By Dan Eckstein
Dan Eckstein is a Director in Accenture’s Communications, Media and Technology practice. He is passionate about Inclusion and Diversity and is on a mission to make Accenture the most truly human organization in the digital age while ensuring that every employee can have a feeling of belonging. He is also the leader of Accenture’s Employee Experience Council for I&D and the Interfaith and Jewish employee resource groups in NY Metro.
What does it mean to bring your whole self to work—body, mind, heart and soul?
At Accenture, it means being free to express your passions, aspirations and strengths—all the unique qualities that make you…well, you. It’s a place where you can feel comfortable talking openly about topics that are sometimes considered taboo. Faith is often one of them.
As an observant Jew, I’ve always been passionate about inclusion and diversity, especially the topic of one’s faith at work. After graduating college, it was a challenge to figure out how I wanted to balance my religion and my work. I found myself trying to compartmentalize my work life from my religious life. But it didn’t feel right. I wanted to be transparent about who I am, and be consistent both inside and outside the office. My religion is something I’m proud of.
I learned about the Interfaith Employee Resource Group (ERG) shortly after joining the company. Empowering employees to be their true, authentic self, the ERG is open to individuals of all faiths and those who do not identify with any faith.
Partnering with the leaders of our seven Faith ERGs in the NY Metro area (Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Other), we work together as volunteers to host events that focus on a wide variety of topics—from Interfaith Marriage to LGBTQ and Faith, to discussions led by local faith leaders. We host events to explore our respective religions—through Sabbath meals, Ramadan Iftaar meals, Diwali celebrations and prayer breakfasts. We plan social outings and participate in corporate citizenship activities together. I’m proud that we’re able to be open about religion in the workplace and use it as a tool to connect more deeply with each other.
I’m proud of what we are accomplishing at Accenture as we enable all employees to be Truly Human and talk about Faith at Work. As Ellyn Shook, our Chief Leadership and Human Resources Officer said, “When we bring our whole selves to work it becomes the moment when we can be our best both professionally and personally.”
I encourage you to check out these 3 links when you have time:
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Read this blog post written by one of our Interfaith leaders.
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Watch the short video from our Inclusion and Diversity choir. We hosted the Gift of Life and had over 35 employees volunteer to be tested as a bone marrow donor. We had an amazing time at the Interfaith Holiday breakfast celebration with the first performance of the Inclusion and Diversity choir.
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