Worker Fears For His 'Job Safety' After Boss Forces Employees To Come In Early For 'Motivational' Meetings & Has Them Participate In Saying Prayers
"They all prayed while I stood there, eyes open and frozen in place. I couldn’t believe that it was happening."
BRAIN2HANDS / Inside Creative House / Shutterstock An employee voiced his discomfort after his boss not only started making them come in for early morning meetings, but seemingly involved religion into it as well.
Posting to the subreddit "r/antiwork," he voiced having fear for his "job safety" if he admitted how uncomfortable he felt by his boss' intentions.
His boss forced all employees to come in early for 'motivational' meetings and had them participate in saying prayers.
In his Reddit post, he explained that his boss recently started asking him and his other work colleagues to come in 15 minutes early on Mondays for what he described as being a "motivational session" for their department.
"He indicated it was optional but wanted us to try to come. I went to the first one and it was fine, he had some silly quote he shared and we discussed our plans to have a great week," he wrote. However, once the meeting was over, his boss asked everyone in the room to bow their heads in prayer, something that took him off-guard.
Photo: Reddit
"They all prayed while I stood there, eyes open and frozen in place. I couldn’t believe that it was happening," he explained. "Out of a department of about 10 people, 8 are self-identified Christians. One person is agnostic. I am an atheist. However, I don’t go around advertising it as I am clearly 'other.'"
He remarked that he would report this to the HR department, but since their company is under 50 employees, they don't have one. Now, he's worrying about who he could go to and voice his discomfort with praying during these meetings.
Eventually, he let it go and stopped attending the meetings altogether as they were made optional. After a few weeks though, his boss changed his mind and announced that they were becoming mandatory and everyone would be required to attend.
He claimed that he now wants to bring up the issue with his boss, but fears for his job safety. While he can't be fired for refusing to attend the meetings and participate in saying the prayers, he acknowledged that at his job, it's easy to make an employee's life hard if he gets on his boss' wrong side.
"I know the clear solution is to [leave], and I plan to," he concluded. "But what would you do in the meantime if you were me?"
In the comments section, many people agreed that he shouldn't have to be subjected to a religion he doesn't subscribe to, especially at work.
Under the man's Reddit post, many people agreed that it's completely inappropriate for a boss to have their employees pray at the end of their meetings, especially when everyone isn't of the same religion.
"If you are okay with the other parts of the meeting, just leave when they start to pray. If they ask why say, 'I prefer to keep that part of my life private.' Or you can be more direct with lines like, 'Workplace prayer makes me uncomfortable,'" one Reddit user suggested.
"When they ask why just say because I am not comfortable with it. Or flat out tell them you don't believe."
Another user had the same advice, adding, "I would just go to him and have a quick conversation about it. Just say [that] prayer is something that makes you uncomfortable in the workplace. Could we keep it out of the office, please?"
In a workplace environment, many people come from different backgrounds, and cultures, and have varying belief systems.
Mandating a prayer at the end of meetings or in any circumstance can have a negative effect and make people feel uncomfortable, as happened to this worker.
Employers have a responsibility to not only respect the personal boundaries of their team members but to also create an environment where everyone feels they belong. Colleagues, too, should play a vital role by standing in solidarity with someone who may be struggling with such situations.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.