Social Learning Theory of Employee Self-Management - Essay Example

? HRD Introduction In the modern day scenario, business units have the need to ensure effective performances in order to sustain in the market. Observably, the modern day market replicates immense pressure in terms of competition as increasing with every passing day where the HRM that are ineffective in their performances have to face significant challenges in preserving their sustainability over the long-run. Arguably, effectiveness in performance of business can only be achieved with the accomplishment of the set organisational goals, emphasising the philosophy that employees are the key performance drivers of an organisation to ensure its long-run sustainability (Cole, 2002). However, in accomplishing this particular objective of long-run sustainability, employee absenteeism rate is argued as a major challenge for Human Resource Managers (HRM) that is quite likely to result in declining productivity of the organisation, increasing conflicts amid the employees and hindered sustainability of the entire organisation (Cascio & Boudreau, 2010). Emphasising the severity of the effects of absenteeism, the discussion henceforth focuses on examining the issue on the basis of critical theoretical explanation. In this regard, various relevant theories have been considered in order to evaluate the factors that contribute towards the increasing the number of employees’ absenteeism rate in the modern day context. Employees’ Absenteeism Rate Employee absenteeism is often attributed as one of the most serious and challenging issues prevailing in organisations today. It is evident that employees are among the key assets for HRM in context to their operational efficiency and sustainability. Efficient and dedicated performances of the employees result in higher productivity, which further tends to have favourable impacts on the operations of the business. Conversely, inefficient performance of employees has often been observed to have led to lower productivity, which further contribute to a continuous decline in the company performance altogether. Absenteeism is viewed as a habitual pattern of absence deciphered by employees obstructing them from executing their responsibilities in the most effective manner. It is worth mentioning in this context that according to the modern managerial notion, high absenteeism rate of employees in workplace is often attributed as a by-product of poor work satisfaction owing to lack of motivation and morale (Cascio & Boudreau, 2010). To gain a comprehensive understanding on the increasing rate of employee absenteeism, certain relevant theories and concepts have been explained in the discussion below. Social Learning Theory of Employee Self-management Social Learning theory is a particular concept that has been applied in the workplace with the intention to encourage employees towards obtaining adequate learning experiences in their working process. This theory can be observed to be directly relevant with the behaviour and psychology of the employees. The theory basically states that people in the society learn mostly through their personal experiences that are acquired by their presences among others or through social interactions to be more precise. The theory further depicts that people in the society mainly learn by imitating or by observing the approach or actions of others. It is deemed that this theory have both positive and negative aspects associated with it in context to the workplace attitude of employees (French, 2011). According to Bandura (1971), employees in the workplace learn from others in a particular process, which includes attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. Employees in the workplace is deemed to pay attention to what others do, often without judging the interpersonal differences or the after-effects of such a behaviour. As per the Social Learning theory, absenteeism habits of other employees might also be considered as a factor that attracts employees in the workplace and causes negative effects on their performances. As per this theory, the employees often perceive about how others in the workplace balance their nature of absenteeism and work both at the same time, further motivating them to take the same approach. Subsequently, employees retain the approach or the attitude of others that attract them the most, which might also include the absenteeism attitude of others. In the next stage of the learning, which is reproduction, employees intend or plan to execute the retained behaviour of others in reality. In this stage of social learning theory, they observe how others in the workplace execute their activities including absenteeism and imitate the same. Finally, in the last stage of the learning process, which is motivation, employees tend to do whatever it takes to successfully accomplish the social learning process and hence, contributes to the rising absenteeism rate in the organisation. In precise, it is from this stage that the employees show behaviour of absenteeism in their attitude thereby increasing the overall absenteeism rate in the workplace (Hafler, 2011; Bandura, 1971). It is important to note in this regard that reinforcement and punishment plays a significant role in motivating employees to adopt this attitude through learning. For example, if organisations overlook the absenteeism attitude of employees in the workplace, others are quite likely to take the negligence measure as an encouraging factor and will ultimately get influenced to conduct the same. On the other hand, when organisations take punitive measures to deal with employees having high absenteeism attitude, others are quite likely to get motivated for not conducting a similar behaviour in the workplace (Bandura, 1971). Perceived Organisational Support Shaping Employee Diligence As Well As Commitment As from the earlier discussion, it is apparent that employee absenteeism directly affects the efficiency of the organisational operations in a negative manner. Contextually, decoding the factors that result in or contribute towards the rise in employee absenteeism would be crucial to reduce absenteeism possibilities within the employees. Perceived Organizational Support (POS) is one aspect that might act as a potential factor towards the increasing rate of absenteeism in the workplace. POS is commonly referred as the perception of the employees, either positive or negative, towards the approach taken by the organisation, where they tend to perceive the extent upto which organisation values their contribution. It is also aligned with the perception of the employees about their importance in the present organisational operations. It has been observed that the concept of POS has a big role in steering the performance of employees towards a positive (negative) direction and thereby minimising (increasing) absenteeism potentialities among the employees to a substantial extent. Notably, organisational commitment directly influences the dedication and involvement of the employees towards their work, wherein the POS theory attempts to segregate between the positive values of the employee in linkage with that of the organisation’s and the negative values that motivate them to high absenteeism rates (Eisenberger & et. al 1990). According to Beheshtifar & et. al (2012), an organisation, which has the ability to adapt to the changing nature of the business environment, is quite likely to be the one to obtain maximum success in its operations. In regard to the accomplishment of this particular goal, human resource plays a key role as it enables the effective use of all the resources towards attaining a particular goal set for gaining the overall operational efficiency in the organisation. This further offers a competitive advantage for the organisation in the global market. However, despite of such vital contribution of human resource to the business, most business units fail to offer adequate value to the contribution made by the employees, which ultimately effects their perception (POS) towards the organisation in a negative manner. Emphasising this particular context, Beheshtifar & et. al (2012) affirmed that POS of employees affect their attitude towards the overall performance of the organisation. As a result, the performance graph of employees is deemed to move at a declining trend as a consequence of their less dedicated work, their lack of productivity and their degraded quality of work among others. Therefore, the habit of absenteeism of employees is seen as an outcome of employee POS towards any business (Beheshtifar & et. al, 2012). Again, according to the research of Beheshtifar & Zare (2012), POS of employees impose severe impacts on their morale and commitment towards their employer. The As per the theory of POS, organisational support for employees help in the formation of strong relationship between employer and employees, which further acts as a motivational factor for employees to perform better for the business. However, on the contrary, where organisations lacks to ensure any support to the employees in terms of providing value to their work by means of a better working environment and appreciation for their work, the perception of the employees towards the employees can be deemed to move towards a negative direction, thus causing a substantial rise in the absenteeism rate in the workplace (Beheshtifar & Zare, 2012). Hence, it can be stated that employees’ absenteeism is directly related to the level of satisfaction they experience from their work and their overall perception towards the organisational approach in valuing their contribution. Psychological Capital of Employees This factor is also seen to be a vital element that works towards influencing the behaviour and attitude of the employees in delivering their contribution to the organization. According to Luthans & et. al (2006) psychological capital of an individual is the characteristic that one contains with regard to self-confidence towards conducting any sort of activities, optimism towards attaining success from their activities and resiliency in dealing with problems and adversity among others. It acts as a fundamental factor that works towards shaping the behavioural approach of an individual (Luthans & et. al, 2006). It can be thus rationally argued that psychological capital of employees’ has a strong relation with their performance in contribution to the organisational achievements. Contextually, Luthans & et. al (2007), decode the relationship of psychological capital in respect to performance and satisfaction level observable amid the employees. Drawing inferences from various literatures, Luthans & et. al (2007) affirmed that hope, resilience and optimism determine the approach of individuals in their work. An individual with a positive psychological background will always be in a positive motivational state with comprising maximum energy for their set goals along with proper planning to achieve the same. In precise, their positive behaviour enhances their ability to identify, clarify and follow the way that will assure maximum success in their work (Luthans & et. al, 2006). Again, in the similar context, Avey & et. al (2009) depicts about how workplace stress has declined the rate of employee turnover in the modern workplaces, owing to lack of performances deciphered by the employees. It has been noted in this regard that organisations striving towards enhancing the working environment for the employees, is deemed to be successful in developing the strengths and positivity amid the workforce to a substantial extent, which ultimately improves their psychological capital and reduces chances of rising absenteeism rates of the employees (Avey & et. al 2009). This approach certainly acts as an effective element in reducing the negative impacts on employees’ satisfaction level that is attributed as the major constituent of rising absenteeism rates and lack of performances, both in terms of productivity and quality. Similar to the fact that positive psychological capital of employees in the workplace lead to favourable results for organisations, negative psychological capital will probably ensure adverse results by increasing absenteeism rates amid the employees. According to Luthans & et. al (2005), negative psychological capital within the employees is quite capable of harming the overall operational efficacy of the organisation. ‘Negative psychological arousals’ in employees will result in their growing dissatisfaction, lack of commitment in their work along with increasing stress and apprehension, which can further be examined as accompanied with their ineffective performance (Luthans & et. al 2005). From this point of view, it becomes apparent that psychological capital positive (negative) has greater influence on the attitude of employees, which will probably deliver positive (negative) results in terms of greater degree of satisfaction (dissatisfaction), commitment (lack of commitment) and effective (ineffective) performances. It is in this context that the negative influences of psychological capital are also seen to be accompanied with increase in employee absenteeism rates (Luthans & et. al 2005). Hence, psychological capital can be affirmed as a potential factor for employee absenteeism. Strategies to Deal with Increasing Workplace Absenteeism It is apparent from the above conducted theoretical explanations that absenteeism of employees in workplace is one of the apparently prevailing issues in modern organisations. With increasing rate of absenteeism, the operational efficiency of organisation tends to diminish to a considerable extent. Contextually, it is mandatory that business units needs to develop certain stern strategies to deal with the same. As discussed earlier, decreased employee morale and motivation owing to their psychological capital or POS is directly linked with high absenteeism rate. In this regard, it is suggestive that HRM need to decrease the level of stress of the employees in the workplace through proper relation building and providing sufficient training and development assistance to the employees. HRM must also ensure proper team building so that all employees work in a unified manner towards the organisational objectives. This is expected to help in motivating the employees. In addition, management strategies of organisations must also be effective enough to provide a better working environment for the employees, ensuring maximum safety in the workplace. This will enhance the POS aspect of the employees towards the organisation and will make them feel that their contributions are valued in the same. Additionally, these approaches of the organisation will probably promote positive psychological capital among the employees, further ensuring that they are highly motivated and remain energetic towards their work and commitments, ultimately influencing their rate of absenteeism in a favourable manner (Cooper & et. al 2002). Conclusion To sum up, it can be comprehended that employee satisfaction is vital for businesses to perform effectively, wherein the rising employee absenteeism rates cause a substantial effect on their satisfaction level and performances accordingly. When employees work with utmost commitment and dedication, they contribute positively towards the performance of the organisation that can be observable in terms of their increasing productivity and better quality work. However, in the reverse scenario where employees lack motivation and dedication, organisations are quite likely to suffer high absenteeism rate contributing to its poor performances. It has been observed in this regard that employees’ satisfaction in the workplace is directly linked with their perception towards the organisation (POS), their psychological capital and the social learning theory among others. All these elements or theories related to employees, when tends in the negative side, it might deliver results including poor performance, poor commitment and increased absenteeism rates of employees in the workplace. Contextually, it is suggestible that HRM should ensure better working environment, adequate and effective performance appraisal systems along with effective counselling and training policies to help the employees build a better association with organisational goals, thereby reducing their tendency towards absenteeism. References Avey, J. B., Luthans, F., & Jensen, S. M. (2009). Psychological capital: a positive resource for combating employee stress and turnover. Human Resource Management, 48 (5): 677– 693. Bandura, A. (1971). Social learning theory. Retrieved from http://www.jku.at/org/content/e54521/e54528/e54529/e178059/Bandura_SocialLearningTheory_ger.pdf Beheshtifar, M., & Zare, E. (2012). Effect perceived organizational support on employees’ attitudes toward work. 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