The way you interact with other people matters, especially when they are of a different gender, ethnicity, nationality, ability, age, or religion. At work and in the wider world, you will encounter people who think and behave much differently than you. But if you are the one who is different, life can be a challenge, particularly at work. These are the effects of religious discrimination in the workplace.

Decreased Job Performance

At your job, you must perform to demonstrate your worth to the business or organization. Without this performance, you could suffer professional consequences, even including termination. That’s why religious discrimination is so vicious. When you feel shunned, you lack the motivation and confidence needed to complete high-quality work. This decreased job performance will impact your performance reviews and even your pay. All it takes is one person to create a harmful workplace environment and turn religion into a weapon that harms minorities.

Social Alienation

Though job performance is important, larger social dynamics are also at play on the individual level. The workplace consists of many people who all work to accomplish a set goal or task. This requires communication and conversation. These dialogues produce a culture that either accepts or rejects those of different religions. Social disenfranchisement will leave those in the minority on the outside and alienate them from projects. In the workplace, this could mean other people taking credit for your work, people not inviting you to social gatherings, or people physically separating themselves from you to exclude you.

Denial of Upward Mobility

Depending on your job and industry, you could have opportunities for upward mobility. You could receive a raise, increased responsibilities, or a promotion because of your hard work. But religious discrimination can remove these options from the table. If your superior discriminates against you, religious minorities will find themselves being passed up for promotions and denied opportunities for growth. These outcomes then affect your professional future and reveal the character of those for whom you work.

Understanding the effects of religious discrimination is essential because it helps you understand your situation more clearly. If you or someone you know has experienced this kind of prejudice, you should learn more about how to prove religious discrimination in the workplace. It’s one thing to know the consequences and quite another to know how to rectify them. Religious discrimination is wrong, and no one should ever tolerate it, so fight for your dignity and protect your career.