Recently, I released a cathartic video on TikTok about bosses who frown at employees taking time for prayers during working hours. What really opened my eyes were the hundreds of comments on the video – some good, some downright ugly. Today, I want to share some of my random thoughts after reading those comments.
🙏 Prepare a Place for Prayer. Especially if there is no nearby surau. It helps to cut down the travelling time. I read one comment mentioning that her office isn’t very big, so the boss let her pray in the pantry area. If it happened during lunch, her boss would eat at her desk. Such consideration!
🙏 Set Clear Deliverables. Honestly, I’m not even particular about people coming to work on time or leaving early. As long as the work gets done, I’m cool with it. As leaders, we should empower our people to make their own decisions, including how they manage their time, as long as the outcomes are desirable.
🙏 Reasonable Prayer Breaks. A twenty-minute interval for prayer breaks is not a very long time, considering the amount of time we spend at work – and it’s not like boss pays overtime when we stay late.
🙏 Equal Breaks for All. If they allow people to take 20-minute smoke breaks, they should allow the same for prayers.
🙏 Prevent Abuse of the System. For those who extend their “prayer breaks” to 3 hours on a Friday or 1 hour on other days, you are causing grievances to others who genuinely want to pray. Your actions affect others.
Workforce harmony requires a lot of give and take. I pray that everyone can find peace in your workplace, no matter how terrible 🐷 your employers or your colleagues may be 🫶
xoxoxo, AuntyHR
