Blessed Sugar Festival!
The religious festival Eid al-Fitr (Sugar Festival), or the “Feast of Breaking the Fasting,” is one of two major holidays celebrated by Muslims around the world. In the Netherlands this year, Sugar Festival begins tonight (Tuesday evening, April 9) and ends tomorrow, Wednesday. I, Justus Slaakweg, one of the owners of NewArmstrong, do not celebrate Sugar Festival myself. But I do think it is very important that we all pay attention to it within our company.
Sugar Festival, also known as the “Little Eid,” commemorates the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. It is an occasion for special prayers, family visits, gift giving and charity and lasts one to three days, beginning on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar.
Although some Muslims observe other special days throughout the year, including the beginning of the new year according to the Islamic calendar and the birth day of the Prophet Muhammad, the two Eids (festivals) are the only holidays celebrated by the entire Muslim community worldwide.
Sugar Festival has deep meaning. Its spirit is characterized by distinguished values and virtues: gratitude and expressing gratitude.
It is a day that marks the successful completion of the holy month of Ramadan. It is an Islamic festival that signifies the completion of an act of duty and devotion. It teaches us that true happiness comes from performing one’s duty and making sacrifices for a noble cause.
Sugar celebration at NewArmstrong
At NewArmstrong, we believe it is important that all beliefs, whether religious or otherwise, have a place. In an increasingly global and diverse world, it is important for organizations to be aware of inclusiveness and diversity. Celebrating cultural and religious holidays in the workplace is one way to promote this. What is this value of of diversity and how does the Sugar Festival fit into this?
Diversity goes beyond simply hiring people from different backgrounds. It also includes creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome. It affects us as an employer because our employees are our company.
They have the capacity to put the knowledge from the company into practice, and how our employees sit at a customer’s table determines how our company is experienced. But there’s more: as an entrepreneur, I also look at real business benefits of diversity and paying attention to it:
Growth: Accessibility of products and services to a wider audience leads to a larger audience. Consider people from different backgrounds, disabilities, bicultural backgrounds and other diversity issues. Being a diverse company allows many people to identify with us.
Turnover: Companies that embrace gender and ethnic diversity often see an increase in profits. According to McKinsey research, gender diversity can lead to 25% more profits, while ethnic diversity can increase profits by as much as 36%. We enjoy the mutual cooperation, different cultures and religions (Fine Easter and Fine Passover) and the conversations that come with it about values and culture.
Employee satisfaction: An inclusive culture promotes employee engagement and satisfaction. As entrepreneurs ourselves, we also have a certain background, but precisely the understanding that I myself once experienced
What we do at NewArmstrong to achieve mutual understanding in the team:
- We educate about what it is and means, also about Ramandan and fasting.
- We provide flexible schedules where people can arrange how they work and when they take days off.
- We make sure that extra attention is paid to the people who are fasting, for example by extra drawing control so that if someone who is fasting has a slightly lower concentration feels confident about the result delivered. Heavy conditions we avoid.
