How to treat your Muslim co-worker/employee in Ramadan

Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash

It’s that time of the year again, and unless you have a Muslim friend you probably don’t know (or care) that it’s Ramadan. Millions and millions of people around the world are fasting from dawn till dusk everyday for 30 days. Some of which you might be working with and you either have no idea they’re fasting or you do know but you don’t know how you can adapt your behavior to make them feel better. If you are in that situation, this article is for you.

What can you expect?

Ramadan is an Islamic lunar month that comes at different dates every Gregorian year. During those 30 days, Muslims are required to fast by not eating or drinking anything from the moment the sun rises till the moment the sun sets. Of course, there are various exceptions and only those who are in good enough health can fast. Fasting hours can vary across timezones and latitudes, since some days are longer in different countries, and it could be anywhere between 12–22 hours.

Here’s some facts about fasting:

1. The core goal of Ramadan is to feel how hungry poor people can get on a daily basis, so it would encourage you to give charity to the poor.
2. There are 2 main meals in Ramadan. Iftar (literally translates to Breakfast) which is the big meal Muslims have when they break their fast at dawn. It’s similar to Thanksgiving dinner since it involves a lot of food and family & friends gathering around the table.
   The second meal is called Sohoor which is usually consumed before dusk. Muslims try to eat that meal as late as possible so they don’t feel too hungry the next day.
3. Some Muslims unintentionally mess up their sleeping pattern due to the body adapting to a different meal schedule.
4. Like any hungry individual, most Muslims who fast tend to decrease their physical activities during the day to conserve energy, and as a result they might seem cranky. That means if you notice your Muslim coworker is less talkative than usual, it’s not because he/she is mad at you. It’s most likely they’re just tired (and going through coffee withdrawal! ).
5. Productivity tends to be at its best in the morning. Although they may not have had breakfast nor coffee, it just makes sense that at the beginning of the day they’re gonna have more energy to go on than the afternoon.
6. Bad breath. It’s an inevitable fact of fasting long hours. You probably can relate to it if you ever woke up having bad morning breath. Yes, brushing their teeth is allowed during the fast, but that toothpaste smell does not last forever, and bad mouth smell is bound to happen to a fasting person. It’s one reason Muslims like to be quite and not talk much during the fast.

How should you act

However you want, really. Besides the courtesy of wishing them a “Happy Ramadan” you need not adapt your behavior around them in fear of “offending” them. One question I got repeatedly when I was working while fasting in the U.S. is “Is it offensive to eat in front of you?” and my answer was always “Of course not! I’m okay with it.” and so should be any Muslim reading this article. Ramadan doesn’t exist so people can pity us or that we receive special treatment. It’s meant to make us uncomfortable and humble us in the process.

So if you’re a non-Muslim who is still interested in how to make your Muslim coworker/employee feel better, bless your soul. Here’s a list of what I think can help:

1. If you’re a manager, and you have a muslim on a team, consider giving them an extra pair of hands to help them with their tasks, and/or decreasing the workload.
   It’s worth noting, that this might be detrimental if the Muslim in question is a workaholic. In that case, work is actually good because it keeps their mind off of the hunger. So there would be no need to decrease the workload.
2. Do not assign important tasks that requires high attention to detail. This is for your own good; being hungry and tired usually means bad concentration and that might negatively impact the work produced. If that is not possible, then it’s advisable to have a team member or yourself revise the work to ensure its quality. If you know that doing so might emotionally hurt them, try to do it in a friendly manner. Remember that, at the end of the day, producing a quality product/service is the first priority of any successful business.
3. If your business involves physical activities such as moving around, standing up all day, moving weights, walking in the sun, do consider shortening the working hours for the Muslim employee. Either have them start their day late or go home early, in both cases that person will get more much needed sleep. Plus, biologically speaking they might not upkeep the physical demands of the job. Remember they can’t eat or drink anything to replenish their energy.
4. If you’re just a coworker, you can expect your Muslim coworker to be quite and tired all day. But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep them involved! Treat them as you would any other day. You can still ask for their opinion on anything work-related or not.
5. If your team is going out for lunch today, you can still extend the invitation to them, but acknowledge first that they’re fasting and give them the choice to opt out…or in, maybe they might not be fasting that day!
6. If you want to ask one out or arrange a social non-work related event, make sure it’s scheduled after sunset and that it involves dining out. And even then, keep your hopes low because they might have family commitments at home or are invited to Iftar somewhere that evening.
7. This relates to the bad smell point I made earlier, but if you do happen to come across that smell while you are interacting with them try not to embarrass them by pointing it out to them or to others behind their backs in a critical way. To avoid that smell all together, try not to be too close to their faces when you talk to them or sit next to them.

That reaction is fine only if we’re BFFs

I am privileged that I got to work in great work environments in the past with great coworkers and managers that I never really felt much hardship at work during Ramadan. I’m even more lucky now since I moved to a predominantly Muslim country and it’s normal to have short working hours, and I can sometimes even work from home because of the nature of my job (I’m a software engineer). Everyone basically has been through so many Ramadans before that no one has to worry about how to act.

Pro tip: If your coworker invites you to Iftar and you accept, make sure to starve yourself a little that day because there will be A LOT of delicious food to go around.

Happy Ramadan!

Follow me on Twitter @adham_benhawy