MANAGING RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION AND INJUNCTIONS OF INCLUSION: A SOURCE OF ROLE TENSIONS FOR FRONT-LINE MANAGERS? A STUDY ON THE ISSUE OF WEARING HIJAB IN A LARGE FRENCH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY

Abstract

The management of religious expression has been a growing topic in French literature since the 2010s. The 2021 edition of the OFRE & Institut Montaigne’s annual survey identifies the visible wearing of a religious symbol as one of the most frequently reported expressions of religious affiliation in the workplace, confirming the trend of previous studies. In recent years, several cases have been highly publicized in France that systematically highlight situations related to wearing hijab, like in the retail chains Etam and Décathlon in 2019. Overall, intervention regarding religion is particularly delicate for managers, especially in cases of conflict with an employee (OFRE & Institut Montaigne, 2021). More and more companies are therefore offering their front-line managers support systems for managing religious issues. They formalize the organization’s position on religion, and its approach to diversity. Front-line managers find themselves at a crossroads between expectations on both sides. They are both guarantors of the company’s policy, and the first point of call for employees’ demands. Our study therefore questions the role tensions that these managers may experience when faced with the management of employees’ religious practices, through the example of wearing hijab. A three-year participant observation in a large French telecommunications company allowed us to analyze its religious management system and to conduct 66 semi-structured interviews, including 41 with managers.