Expressing your Druidry at Work
I work for a major energy company; one filled with industrial process and technological wizardry, and of course one where the spirits of place can be very different. Being a forward thinking, caring and on many levels ethical company, it has spent considerable effort in focusing on the different needs of staff in relation to their race, gender, abilities, and religion. By challenging attitudes which are negative and promoting those that are positive, it aspires to a culture of Diversity and Inclusion. The mainstream religions are acknowledged within the workplace, and where appropriate consideration is made to the needs of those expressing their path during the working day. This might take the form of a space or room set aside for prayer or meditation in the larger offices, or particular consideration of leave applications for the observance of religious festivals.
Druidry and Paganism are often less well known as contemporary spiritual paths, and thus it is not unreasonable perhaps to find them outside that inclusive ethos, which is established with intent to hold all spiritual values as valid. Of course, once attention is drawn thereto it is essential that the company ensure these paths are addressed within the policy of inclusion. In my case that has included such simple things as adding the generally accepted eight festivals that the majority of modern Pagans celebrate to the company calendar, and speaking up when diverse religions are debated in house. But how else does one brings the Druid spirituality into work?
So much of Druidry involves the personal one-to-one (or, heh, one-to-many) encounter with deity within the natural, day to day world; it is not surprising that much of our practical spirituality takes the form of environmentalism. To harm, or to see harm caused to, the natural world is troubling to us. Some of us may subscribe to the Pagan ethic ‘and it harm none, do as you will.’ - and yet we live in the modern world, not outside it. By the very action of reading this article on a computer screen we admit to our involvement in a certain amount of damage to the environment, through the use of the electricity, through the use of plastics and ‘precious’ metals in the construction of the computer, even through the motorway miles and logistic processes which delivered it to you. Or maybe you have printed this article off and are now reading the text on paper? That’s all of the above and some tree as well!
The point I’m trying to make is that ‘harm none’ is more aspiration than attainment and that we spend all our days balancing our path and our lives with pragmatic convenience. It is important, though, that we do not rely on pragmatism as a crutch on which to lean as we make our necessary wage-slave way through the world. So how can we involve our Druidry in our everyday work life?
As environmentally sensitive folk we can try to influence the processes that take place in our workplace. I can speak only from my own position as a professional engineer in an industrial FTSE100 company, but I’m confident at least some of these ideas are appropriate to your own workplaces.
- Keeping an eye on the thermostats that control heating, especially in seldom used areas like store rooms (or seldom used places where someone went in once, felt cold and turned up the thermostat, then left. Ever since which the room has enjoyed a cosy but wholly unnecessary heating.) Is that controller designed to be set for comfort, or for frost protection?
- Computers, monitors and printers that are left on at night or left in standby may be so left for a reason such as overnight updates, backups etc. But with a little thought perhaps the monitors and printers at least could be powered down, saving the environment and costs to the company too.
- Air conditioning is very pleasant, but not always needful if there’s an open window on a hot afternoon. It can also be set to turn off at night and at weekends, saving more electricity with a zero impact on comfort. And it’s interesting to note how many air conditioned offices can have windows left open, or have discrete fan heaters running under desks…
- Seeking the provision of FairTrade™ or ethically sourced tea and coffee, and considering the replacement of vending machines for minimally filled kettles and cups (especially removing the waste of paper cups in favour of [horrors!] a bit of washing up. An example is http://www.fair-trader.info/vending.htm. You might combine this with replacing the chocolate and crisp vending machine with a bowl of locally grown fruit…
- Buying post-consumer recycled paper for the printers (example http://www.treecycle.com/), printing less and recycling the waste paper and cardboard in your office. Indeed, with changes in legislation it is possible you are helping with company compliance by asking for more and varied recycling provision. Anything that’s put in the right recycling bin ought not to end up on landfill, and post-landfill tax recycling bins are generally cheaper to have emptied at work than general waste bins.
- Setting up a regime to recycle the printer toner cartidges. Many producers such as Hewlett Packard (HP) already put postage paid return labels in their replacement cartridges, but so many folk simply ignore them and toss the old unit into the general waste bin. These old units are easily recycled, and if the producer doesn’t supply a return route (which is now required under the WEEE directive) there are companies that will recycle for you, such as Rabbitt Recycling near me
- Report through your line management or incident line any other obvious way in which the company could improve on its ethical and environmental image. Assess the opinion in your workplace on car-sharing, public transport, walking etc. Some larger offices (some of mine for example) operate fuel saving busses which allow folk to give up their otherwise necessary second car.
Likewise, while some of us are not comfortable openly revealing our spirituality at work, many of us are fully out of the woods (or perhaps fully in them!) with our colleagues. My own colleagues refer to me as ‘the dippy, trippy, tree-huggin’ hippie’… obviously in a spirit of inclusion and diversity… ahem. The point here is that, being known as a Druid or a Pagan, how we interact at work offers an example of our spirituality. How we are perceived becomes how Druidry itself is perceived. How we react to others of different paths, even ones who are less willing to see value in others’ paths (or especially those people) gives a lasting impression of the tolerance and diversity of the Druid path. Of course, it is not in the Pagan or Druid paths to proselytize, to evangelise… nevertheless. joining in with Interfaith workshops and meetings both expresses a confidence in our own path, and allows others of different paths to experience a little of ours. And in doing so, a few false ‘truths’ about Pagans and Druids might be extinguished as well.
It is of course possible that you feel unable to reveal your spirituality at work, or perhaps have done so and suffered victimisation because of it. (It is even possible that you see no reason to reveal anything, that it is something personal to you only, and this is also a perfectly valid position to take.) For those nervously examining disclosure and for those already in troubled waters the following links may be of use:
And don’t forget, it’s not only the Pagans and Druids who get into trouble regarding their spirituality at work. Consider the recent news items regarding the British Airways employee barred from wearing her crucifix, the Muslim teacher denied the right to wear her veil in the classroom. You may have opinions on these incidents, bear it in mind that other folk may have similar views about you too!
In writing this short article many things have sprung to mind where I could have done better, where I could have helped the company improve, where I could have put Druidry in a better light by example… There’s no time when it’s wrong to start afresh, but of course it’s also necessary to do the job, earn the cash, pay the mortgage. The secret is to find that happy balance, and one day I will!
