This document presents a case study about conflict that arose within an Israeli security team working at Newark Airport. The team of 30 employees was divided between religious employees who observed the Sabbath on Saturdays and could not work, and secular employees who felt everyone should work as scheduled. Being overseas in the U.S. made religious practices and expectations of time off more salient. Interviews revealed different perspectives on whether religious practices should be respected or equality in the workplace demanded. The document discusses how overseas assignments can bring to light divisions and how social identities are highlighted abroad. It analyzes fault lines within the Israeli team created by religious and secular differences and American work expectations. Potential strategies for handling the multicultural conflict are presented.

1. Conflict in Context
Overseas Group Assignments
The Israeli Security Team at Newark Airport
A Case Study
Guy Sack and Idit Madanes
Department of Organization & Leadership, Teachers College, Columbia University

3. Where the literature leaves us…
 Clouse and Watkins (2009) focus on “individual
challenges” by analyzing home country-host country
dynamics, as well as family stressors, in overseas
assignments.
 But what about overseas team challenges? These can
be less obvious.

4. Our conflict
 Inequality in the workplace, due to religious practices,
become more salient outside the homeland.
 Israeli Airline company – “El-Al”
 Team of 30 employees
 Security Officers
 Work includes weekdays and weekends
 Religious employees vs. secular employees
 Respect their religious practices or demand equality in the work
place?
 FYI – people don’t work on Sabbath (Saturday) in Israel due
to religious reasons

5. Our conflict
(Interview)

6. “They should have known!”
From the secular view:
 “… this is the working schedule and they have to make
adjustments”
 “…this is not Israel, we are in the USA...”
 “…what the job entails…”
 “…that it would cause conflict because no one likes to
work on weekends…”

7. Our conflict
(Interview)

8. “They should have known!”
From the observant view:
 “…we are religious and we cannot work on Saturdays…”
 “…they need to respect my beliefs…”
 “… it is an Israeli company, they should understand…”
 “… we are friends, not just colleagues…”
 “…the boss will handle it better…”

9. How do you socially identify?
 Garcia-Prieto, Bellard, and Schneider (2003) - The salience
of social identity in context
 How do you socially identify?
 New York?
 Columbia?
 Teachers College?
 Non-education TC students?
 TC Organizational Psychology?
 What if you were on the other side of the world?

10. How is our conflict salient?
 In Israel, everyone gets the day off (Friday-Saturday)
 Here, we are all expected to be able to work
 Nobody wants to work
 American schedule
 A newly limited group of similar others
 High expectations of unity

11. Fault lines
 Gratton (2007) discusses the ways demographic
characteristics can create fault lines within a team.

12. Israeli team
SecularReligious
USA

13. Where to go from here
 Brett, Behfar, and Kern (2006) offer four strategies for
handling multicultural conflict:
Adaptation
Structural Intervention
Managerial Intervention
Exit

14. (Brett, Behfar, & Kern, 2006)