Employee Labor and Relations - Research Paper Example

Employee Labor and Relations Employee unions are considered to be highly important entities among employees because they provide such powers to the employees that cannot be held individually. This fact was also observed in the analysis of the responses given by the HR manager of a construction company in the interview. The HR manager was asked numerous questions regarding the employee relations in his organization and the origination of the labor union in the organization. According to the HR manager’s responses, it was inferred that there were certain events in the past that led to the creation of labor union. The labor union in the organization was founded six years ago. Before the creation of the labor union, the employees of the organization were bound to follow the management’s decisions regarding the monetary compensation to the employees, bonuses and other employee benefits. Initially the employees were satisfied with the organization’s human resource management. The employees accepted the compensation and employee benefits provided by the organization and they were motivated as well. However, the events that led to the lack of motivation in the employees were the overall economic conditions of the region. The rate of inflation kept rising while the compensation paid to employees by the organization remained the same. This caused an unrest among the employees which was initially ignored by the management of the organization. Most of the employees were still satisfied with the compensation paid to them by the organization, but some employees tried to raise their voices against the lack of management’s efforts to increase the employees’ compensation. Eventually, when the compensations remained the same for a significantly longer period and the rate of inflation kept rising, the employees were unable to adjust their expenses with their incomes. Thus, the employees tried to communicate their problems to the management individually. Management took notice of the problems of the employees but subsequently ignored them considering such problems as being those of a small number of employees. Employees kept trying to make the management realize that a raise in the basic pay scale is needed but their attempts did not turn in any significant results. As a response to the attempts of the employees, the management revised the pay scale but increased the pays by a very small proportion. Again, due to this step by management the pressure from the employees to increase the pay lowered significantly but it was a temporary effect. Within a period of few months, the pressure came back. Therefore, this was one of the reasons behind the need for an employee union in the organization. Apart from the problem of basic pay, there was another problem that caused the employees to form an employee union. The problem was increase in work hours by the management without any significant increase in the compensation to the employees. Since the organization in focus is a construction company, the employees need to work in severe conditions. The construction sites are sometimes in remote areas therefore getting to the site and coming back also takes so much time. The change in work hours by the management made it very difficult for the employees to cope with their personal responsibilities such as looking after the needs of the families. According to HR manager, the organization was compelled to increase the work hours as there was no other way to cope with the pressure of work the organization was facing. The construction contracts undertaken by the organization were so many but the workforce hired by the organization was not sufficient to cope with the pressure of work. The organization was unable to hire any more workforce as it did not have sufficient funds to cope with the compensation of so many employees. However, the HR manager further informed that the returns from the construction contracts were subsequently enough to hire new workforce. Another issue that led to the formation of employee union was the work environment provided to employees. The employees had to face the unavailability of safety equipment as well which is highly essential for the employees of a construction company. The safety equipment such as shoes, jackets and helmets were only available in limited quantities and they were given only to the favored employees. Even if the equipment was given to other employees, it was either in a very rough condition or not feasible to be used. This was a violation of the labor laws as well but individually the employees could not take any action against this violation. The organization had enough resources and witnesses to negate any claim by any employee. Therefore, this only added to the frustration among employees. Thus, due to the problems stated above, the employees united and formed an employee union within the organization in order to enforce their demands upon the management of the organization collectively. Since the management did not respond to the individual demands of the employees, it was bound to listen to the demands of the employee union it represented the demands of all the employees of the organization. When asked about the changes brought in the organization by the employee union, the HR manager responded that with the advent of the employee union in the organization, the management started to respond to the problems of the employee on a timely basis. The compensation paid to the employees was increased as a response to the collective demand by the employees, the work hours were made flexible and the issue regarding the safety equipment was also resolved. According to the HR manager, the formation of employee union was good for the overall organization because it increased the level of job satisfaction within the employees and the efficiency of their work also increased. Therefore, the formation of employee union brought positive result in the progress of the organization. When asked about the current situation in the organization after six years of the origination of the employee union, the HR manager responded that things have been really smooth since then. There haven’t been much friction between the employees and the management. If the employees have any problem, it is formally communicated to the upper level of management through the representative of the employee union and the problem is resolved formally on a timely basis. The employee relations in the organization have improved by a significant degree after the formation of the employee union. The above case provides a good basis for the fact that good employee relations may prevent the need for continued organized labor in organizations. If an organization designs policies and procedures that aim at maintaining good relations with the employees of the organization, the employees will not have to form any labor union in order to get their problems resolved. A good organization would have policies and procedures regarding; performance based increments, annual performance reviews, mandatory leaves, medical allowances, employee rotation, communication channels and employee feedback (Karten, 2002). All these policies and procedures add to the satisfaction of the employees which in turns increases the employee’s commitment with the organization. The commitment with the organization directly affects the motivation and efficiency of the employee (Banfield, 2008). According to Cadwallader (2010), the employee relations can be improved by involving the employees in the decision making processes of the organization. If the employees are involved in the session for determining the strategies for the organization, the employees will have a sense of responsibility for the betterment of the organization and they would be motivated and committed to the organization. The employees should also be delegated certain tasks of the managers periodically as it would also give the employees a sense of responsibility and it would make them empathize with the management. According to Jackson (2007), employee relations can be maintained by keeping track of the level of motivation of the employees. The management should not let the motivation of the employees get low and it should keep the level of motivation high. An organization can keep the motivation level among employees high by; providing target based monetary incentives, avoiding very close supervision, providing good work environment, giving recognition to the employees who perform well and by conducting periodic rotations of the employees. Therefore, if an organization wants to maintain good employee relations in order to avoid the need for an employee union, it should keep the employees motivated and satisfied from their jobs. References Banfield, P., Kay, R. (2008). Introduction to Human Resource Management. Oxford University Press. Cadwallader, S., Jarvis, C. B., Bitner, M. J., Ostrom, A. L. (2010). Frontline Employee Motivation to Participate in Service Innovation Implementation. Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Volume 38, 219-239. Jackson, J. H., Mathis, R. L. (2007). Human Resource Management. 12th Edition. New York: Cengage Learning. Karten, N. (2002). Communication Gaps and How to Close Them. 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