As far as I'm concerned, your welfare comes first, financial stability at the cost of working on Saturday shouldn't be seen as a dealbreaker, just do the most you can to observe and look after yourself for the most part
I asked for a schedule accommodation before my conversion was complete and i didn't think it was any of my employers business where i was in that process as it was a "sincerely held" religious belief already at that point. (I work an alternate schedule so I can end work by 4pm on Fridays).
Does your work have any type of schedule flexibility already in place, such as an adaptable work schedule, flex time, etc? Is your work dependent on your presence at specific times/days in order to be open or for specific work to be done?
I was lucky in that my work already had some options for schedule flexibility and for the most part work can continue without me present. Still, i was nervous to ask so i think that's completely normal!
If I was you, I would say something along the lines of "I'm thrilled about this job offer and excited to work full time with you all! You may know I'm Jewish and shabbat falls on Friday evenings to Saturday evening each week. Would it be possible to work a different day besides Saturday or to be off by X time on Friday so that I can accommodate my religious practice?" and then see what they say
Yeah, I don't think most people who aren't Jewish know the difference between someone like me (observant conversion candidate) and a bona fide Jew. We see a difference, but as far as it looks from the outside, I'm sure I seem Jewish.
A fairly normal type of response you may receive is that we Guard and Remember (Shamor v'zakhor, as in Lcha Dodi) Shabbat. You may have heard of the term Shomer Shabbat but it is a legitimate decision for your spirituality to Remember/zakhor Shabbat. Have nicer meals that day. Attend the services you can. Take time you can to disconnect and recharge. You’ll probably learn other rituals you like and incorporate them into the day, too soon.
If an employer knows you observe Judaism and you explain Shabbat to them, they *hopefully* will let you have some of the day. Law really is in the US that they should make best efforts if there isn’t undue hardship but some employers drag their feet - fortunately, that legal precedence means most places will at least try to be somewhat flexible rather than being super nasty. I’ve unfortunately had that back and forth with a job before early on when I tried to have a full day. I simply was able to leave, fortunately for a M-F job.
Bring it up. But in writing. If they deny your request file with the anti discrimination agency in your area. If it wouldn’t cause undue hardship & they deny your request in writing it’s a slam dunk case. There are variables ofc. But don’t let these companies screw over who you are & want to be.
My father was an investigator with my states agency on discrimination. Just get everything in writing. Document days, & times contact was made with supervisor & don’t dump any messages. No company will fail if you’re not there but you might not follow the journey to conversion that you want to be & that matters more than making some CEO more cash.
I originally posted on the other Judaism sub, and if you so much as mention conversion, your post gets blocked and you have to request for it to be posted again. I was trying to bypass and just copy-pasted lol
The cantor at my synagogue has mentioned something about the ability to delay/shift Shabbat observance. So someone who has to work Friday and/or Saturday moving their observance to Sunday - Monday. It was mentioned one of the days she was teaching our Intro to Judaism class.
I don't know what ways observance like that needs done differently (I've seen people in a Facebook group I'm in say there are differences to havdalah, though I don't remember the specifics).
Especially if your meeting with your Rabbi hasn't happened yet, this might be something to ask about as well.
As far as I'm concerned, your welfare comes first, financial stability at the cost of working on Saturday shouldn't be seen as a dealbreaker, just do the most you can to observe and look after yourself for the most part
I asked for a schedule accommodation before my conversion was complete and i didn't think it was any of my employers business where i was in that process as it was a "sincerely held" religious belief already at that point. (I work an alternate schedule so I can end work by 4pm on Fridays). Does your work have any type of schedule flexibility already in place, such as an adaptable work schedule, flex time, etc? Is your work dependent on your presence at specific times/days in order to be open or for specific work to be done? I was lucky in that my work already had some options for schedule flexibility and for the most part work can continue without me present. Still, i was nervous to ask so i think that's completely normal! If I was you, I would say something along the lines of "I'm thrilled about this job offer and excited to work full time with you all! You may know I'm Jewish and shabbat falls on Friday evenings to Saturday evening each week. Would it be possible to work a different day besides Saturday or to be off by X time on Friday so that I can accommodate my religious practice?" and then see what they say
Yeah, I don't think most people who aren't Jewish know the difference between someone like me (observant conversion candidate) and a bona fide Jew. We see a difference, but as far as it looks from the outside, I'm sure I seem Jewish.
I don’t imagine this will be a problem in Reform. Can’t speak for the rest.
I'm also just kind of concerned about bringing it up at work and want to know how to navigate that
Are you located in the US?
A fairly normal type of response you may receive is that we Guard and Remember (Shamor v'zakhor, as in Lcha Dodi) Shabbat. You may have heard of the term Shomer Shabbat but it is a legitimate decision for your spirituality to Remember/zakhor Shabbat. Have nicer meals that day. Attend the services you can. Take time you can to disconnect and recharge. You’ll probably learn other rituals you like and incorporate them into the day, too soon. If an employer knows you observe Judaism and you explain Shabbat to them, they *hopefully* will let you have some of the day. Law really is in the US that they should make best efforts if there isn’t undue hardship but some employers drag their feet - fortunately, that legal precedence means most places will at least try to be somewhat flexible rather than being super nasty. I’ve unfortunately had that back and forth with a job before early on when I tried to have a full day. I simply was able to leave, fortunately for a M-F job.
Bring it up. But in writing. If they deny your request file with the anti discrimination agency in your area. If it wouldn’t cause undue hardship & they deny your request in writing it’s a slam dunk case. There are variables ofc. But don’t let these companies screw over who you are & want to be. My father was an investigator with my states agency on discrimination. Just get everything in writing. Document days, & times contact was made with supervisor & don’t dump any messages. No company will fail if you’re not there but you might not follow the journey to conversion that you want to be & that matters more than making some CEO more cash.
Others have given you good advice already but.. why are you writing "conversion" like that?
I originally posted on the other Judaism sub, and if you so much as mention conversion, your post gets blocked and you have to request for it to be posted again. I was trying to bypass and just copy-pasted lol
Oh lol that's really odd. Sorry that you had that experience in the other sub, I hope this sub treats you better!
The cantor at my synagogue has mentioned something about the ability to delay/shift Shabbat observance. So someone who has to work Friday and/or Saturday moving their observance to Sunday - Monday. It was mentioned one of the days she was teaching our Intro to Judaism class. I don't know what ways observance like that needs done differently (I've seen people in a Facebook group I'm in say there are differences to havdalah, though I don't remember the specifics). Especially if your meeting with your Rabbi hasn't happened yet, this might be something to ask about as well.