The Concepts of Working Conditions by Comparing the Present Conditions in United States of America and Germany - Coursework Example

Human Resource Management Name Date Course Human Resource Management Introduction Working conditions involve the conditions under which the work is performed with respect to the work environment, organization of work, time and place. The working conditions differ from one country to the other due to various reasons including the legislations that are in place as well as collective agreements. The labour legislations differ from one country to the other but in most countries the labour laws are aimed at protecting the interest of the employees and the employers (Strauss, 2013). The working conditions also play an important role in determining the quality of life within the country. This is considering that some of the work related issues such as the health has direct impacts on the employees. A poor working conditions impact negatively on the employees and it also gives room for the exploitation of the employees. However, good working conditions are for the best interest of the employees. The working condition in Europe is different from that of the other countries including the United States of America. The countries in the European Union have one of the best working conditions that favour the operations of the employees. This is also the same for other countries including the United States of America. The output of the employees is also determined by the working conditions that are in place in a particular country. The paper thus discusses the concepts of working conditions by comparing the present conditions in United States of America and Germany. Discussion Minimum wage The minimum wage is the lowest amount that an employee can be paid for the job performed. In the United States of America, the minimum wage is set by a network of Federal, State and Local Statutes. It is required of any employer to ensure that the workers are not paid below what has been set as the minimum wage by the Federal, State or Local government. The Federal government in 2009 set a minimum wage of$ 7.25 per hour (Gould IV, 2013). However, some of the states increased their minimum wages effective 1st of January 2015. This involved 29 states which currently have a higher minimum wage as compared to that set by the Federal government. 11 other states have also seen an increase in the minimum wage through legislative and ballot changes. The highest minimum wage in the United States of America is $15 an hour which is in Washington City. The first minimum wage laws was launched in Germany in 1st of January 2015 and it is supposed to take effect immediately. The minimum wage that was agreed upon is  8.50 per hour (Schäfer & Gottschall, 2015). However unlike the United States of America where the minimum wage is for all the sectors. Working hours In Germany, the law requires that the daily working hours should not exceed 8 hours per day. The working hours can be extended by 10 hours if the 8 hours is not exceeded within six months. In Germany, Saturday is a working day and the maximum working hours per week can exceed the recommended weekly hours which is 40 but should not exceed 60 hours. As a member of the European Union, the employees are required to work for a maximum of 48 hours (Eichhorst & Marx, 2011). Working on Sundays and public holidays is prohibited in Germany. The law requires that a minimum rest period of 30 minutes within the working hours should be provided to the employees. In the case of longer working hours, the minimum rest period is 45 minutes. Currently, most of the industries only require the employees to work for a period of 40 hours weekly. In the United States of America, the employees are supposed to work for 8 hours a day and a break of 30m minutes Workplace Safety In Germany, the country is compliant with the International Labour Standards policies on Occupational Safety and Health. The workplace safety is also guided by legislations depending on the nature of the professions. The factory Act 1996 is one of the legislations that provide guidelines on how the employees can be protected from various hazards. The Germany Social Accident Insurance and Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health are responsible for the issues of workplace safety in Germany. The employer is responsible for the health and safety of the employees at the workplace. Every organization is also required to set up a works Council that is aimed at dealing with the issues of employee’s safety and health at the workplace. At the workplace with more than 20 employees, Health and Safety Committees should just be set up. The legislations that govern the health and safety issues among the employees include Occupational Safety Act 1973 and Works Constitution 1972 (Fichter, et al., 2011). The policies with regards to workplace safety in the United States of America have a lot of similarities with that of Germany. The policies are derived from the international bodies and are aimed at promoting the safety of the employees at the workplace. The United States Department of Labour is responsible for compiling the information related to workplace safety including the fatalities (Florence, 2013). Occupational Safety and Health Act is the legislation that governs the workplace safety in the United States of America. The general duty clause in the Act requires the employers to comply fully with the Act and provide the employees with working environment that is free from recognized hazards. Equal Employment Opportunities In the USA, equal employment opportunity is considered important for the purposes of ensuring that discrimination is eliminated during the process. The department of labor in the United States of America deals with the issues of equal employment. The law strictly prohibits the discrimination of specific types of jobs. The laws that have been put in place are aimed at promoting equal employment opportunities. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is in place for the purposes of promoting equal employment through the use of administrative and judicial civil rights law (Wilkinson, 2013). The presence of the commission is an indication that equal opportunity during employment is highly valued in the United States of America. It is totally prohibited for the employers to discriminate the employees in terms of gender, race or ethnicity. This has played an essential role in promoting diversity at the workplace. In Germany, the laws governing equal employment opportunities are in place. The laws are similar to that of the United States of America and it requires the employers to offer equal opportunity to all the employees and potential employees. Article 3 of the Germany Basic Law requires that the people should have equal rights for all the people regardless of their race, gender or social background (Festing, 2012). The employers are required to ensure that they uphold the law during the recruitment process. The employees are also required to report any incidences where the employers fail to observe the law on equal employment opportunity. The number of women and men in employment is almost the same as a result of the equal employment opportunity law. Worker participation in managerial decisions In Germany, the level of participation of the employees in the decision-making process is high. Most of the organizations usually consult the employees before major changes are made. This plays an important role in ensuring that change management is made easy at the organization. According to Hofstede’s dimension, the power distance between those in power and the ordinary people is low. This means that those in power freely interact with the ordinary people. This is also reflected at the workplace where the employees freely interact with the members of the management and are also involved in the decision-making process. The free interaction between the employees and the members of the management plays an important role in creating a healthy workforce and hence improving productivity (Kruppe, et al, 2013). In the United States of America, most of the principles are based on democracy. The interaction between the employees and the employers is high. However, this is not observed in all the organizations as some of the organizations do not involve the employees completely in the decision-making process. The levels of involvement of the employees in the managerial decision-making process in Germany are higher as compared to the United States of America. The employees are however consulted in most of the organizations in United States of America even in situations where the management is fully responsible for the decision-making process. Change resistance has been witnessed in some of the major companies in United States of America such as McDonalds due to the failure of management consulting the employees (Jean-Michel, 2011). In the Wall Street Scandal, most of the employees lost their investments while the management members did not. This is as a result of the low levels of employee involvement in the decision-making process. Collective Bargaining Powers and Trade Unions The Collective bargaining concept plays a major role in Germany in terms of determining the wages and salaries of the employees. The strength of the Germany system in terms of the labour industry is on the collective bargaining. Collective bargaining in Germany can be carried out by the representatives about 60% of the employees in Germany are covered by in collective bargaining (Sweet & Stranz, 2012). The employees have freedom of association in Germany and are also free to join the labour movements and trade unions. The trade unions play an important role in Germany during the negotiation process with regards to salaries and wages. The work councils which are usually set up in the organizations do not have legal powers to enter into collective bargaining with the organization. However, the work councils can consult with individual employees in to reach an agreement on issues not covered by the collective agreements. The agreements that are usually made between the organizations and the trade unions are legally binding in respect of the trade union members. In United States of America, Collective bargaining agreement is considered an important industrial relations mechanism are used for negotiations and improving the working conditions of the employees. The office of Labour Management standards is in place in the United States of America to deal with the issues of collective bargaining. National; labour relation Act 1935 is the legislation that is in place in the United States of America for governing the issues of collective bargaining (Riddell & Song, 2011). According to the law, the employers are prohibited from discriminating, mistreating or victimizing the employees for joining trade unions. It is also illegal for the employers to spy on the employees or harass them for joining the trade unions. The trade unions in USA just like in Germany play an important role in ensuring that the rights of the workers are upheld. It is through the actions of the trade unions that the organizations have improved the working conditions of the employees. The levels of exploitation of employees in the United States of America have drastically reduced as a result of collective bargaining. Convergence and Divergence Concepts The working conditions in the United States of America and Germany are moving towards replicating one another. This is an indication that the working conditions in Germany and United States of America are convergence. Most of the working conditions in Germany and United States of America are similar. The international standards form the basis for the working conditions in the two countries (Sweet & Stranz, 2012). The standards that have been set by the International Labour Organization is usually utilized by the two countries and hence the similarities. Both the United States and Germany have laws that are aimed at ensuring that the working conditions are good. The laws that are in place in both countries are friendly to the workers and are aimed at ensuring that they are not exploited. In both countries, the laws govern every aspect of the working conditions. However although the working conditions seems to converge in the two countries, the working conditions in Germany seems to be better than that of the USA with regards to various aspects. The convergence in the working conditions between the two countries will make it easy for the employees moving in ether country to work comfortably. The minimum wages in Germany varies according to different sectors. In Germany, the minimum wage covers all the sectors of employment and it including the employees who are working on a part time, full time and internship basis. However, the freelancers as well as the self-employed people in Germany are not covered by the minimum wage law. The health and Occupational safety laws in Germany are mainly based on the European standards as well as the international standards (Sweet & Stranz, 2012). The levels of safety at the workplace are high in Germany due to the strict legislations and penalties that are imposed on those who violate the laws. The employees also have a role to play in order to enhance their safety at the workplace. In the United States of America, Occupational Safety and Health Administration is responsible for regulating the conduct of the employers and ensuring that all the safety standards are in place (Schäfer & Gottschall, 2015). The compliance officers are responsible for the inspection of organizations in different sectors in order to determine their levels of compliance with regards to the safety of the employees. The employers are also required to train the employees on the issues of workplace safety so as to enhance the levels of compliance. Upon inspection, any organization that does not meet the requirements for workplace safety is usually closed down. The employers can be charged with negligence in case the employees are injured or killed as a result of poor safety conditions at the workplace. In the United States of America, discrimination against the disabled is also prohibited although the disabled may not be employed in some professionals and sectors. In some industries, the disabled may not be able to perform heavy manual work and can therefore not be employed in such sectors. The discrimination of the veterans is also prohibited, and it forms part of the equal employment opportunity law. An employer who engages in discrimination in the United States of America risks facing prosecution. The employees who have been discriminated upon are liable for compensation. Affirmative action has played an important role in reducing the discrimination of women when it comes to employment (Strauss, 2013). In Germany, it is also prohibited for the employers to discriminate the employees based on disability. Some laws have also been proposed to ensure that equal opportunities are availed to the disabled. Most of the organizations in Germany have policies which promote equal employment opportunities within the organization. The internal policies are based on the national laws that prohibit the inequality during employment. As an EU country, Germany has made a lot of steps towards ensuring that equal employment opportunity is in place. The discrimination of employees according to sexual orientation, gender, colour, race and ethnicity is strictly prohibited in the country. The zero tolerance policy on discrimination is in place at the country and it is similar to that in the United States of America. The employers also face prosecution if they do not abide by the anti-discrimination laws. The law in Germany allows for the establishment of a number of agreements within the same organization. The working conditions as well as the salaries and salaries of the employees have been improved due to the presence of the collective agreement and trade unions. The minister in charge of labour in Germany also has the powers to extend the collective agreements that do not cover 50% of the workforce in an industry. This move is aimed at ensuring that the employees working for multinationals and non-Germany companies are not exploited. In the United States of America, the employees who are Union members may be required to contribute towards the cost of representation. Most of the employers in the United States of America are however against the trade Unions. This is unlike Germany where most employers relate well with the Trade Unions. This can be attributed to the pressure that is usually exerted to the organizations by the trade unions. . However, in some of the states the employees work for about 10 hours every day making the USA among the countries where employees work for a high number of hours. The employees in some of the states are paid for working any amount of time after the required 8 hour per day (Basu & Foley, 2013). Some of the professions in the United States of America work for more than 10 hours daily and this is mainly in the case of medical professionals. The employees are required to work for 40 hours a week but more than 18% of the employees work for more than 60 hours per week. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that both Germany and USA have laws and regulations that govern the labour industry. The laws and regulations in both countries are aimed at protecting the employees from any form of exploitation from their employers. The working hours as well as the amount that the employees are paid is an important determinant for the working conditions in both countries. It is evident that the international laws established by the International Labour Organization are adhered to by both countries. It is evident that the health and safety of the employees is highly regarded at the workplace for the purposes of promoting the safety of the employees. The policies reading safety in both countries are strict and employers could be prosecuted if the employees are injured or killed as a result of poor working conditions. It is evident that Germany highly values the trade unions as compared to the United States of America. However, collective bargaining is a useful tool for the employees in both countries. It is evident that the participation of the employees in the managerial decision-making process is high in Germany than the United States of America. Discrimination of the employees is forbidden in both countries as Equal opportunity is highly valued. It is evident that the working conditions are useful in terms of determining the quality of employment. 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