Young people more favorable to religious practice in business

Bring the veil in the office, review the organization of your day according to its religious practice, or even develop spaces like prayer rooms in its workplace. For these three points, young people aged 18 to 24 are much more favorable than their elders. This is one of the teachings of the second barometer of the religious fact in business carried out by Toluna and Harris Interactive* for the representative council of the Jewish institutions of France (CRIF) and the Higher Institute of Labor (IST).

Since the first edition in 2021, several age groups have appeared more favorable to developments related to religious practice. But it is in those who barely enter the active life that evolution is spectacular. In most situations, almost 70 % of 18-24 year olds respond by positive, an increase of 16 and 24 points compared to four years ago.

The only case for which they seem slightly more reserved is when it comes to opening a prayer room at work location: 58 % support this initiative ( + 17 points). For comparison, to the same questions, between 19 % and 25 % of 50-65 year olds respond positively.

More accepted religious behavior

Regarding the behaviors claimed as religious, the general degree of acceptability also increases. This increase is more marked for two cases: 34 % of those questioned consider acceptable the fact that a person wishes the development of their schedules to pray (+ 5 points) and 21 % the fact that an employee refuses to sit where one of the other sex has previously seated (+ 5 points).

Again, there is a generational fracture. Thus, 63 % of 18-24 year olds and 49 % of 25-34 year olds consider acceptable that an employee requests a reorganization of his day to pray. Just like 46 % of 18-24 year olds and 31 % of 25-34 year olds consider that it is acceptable that an employee refuses to establish where a person of the other sex previously seated. Note that for the first age class, the most notable difference from 2021 concerns the fact that an employee refuses to shake hands with a person of the other sex: 58 % consider this attitude acceptable.

37 % of employees faced with facts in the workplace

So this is for the inventory of the gaze of employees on religious practice or identified as such. But in fact, are these events more and more observed in companies and in the public sector? The barometer does not highlight notable evolution. 67 % say that the situation has not changed in their business in recent years (compared to 72 % in 2021). 37 % were faced with facts at their workplace (compared to 35 % in 2021).

When an employee shows his religious practice, it is most often by wearing ostentatious signs (cross, sail, kippah …), by requests concerning the diet, or requests for leave linked to a religious holiday which is not a public holiday. When they have been faced with these situations and others, two in three people say they were disturbed. But the vast majority consider that this has been relatively well managed by the company.

News in the Middle East source of tensions

The study is concluded with a focus on the consequences of events in the Middle East since October 7, 2023-the day of the attack of Israel by Hamas, followed by bombings on the Gaza Strip. 53 % of employees claim to have already discussed it with their colleagues. 27 % say they have felt tensions related to this subject in their business, while 24 % say they have had it in the context of exchanges with their colleagues.

Again, younger employees have spoken of these events and have observed that it could tense. 73 % of 18-24 year olds mentioned it, 52 % received tensions around this news in their business and 56 % noted that the exchanges with the other members of the team were affected. Note that on this last point, there is a clear difference with the following generation, that of 24-35 year olds: only 33 % share tense relations.