNN News

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/16/smbusiness/ramadan.fsb/

(FSB Magazine) -- The Muslim holy month of Ramadan drew to a close last Friday when observers broke their fast on Eid-ul-Fitr, a three-day-long period of prayers and festivities. But while the Islamic world allows time off for the entirety of Eid and shortened work hours throughout Ramadan, the roughly120,000 Muslims here in the United States enjoy no government-sanctioned holiday time. This means small businesses have had to create their own makeshift policies.

"Employers need to trust that Ramadan is not a license to be lazy," says Lana Taha, management analyst at the Islamic Society of Boston. "Give your Muslim workers some flexibility in work hours, and the courtesy to pray throughout the work day."