Download Mar 24- Emp Relations

Zeynep Gürhan-Canlı
Employee Relations
Chapter 7
March 24, 2010
Economic
Responsibilities to Employees
 Employee-employer contract
 Contract includes beliefs, perceptions, expectations, and
obligations that constitute an agreement between
individuals and their organizations.
 Informal contract has significant
impact on an employee’s actions.
 When promises or expectations
are not met, there is an enormous
breach of trust resulting in less loyalty.
Psychological Contract
 The beliefs, perceptions, expectations, and
obligations that make up the agreement between
individuals and the organizations
that employ them.
 Largely unwritten.
 Details of the contract develop through interactions
with managers and coworkers and through perceptions
of the corporate culture.
Workforce Reduction
 Can involve reducing the number of employees, simplifying
products and processes, and decreasing quality and service.
Workforce Reduction
 Key considerations
 A comprehensive plan must be developed that takes into
account the financial implications and qualitative and
emotional toll of the reduction strategy.
 The organization should commit to assisting employees
who must make a career transition.
 Companies must accept the consequences of
terminating employees.
How Individuals Can
Mitigate the Effects of Downsizing
 Employees should understand how their skills and
competencies affect business performance.
 Employees should strive for cost-cutting
and conservation strategies regardless of the
employer’s current financial condition.
 Today’s work environment requires that most
employees fulfill diverse and
varying roles.
 More cross training
Legal Responsibilities of Employees
 Minimum wage and overtime pay, record keeping, and
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child labor standards.
Social Security, insurance, and retirement.
Safe and healthy working conditions for all employees.
Collective bargaining and strike
The design, arrangement, and use of equipment to
maximize productivity and minimize strain.
No discrimination on the basis of race, national origin,
color, religion, and gender.
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Affirmative action programs in the US.
Legal Responsibilities to Employees
 Sexual Harassment
 Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and
other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
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When submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or
implicitly affects an individual’s employment; unreasonably
interferes with an individual’s work performance; or creates an
intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment, sexual
harassment has occurred.
 Quid pro quo
 Exchange of job benefits for sexual favors.
 Hostile work environment
 Epithets, slurs, negative stereotyping, intimidating acts, and/or
graphic materials that show hostility toward an individual or group.
 Other types of conduct that affect the work environment.
Whistle-Blowing
 A whistle-blower is one who reports individual or
corporate wrong-doing to either internal or external
sources.
 Managers and other employees may not appreciate
reports that expose company weaknesses, raise
embarrassing questions,
or otherwise detract from organizational tasks.
 Historically, whistle-blowers have been retaliated
against, demoted, fired, and even worse as a result of
their action.
Ethical Responsibilities to Employees
 Training and development
 Benefits include stronger recruitment and retention, employee
commitment, job satisfaction, and productivity.
 Diversity
 Embraces the unique skills and contributions of all types of people.
 Brings benefits as well as challenges.
 Allow for work/life balance
 Assist employees in balancing work responsibilities with personal and
family responsibilities.
 Provide flexibility
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Flextime
Job sharing
Child care
Elder care
Health clubs
Philanthropic Activities
 Corporate giving affects employee attitudes toward the
organization.
 Employees benefit from participating in volunteerism
programs and other philanthropic projects.
 Builds teamwork skills.
 Educates employees.
 Example: More than 30,000 volunteers support
the Ronald McDonald House Charities,donating one million
hours of service per year (Source: www.rmhc.com,
02/16/2007).
Strategic Considerations
 Strong employee initiatives lead to a company being
viewed as the “employer of choice.”
 This allows an organization to attract, optimize, and
retain the best employee talent over the long term.
 Foster:
 Openness
 Community
 Creativity
 Loyalty
 Responsibility
 Individuality
 Teamwork