Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER December 12, 2016 NEWS 11 Let's try to grow our culture of belonging.'" Inclusivity favoured Corporate holiday traditions vary in Canada, depending on geo- graphic location, said Pierre Bat- tah, a management consultant specializing in human resources in Moncton, N.B. Companies typically fall into three categories, he said: Christ- mas traditionalists, holiday inclu- sionists, and those migrating back to the traditional Christmas party. "is is about being representa- tive to your audience," said Battah. "Best practice is to be representa- tive of your people. Employers should be sensitive and appropri- ate to the makeup of their staff." "Some employers were never quite concerned with 'de-Christ- masing' their events," he said, and an end-of-year celebration on Prince Edward Island, for exam- ple, would likely be a traditional Christmas gathering — which is acceptable if the workforce is unicultural. Meanwhile, organizations in major urban centres favouring inclusivity have moved to a more secular holiday atmosphere, host- ing year-end celebrations that focus on collaborative volunteer work rather than gifts or service awards, said Battah. While not necessarily "all Christmas, all the time," the third group includes those who have once again set up a Christmas tree after leaving it in the box for the past few years, he said. People are becoming more comfortable with acknowledging multiple religious holidays, rather than excluding "Merry Christ- mas" greetings and decorations altogether, said Simma Lieber- man, a San Francisco-based di- versity consultant. "It's important for people to understand that not everybody celebrates Christmas and that there are other holidays," she said. "On the other hand, what I tell people now is: 'If you don't cel- ebrate Christmas and someone says 'Merry Christmas,' say 'Merry Christmas' back. Don't freak out.'" Alongside employee diversity, clients and customers should also be taken into account when deco- rating the office for the holidays, said Paulrajan. "How do we make spaces in- clusive and multicultural? When it comes to religious and cultural traditions, that's the question we have to be asking," she said. "ere are so many layers to diversity and inclusion; there is no point where you've arrived. You cannot have the perfect Christmas tree that shows everybody's religious tradi- tions or captures all of the differ- ent views, but we always have to keep taking it a step further." ere's still a lot of work that needs to be done when it comes to inclusion, said Paulrajan. "Our communities are becoming more and more multicultural and, at the same time, we also see pushback. We haven't turned the corner yet." Best practices Organizational best practice would be greeting all employees on major religious holidays of their choosing, such as Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, rather than Christ- mas alone, said Lieberman. And whenever possible, com- panies should avoid holiday par- ties, toy drives and gift exchanges in favour of a New Year's party recognizing organizational ac- complishments, she said. If corporate culture is aligned with community charities year- round, a toy drive makes sense, said Lieberman. But interoffice gift exchanges should be a non- starter as individuals' specific economic situations are unknown and employees could face unnec- essary hardship as a result. "In the workplace, it's inap- propriate," she said. "People don't need the workplace to do a gift ex- change or a toy drive for Christ- mas. ey can do that outside of work. ere's other things they can do inside of work." Let staff decide Turning the celebratory specifics over to staff could be a wise move for managers, said Battah. "is is a big deal for employees. If staff comes and says, 'Look, we want this to be more inclusive, less Christmas,' then that's probably right for your place of business," he said. "I would be sensitive to that in terms of a guiding principle." Allowing employees to chime in shows organizational respect — a success in itself, said Rudner. "Like a lot of things in employ- ment law, it comes down to com- mon sense and respect," he said. "If you have people in your work- place that celebrate holidays other than Christmas, then don't just make it a Christmas party. If you have a multicultural workplace, or if you're not sure how various groups would celebrate the holi- days, ask them." "ere's nothing wrong with having a Christmas tree and there's certainly nothing wrong with having a toy drive," said Rud- ner. "If you have an entirely unidi- mensional, unicultural workplace and everyone celebrates Christ- mas, then celebrate Christmas. You don't have to have a multicul- tural party even though everyone is Christian." While inclusivity is widely re- garded as best practice in Canada, it is not unlawful to hold a Christ- mas party that does not recognize other major religious holidays, he said. However, employers do have a duty to accommodate employ- ees' preferred religious holidays with time off, unless undue hard- ship exists. Despite the tricky nature of it, successfully navigating through the holiday season remains a worthwhile venture for organiza- tions, said Rudner. "e holiday party is still a great idea," he said. "It's a great time to build team- work and social relationships. Ev- eryone wants to be the employer of choice, and that means some- times you relax and let people have some fun. But there is cer- tainly some risk there, so it's got to be done properly." Show common sense, respect HOLIDAY SEASON < pg. 1 And the award goes to… Nominate a colleague whose contributions deserve your recognition. 2017 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE Celebrate an unsung HR champion — recognize someone who brings innovative thinking, people-driven strategy, and true business value to their organization with a nomination for their outstanding work. Nominations are open to any CHRP, CHRL or CHRE in good standing. The nomination process is simple, find out how at: hrpa.ca/awards

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