subject: Employer-employee Strenous Relationship: Areas of Concern and the Way Forward [print this page] Employer-employee Strenous Relationship: Areas of Concern and the Way Forward
The employer-employer relationship is the foundation for any business. A healthy employer-employee relationship can build a successful company as happy employees produce better results. Strenuous relationship can however can adversely affect the company's operations, morale, and even reputation. A company that is interested in growth and profits must therefore establish relationships with employees based on mutual trust. This paper briefly discusses the main causes of such a relationship. The key areas considered include compensation management issues, employee benefits issues, employee mistreatment and dishonesty. Further, the paper highlights the strategies that can be put in place to improve the relationship.
Employer-Employee Strenuous Relationship
A rich employee-employer relationship in any organization forms the basis of a successful business venture. Today, companies are investing more and more on human capital. Despite all the effort being made, there are key areas of concern that form the basis of employer-employee strenuous relationship.
Compensation Management Issue
An employer must pay employees on time. Withholding payment due to employees is a violation of labour laws that were set to protect employees. This law extends to all kinds of payments owed including various types of rental fees. Firms that are late in paying their land lords or suppliers have also violated this law (Cohn, 2002). Many organizations violate the spirit of this law by not completing a new contract with their employees when the old contract expires or by terminating or reducing employee benefits such as health insurance, pension among others.
Employee Benefits Issues
An ethical employer should realize that if the law demands that an employee be given a severance bonus after several years of labor, it is certainly appropriate for employers to reward loyal workers who have been with a firm for numerous years (Noreen, 1988). Failure to meet such benefits from the part of an employer can lead to serious or even legal tussle.
Employee Mistreatment
McGregor (1957) claimed that employers could have more success with their employees if they treated them humanely rather than mechanically. He claimed that workers' antagonism, militant unionism, and various forms of sabotage were the result of management mistreatment. Further Adams (1965) observes that performance is higher when employees feel that they are being fairly compensated for their efforts and when they have been provided with meaningful work.
Dishonesty
Negotiations are quite common in business. In particular, there are employer-employee and buyer-seller negotiations. Employee can be cunning in negotiating with the customer and becomes a character that will overcharge the commodities or services rendered in the business. An honest and straightforward employee is the one that is required in the business. Failure to for an employee to make honest negotiations with employees can also lead to strenuous relationship. For instance, an employer should make straight and honest remuneration agreement which should not be violated. Providing honest day's work is also within the framework of honest negotiations of terms of work. An employee is obligated to work to the best of his or her ability and not malinger. Not providing an honest day's work is also a type of theft and can lead to misunderstandings in an organization. (Noreen, 1988).
The Way Forward
In order to improve employer-employee relationship, a number of strategies must be looked into. These strategies include but may not be limited to: Formulation of Sound internal company policies, Government Policies and Procedure and trade union strategy.
Formulation of Sound internal company policies
A progressive discipline process fosters an orderly and productive work environment in which rules are clear and understandable. Failure to use clearly defined policies in performance and discipline resolution can result in grievances, court battles, and third party interventions. Discipline begins with the supervisor's preparation for informal meetings with employees. Meetings should include statement of problems, solicitation of the employee's view, agreement on the problems, option exploration, plan development, situation summary, and follow-up. Documentation should be developed and maintained throughout the discipline process. Poor behavior should not be positively reinforced. Discharge is a final step which should only be taken upon consultation with personnel departments or the company lawyer (Madsen, 1987).
Government Policies and Procedure
There are government policies that are put in place to govern employer/employee relationship. For instance, the government of Kenya has instituted new laws. These laws are seen by many as a boon to employees for they will most likely lead to a major upset in the local job market (Maina, 2008). As a result of recent wrongful-discharge court cases decided in favor of employees, company managements must re-examine their attitudes on the employment-at-will doctrine, and company manuals and handbooks must be constantly revised by corporate human resource professionals and lawyers. It is to the company's advantage to have written procedures and policies to provide the basis for fair and consistent treatment (Madsen, 1987).
Trade Unions Strategy
Trade unions are formed in order to improve the pay of workers, improve working conditions and secure longer holidays, protect members' jobs, provide local, social and welfare facilities and influence government policy. Complaints of employees about discrimination or harassment should be properly and promptly attended to (Mesriani Law Group, 2010).
Conclusion
There may be no one particular answer to the problem of employer-employee strenuous relationship. We are not about to have no strenuous relationship as far as the employed' and the employer' will continue to exist. However, this does not imply that new measures towards improving the situation should not be put. Thus, this paper exhorts the parties involved to work towards mutual co-existence based on the fact that the relationship is of symbiotic nature.
References
Adams, J. Stacey (1963). Toward an understanding of inequity, Journal of Abnormaland Social Psychology, Vol. 67, pp. 422-436.
Cohn G. (2002). Improving Employer-Employee Relationships: A Biblical and Talmudic Perspective on Human Resource Management: New York: Brooklyn university press
Maina B. (2008). New labour laws to strain employee/employer relationships: Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM)
Madsen, R.B., Knudson-Fields, B. (1987) Human resources and labor relations: Management Solutions: American Management Association.
McGregor, D. (1960). The Human Side of Enterprise, New York: McGraw Hill.
Mesriani_Law_Group (2010), How to Create A Good Employer-Employee Relationship.
