Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar – a time of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. 

At Souki Lawyers in Melbourne, all six of its employees celebrate Ramadan. And the business is more than happy to tweak things here and there to support them.  

The company has an alternating schedule where staff can leave work at 4:30 pm, with one person staying back until 5 pm. This gives staff time to get home and organise themselves for breaking their fast.  

Employees are also encouraged to take a lunch break, despite not being able to eat or drink, to ensure they have time to pray, rest or take a short power nap.  

Lawyer Fatoum Souki says “it's hard to explain to most but the reality is the coffee withdrawals are hard, the mental cloud that hits in the afternoon when your energy needs a boost is hard and yes, the ‘not even’ water is hard.  

“But I have found that I am more productive in the day when fasting because I don't have any distractions and when we value those around us and create a respectful space within the workplace, you find the appreciation and positive attitude.” 

Indeed, Fatoum believes supporting Muslims during Ramadan is good for business. Giving staff the time to incorporate their worship into the day, even just a few minutes to pray or reflect, makes employees feel valued, boosts morale, and increases productivity, she says. 

How can you show support for Ramadan in your workplace? 

Nada Kalam, from the Muslim Professionals Association, offers tips for helping employees during Ramadan. 

  1. Establish who this could affect at work. 
  2. Ensure all staff that work with Muslim colleagues are aware of what fasting entails and how this could impact someone. 
  3. If shift work is the norm, look at any changes that can be made to offer those fasting the opportunity to swap shifts or change their working hours. 
  4. For those in 9-5 roles, consider flexitime options for start and finish times. 
  5. Be understanding of those that do not feel comfortable sitting and watching people eat and drink. 
  6. Make allowances for Muslims to take a break at sunset to break their fast if they are frontline workers and still happen to be on shift. 
  7. Avoid booking meetings for the afternoon. If high concentration levels are needed from people, don’t expect this after lunchtime. 
  8. Do not expect people to commit to evening events, even if they are just online video meetups. 
  9. Be prepared for people to take between one and five days of holiday at the end of Ramadan to celebrate Eid. 
  10. For fasting team members who are working remotely, work out time differences and how their daily routine may impact others in terms of meetings, deadlines, SLAs, etc. 
  11.  Try and use Ramadan as a platform for greater understanding and improving team dynamics. Why not throw a virtual or in-person iftar one evening and allow people to share a part of their lives with colleagues? 
  12. Muslims differ from generation to generation, culture to culture, some are more devout than others, and interpretations and practices of the faith are numerous. Have open conversations to find out how you can support your Muslim employees during Ramadan and create awareness of the celebration/practice for non-Muslim employees. 

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