Post by Shah Mir - Chartered Financial Planner

Giving alcohol or alcohol related gifts to a Muslim is offensive. My brother-in-law works for a start up in Silicon Valley, California. He believes in his firm’s mission and is so passionate of his work that he is always on call. If you work in IT, you would know you would have to be on standby. As the year came to an end, his firm sent him a big box as an appreciation gift for all the hard work. He was so excited to open the big box in front of his family, however soon his excitement turned into disappointment and then to embarrassment. He was gifted a “cocktail shaker set and 2 fancy wine logo glasses”. My brother-in-law is a Muslim. As you may already know, Alcohol is prohibited in Islam. Gifting someone alcohol related stuff when their religious believes prohibit the consumption of alcohol is like gifting an animal derived product to someone who’s vegetarian or vegan. His family has seen the hard work, passion, and creativity he puts in his work. He takes pride in his employer and tells us stories about how he plays a key role in solving problems. After seeing the gift, my brother-in-law started making excuses to protect the image of his employer in front of his family and we all played along. If any employer is reading this, an employee would really appreciate as part of diversity and inclusion if you could spend few minutes finding out about your employee’s beliefs and preferences. I still remember my wife going on about how my employer gave me a gift voucher and how she enjoyed spending it and cannot wait for the next one. It was not the value of gift but the gesture from my firm went a long way. Many employers’ claim to build a workspace and culture that of a family…so is it not essential to get to know your family member? I wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. Ps: Enjoy the sunny view from #california #startup #diversityandinclusion #culture #work #happynewyear2022 #2022 #happyholidays