Bible Bullies?
I work at a hospital in the Midwest that’s part of a large health care system. Recently, a group of senior nurses on staff used company email to send out a message to all unit staff inviting everyone to join a virtual Bible study group, with the understanding that “we all come from different faiths.” Even though they claim this is an “outside work group” and not affiliated with the hospital, they’ve labeled their group with the hospital name and used company communication portals to promote it.
Our health care employer does not brand itself as a religious organization, it is strictly nonprofit and religion is not invoked in its mission or in its commitments to community. For further context, this group is routinely referred to by other nurses as “the Christian Bullies.” Some colleagues have privately acknowledged to me that this group’s discussion of their Christian religion at main nursing desks (where patients can hear staff conversations) makes them uncomfortable. Am I wrong to express my discomfort to management with this invitation being sent out to all employees? Can this even be allowed?
— Anonymous
Listen, I don’t think you’re wrong. But before expressing your concerns to management you might want to explore the rules and expectations about using company property or communications methods for nonwork initiatives. I’ve worked in large companies where employee interest groups have been convened — for example, groups for female employees or for people of color — but those were explicitly sanctioned and administered by company representatives. That’s not what’s happening here at all, and I’m troubled by the “Christian Bullies’” use of company communication portals to promote their conversations and recruit others.
(I’m less troubled by their use of the hospital name, only because it could be argued that the use of the name is purely, and pretty straightforwardly, descriptive. Theirs is a group, after all, that is populated by people who work for the same employer. But I understand your discomfort, and share it.)
As for whether this can be allowed, I think you have your (initial) answer already: It can be allowed, because it is being allowed. But the question of whether these efforts can continue — including the somewhat questionable use of the company’s name and communication channels and technologies — is more of an open one, which is why I suggest you look into aforementioned rules and expectations. And if you can’t find any documentation of what those might be, you should go straight to management in order to get clarity, in which case you’re both looking to have a question answered while also lodging a complaint.
Is there any precedent for employees sending out companywide emails regarding issues that have nothing to do with the workplace? (I’m thinking of former colleagues of mine who would spam email lists or Slack channels with announcements about, say, the sale of Girl Scout cookies.) Who else has done this sort of thing? I think you might also want to ask yourself how much of your discomfort centers on the method of their communications and how much concerns the content of their communications. I hate to defend a bunch of Christian bullies — and the use of the word “bullies” suggests a more aggressive posture than is appreciated — but they can talk about what they want among themselves. Yes, even at work. As to whether these sort of conversations are alienating or irritating to patients, you don’t say. Have you heard complaints? If so, you might want to pass this along to the folks in management when you approach them.
The strongest argument you can make is that this group’s behavior is making other employees uncomfortable, and that it should not be using company property to communicate religious (or, for that matter, political) messages. Focus your efforts on these issues and you will probably get the clarity — though not necessarily the answer — you’re looking for. Godspeed.