Brands and Companies Make The Holiday Season More Inclusive

The “holiday season” is getting more inclusive. An article in Harvard Business Review offers ideas for how to create a more inclusive workplace by offering “floating days off” instead of only Christian holidays. A new bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to make Diwali a federal holiday. While that’s unlikely to pass, one article noted that Diwali marketing in the U.S. may finally be going mainstream. Target features the holiday in their new Welcome To ... holiday series that shines a spotlight on diverse holidays such as Diwali or Día de Muertos. Even Instagram created new stickers and features to celebrate Diwali.

As the HBR article notes, there are over 170 days of the year that could be considered religiously or culturally significant enough to commemorate. Obviously, every one can’t be a holiday. The flexible time off seems like a good solution. Ultimately, people should be allowed to decide for themselves which days are most meaningful for them to take off work. And workplaces must evolve so team members are not judged for choosing to use those flexible days off.