Resources, Tools, Learning Opportunities

1. Why do we have holiday decoration and celebration guidelines?

Our employees observe many cultural and religious holidays during the year. We must be mindful and respectful of the rich and diverse cultures that are present in our workplace and the communities we serve. 

As a government entity, we must strive to avoid the appearance of endorsing one religion over another religion. These guidelines are consistent with federal and state laws*. Please communicate them with your teams and coworkers.

2. What holiday decorations are allowed? 

Only secular holiday decorations may be displayed in public areas or shared workspaces.

Secular holiday decorations include things like tinsel, garland, snowmen, candy canes, reindeer, greenery, trees, wreaths, colorful fabrics, seasonal fruit, pine cones, icicles, berries, decorative balls, strings of lights, and flameless candles. 

Decorating trees or shrubs, as well as gift giving and charity, were originally part of the pagan holiday of Saturnalia. Tinsel was developed in Nuremberg Germany in the 16th century. It derives from a French word "estincele" that means sparkle. It was originally used to adorn statues and used to reflect the light from candles. It became a way to decorate trees in the 19th century. It has been used in India to decorate for weddings and other ceremonies and celebrations year-round.

Do not display holiday decorations with religious content or symbols in public areas or shared workspaces

Employees may only display religious decorations in their private workspaces.  

3. How do I know if an area is public, shared, or private? 

A public area is any space to which the public has physical or visual access that is not a private workspace. For example, lobbies, reception areas, front counters, conference rooms, hallways, or exteriors of buildings are all public areas. Please be mindful that if you are in a zoom or virtual meeting with a client, customer, or the general public, then this may be considered a public space. You may want to consider blurring your background or using a Larimer County virtual background when meeting with the public.

A shared workspace is used or shared by employees, such as copy rooms, conference rooms, shared offices, bathrooms, break areas, or zoom meetings. 

Private workspaces are assigned exclusively to one employee. This can include a cubicle, desk, or office that may be seen occasionally by coworkers but not by clients, customers, or the general public. 

4. I want to have a holiday party with my team. Is that okay?

Holiday activities, such as luncheons, potlucks, or gift exchanges must be voluntary. Not every employee may feel comfortable participating in these activities, have the means to participate, or their religious beliefs may prevent their participation. 

Respect employee decisions to not participate. 

Supervisors and managers should not be perceived as endorsing or supporting religion generally or one religion over another.

5. What are additional ways individuals or teams could create a more inclusive work environment as it relates to holidays and celebrations?

To create a more inclusive work environment, consider planning a meal to share and learn about different cultural traditions and holidays at various times of the year. Consider establishing a communication channel for team members to communicate dietary restrictions before your celebration.

If you are scheduling an event offsite, make sure your venue choice has enough room and is accessible for individuals using assisted mobility devices.

If you are planning a party, consider scheduling it during work hours. Many team members may have obligations and important commitments after work hours.

Being inclusive throughout the year doesn't mean you have to throw parties during every holiday. You can acknowledge holidays in smaller ways, such as sending email reminders about the holiday, providing educational information, giving handwritten cards or notes, announcing the holiday during team meetings and sharing what you have learned about it and making space for others to share if/how they are observing if they feel comfortable.

6. Can I display real candles at work?

No. It is important to consider safety. Unfortunately, preventable fires associated with real candles claim lives and destroy property. 

Please carefully consider the flammability and potential fire risk of decorations and follow your department’s guidelines for the use of electrical devices or flameless candles.

7. Can we display trees or wreaths in public areas?

Yes. Trees or wreaths can be displayed in public areas or shared workspaces. The U.S. Supreme Court determined in County of Allegheny v. ACLU Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, 492 U.S. 573 (1989) that trees and wreaths are secular symbols.

8. Can an employee display a nativity scene, menorah, or other religious symbol in their cubicle or office?

Yes, if the employee’s cubicle or office is a private workspace assigned exclusively to that employee, not shared with another employee, and not generally visible to the public. 

9. Who can I contact if I have questions or concerns about holiday or celebration decorations? 

Please contact your HR Generalist.

*This Hastings Law Journal article, specifically page 31, from August 2023 references the Establishment Clause and does an extremely brief history of Supreme Court decisions on the display of religious symbols in public settings.

• Part of being an inclusive and respectful workplace means using words and language that honors the individual you are interacting with. A big part of this is understanding, learning about, and using pronouns appropriately. Intentionally and repeatedly mis-using an individual's pronouns is not respectful. At Larimer County we encourage and recommend that our employees take time to learn about pronoun importance and use. This page is intended to provide such tools and resources.
•  

  • Subjective	Objective	Possessive	Reflexive	Example
    She	Her	Hers	Herself	She is speaking.
    He	Him	His	Himself	He is speaking.
    They	Them	Theirs	Themself	They are speaking.
    Ze	Hir/Zir	Hirs/Zirs	Hirself/Zirself	Ze is speaking.

  • An informational Pronoun Ebook can be found 
    here
  • Click here
    for a guide on how to set up your pronouns in Zoom and your email signature. 
    • Why isn't this required? Currently, Larimer County strongly encourages and recommends the use of pronouns in your email signature and Zoom for the various reasons described within this webpage. It is not required because we have not completed countywide education on it. Requiring employees to do something they are not trained to do allows for missteps to happen and for unintended consequences. We do not want that. Therefore, we are making this page a place of on-going learning and growth. If a department head is interested in exploring this as a requirement within their department, please reach out to Nicole Berg, Inclusion Administrator to discuss further.
  • Check out these resources to learn more about pronouns. https://www.mypronouns.org/what-and-why and these videos https://www.mypronouns.org/resources

• Ableism - the belief that able-bodied individuals are normal and superior to persons with disabilities. 
• Adaptable - The ability and willingness to learn and grow while demonstrating flexibility and resiliency in an ever-changing work environment.
• Belonging - refers to feeling accepted.
• Bias - favor for or against something, person, or group. Many different types of bias exist from recency bias to the halo or horn effect.
• Code Switching - adjusting one’s style of speech, appearance, behavior, and expression to try to fit in and be accepted by a particular group, typically a dominant group.
• Cognizance of Bias- becoming aware and conscious of an implicit or explicit bias one has
• Covering – What some members of non-dominant groups do to tone down aspects of their identity.  To fit in, to be accepted, or to survive in the workplace, they may try to minimize how they differ from dominant groups.
• Culture -  deeply rooted patterns of values, customs, attitudes and beliefs that distinguish one group from another
• Cultural Intelligence (CQ) - the ability to relate to people from different cultural backgrounds. 
• Diversity- Various backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints that individuals bring to the workspace. Diversity is a fact.
• Dominant belief systems – perspectives about life developed by ruling groups, whose members disseminate and sustain beliefs that most benefit themselves.  These systems become embedded and taken-for-granted within societies. 
• Dominant groups- social identity groups that tend to have more economic and cultural power than others due to historical or current systems and processes.
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ)- refers to the ability to: a) identify and manage one’s own emotions; and, b) identify and influence others’ emotions.  Elements of Emotional Intelligence are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill.
• Equality- is about level setting and providing access to or sameness and bringing one group to the standards of another
• Equity- to get to equity bias needs to be considered and the creation of systems where people get what they need to thrive
  • Equity approach to inclusion accepts that some groups have more advantages than others.
  • Equity efforts try to correct such differences between groups, offering varying levels of support based on need.
• Explicit bias- are consciously-held notions, attitudes or stereotypes about individuals or groups that affect our understanding, actions, behaviors, and decisions. Persons who have explicit biases are aware of them and they believe the bias is right in some way.
• Heteronormativity – the belief that heterosexuality is more normal, and has a higher value than other sexual orientation identities.
• Implicit bias -  preconceived notions, attitudes or stereotypes about individuals or groups that unconsciously affect our understanding, actions, behaviors, and decisions.
• Inclusion- The processes that help everyone in the workplace feel valued and respected. This is what you do with your diversity. Needs to be a win/win for the individual, the organization, and the community.
  • Inclusion refers to processes that help everyone (dominant and non-dominant groups) in the workplace feel valued (sense of worth that comes from belonging and uniqueness) and respected (regard for feelings, wishes, rights and traditions of others as it relates to equity and nondiscrimination). It is a process and a feeling. Inclusion is an act.
• Inclusive - The ability and willingness to authentically contribute to a workplace culture that is empathetic, accepting, open-minded and compassionate.
• Inclusive Leadership- Processes of social influence that strives to value and respect everyone involved in achieving a goal. Inclusive leadership is about relationships that can accomplish things for mutual benefit. Reaching leadership at this next level means doing things with people rather than to people
  • 6 traits of an inclusive leader are:
    • Commitment
    • Courage
    • Cognizance of bias
    • Curiosity
    • Cultural Intelligence
    • Collaboration
• Intersectionality - Refers to the experience of multiple forms of oppression due to membership in more than one non-dominant group (e.g., elderly Black woman, gay Asian male, or transgender person who uses a wheelchair).
• Leadership- a process of social influence which maximizes the efforts of others toward the achievement of a goal.
• Micro-affirmations - small acts and events that convey respect, recognition, support, validation, and encouragement.  Micro-affirmations are tiny acts of opening doors to opportunity, gestures of inclusion and caring, and graceful acts of listening.
• Microagressions - messages that can have a negative impact on others. Slights, snubs, or insults that members of marginalized groups experience from individuals who are often unaware that they have said or done something offensive.
• Microinequities - small brief actions that make individuals from nondominant groups feel devalued, discouraged, excluded, or ignored. These include verbal and nonverbal cues such as words, facial expressions, and vocal tone.Microinequities are a type of microaggressions.
• Non-dominant groups - social identity groups that due to historical and current inequities and discrimination tend to have less economic and cultural power than others and may include identities like gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age, ability status, etc. 
• Patriarchy  - a social system in which men are the superior gender.  This can prompt gender-based assumptions about roles and behaviors.
• Privilege - an invisible advantage or lack of disadvantages due to being a member of a particular group. Is grounded in social systems with negative or positive consequences. Members of non-dominant groups tend to be more aware of how privilege operates. Privilege can breed cultural bias and prejudice. Attitude and behaviors associated with privilege can vary across cultures and time.
• Respect- regard for another’s feelings, wishes, rights and traditions in a nondiscriminatory way and with equity in mind.
• Stereotypes -  specific beliefs about a group, such as descriptions of what members of a particular group look like, how they behave, or their abilities.  Stereotypes refer to associations between a particular trait such as “laziness” or “intelligence” and a certain social group. These associations or stereotypes are widely held within a society, due to dominant belief systems. Stereotype is acting on a bias.
• Uniqueness - emphasizes appreciating each person as one-of-a-kind.  And, it means valuing someone for multiple qualities.
• Value - having a sense of worth that comes from belonging and uniqueness.

Click here to watch a video on the benefits of an age-friendly workplace.