Creating a culturally inclusive workplace at Jacobs

Created by VERCIDA for Jacobs

 

Justin Goldberg talks about how Jacobs helps employees balance work and religious commitments through flexibility and understanding.

Justin Goldberg, VP Defence and Security at Jacobs

 

I studied chemistry at university and my original intention was to become a lecturer. When I look back on my career, it has taken a lot of different turns, many of which were not planned, but all of which I am grateful for. If you had told me when I was a student that I’d end up as Vice President – Defence and Security, I would never have believed it.

Thanks to the relevance of my PhD – the interaction of metals and organics – I ended up working for a company that specialised in radioactive waste management and disposal, eventually moving from a technical role into business development, which included spending time in Central and Eastern Europe. I was very much a chemist, committed to the civil nuclear sector (including clean energy generation, research through to decommissioning and waste management), and when I started 23 years ago with the company that was to become Jacobs, I helped build the civil nuclear team. In a way, I was a diversity hire because I was a chemist amid a team of engineers! I was the person in the team who was different.  We started with civil nuclear, and then I went on to experience my first taste of defence at Devonport with the redevelopment of submarine support facilities. 

I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised I ended up in defence and security – I’m a great reader of military history, I’ve always been interested in defence and I would have loved to join the air force, except at 18, I wasn’t the fittest and I’m very short-sighted, so not quite aligned with the criteria for a fighter pilot. 

In my current role, there’s no such thing as a typical day. I have a fantastic team that I trust to do a great job; I work on setting the team’s direction and strategic goals and, for me, the best part of the job is engaging with people. Mentoring and supporting people is really satisfying.

 

Creating a culturally inclusive workplace

When I was doing my PhD, I spent time in Waco, Texas. This was an interesting time, especially as a Jewish person. Waco is in the heart of Southern Baptist America, and yet there were two very separate synagogues – known as temples – in a town with a Jewish community of around maybe 400 people. Many of my local American friends had never come across a Jewish person, and so this was a great opportunity to start inclusive conversations about my religion and culture.

Creating a culture of supportiveness, diversity and inclusion is really important at Jacobs. I’ve always found the company to be really flexible when it comes to allowing me, as a Jewish employee, to take time off for holidays such as Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. The company has continued to evolve – the flexibility to work on bank holidays that might not be as important to you, and instead celebrate more meaningful occasions, has become part of the company’s UK policy. It makes sense to formalise this flexibility for everyone, no matter what their beliefs are.

I’m very proud to be Jewish and I’ve never hidden this from anyone at work or felt unsupported when I’ve taken time off for a holiday that is important to me and my family. Over the years, we’ve had several talks at work about Jewish culture. People are usually aware of Rosh Hashanah, but may not know about other occasions, such as Passover, especially as that is celebrated at night outside of working hours.

 

 

At Jacobs, we have the OneWorld network to support people of different faiths and cultures, while our specific Jewish group is more informal, a place where we can check in on each other and just talk to other Jewish people in the company. With recent news events, it has been very touching that colleagues have come up to me and asked if I’m OK. 

I want to carry on having these important conversations at work about Judaism, our ethnicity, and other religions and cultures. My role covers the Middle East and I’ll be spending some time in Saudi Arabia, where I’ve always been made to feel very welcome. I want to keep being part of a company culture that raises understanding and helps remove barriers. Sometimes discrimination happens because of a lack of understanding, so more open and professional conversations will help everyone.  

Right from the start of my career when I was a chemist working with engineers, I’ve always seen the value in being different. Hopefully, my life journey has made me more tolerant. I’m passionate about diversity because I am part of that spectrum.

 

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