Key Aspects of Good Practice in Managements Handling of Employee Grievance - Coursework Example

MANAGING РЕОРLЕ Name: Lecturer: Course: Date: Introduction The International Labour Organization defines employment relationship as the legal link that exists between employers and their employees. The relationship occurs when an individual offers services or works under particular conditions in order to be remunerated (ILO, 2011). The existence of employment relationship is a fundamental point of reference that influences the extent and nature of employer’s obligations and rights towards their employees. In the event that the obligations and rights of employees are not met, then employees are bound to be dissatisfied. This paper seeks to discuss the different ways in which employees can express dissatisfaction with the employment relationship. The scope of the paper will also be grounded on identify key aspects of good practice in management’s handling of employee grievance. Also, the paper will examine how recent evidence suggests that the workplace in the 21st century is more ‘peaceful’ than ever before. Hirschman (1970) proposes the; exit, voice and loyalty model as an approach in which employees express their dissatisfaction concerning employment relationship. According to Hirschman (1970) depending on the level of employee loyalty; employees dissatisfied with their employers will either leave the organization or attempt to express their opinions in order to initiate change on the source of their dissatisfaction. Exit is basically defined as the removal of membership from the organization. On the other hand, voice is described as the attempt or endeavor to improve or repair the existing dissatisfaction in the workplace through communication by the use of approaches such presenting a proposal for change, a complaint and grievance. The common principle is grounded on the view that the more the existence of exit, the less likely the adoption of voce. Nevertheless, the level of an employee’s loyalty or support for the organization can bring about an effect on both voice exist. For instance a loyal employee can activate voice which can be a passive reaction while he/she waits for the situation to change. In unionized organizations, employees do not use their own voices to present their dissatisfaction but rather they use their union as a channel of presenting their views to the employer. The function of a union as a mechanism of presenting employee dissatisfaction is twofold. Foremost, the union acts as a representative of the economic interests of employees whereby it enables employees to get an increase in their wages. Secondly, unions offer employees with a political voice that can influence the process of managerial decision making concerning dissatisfying conditions in the work place. The use of unions has therefore been used as a formal procedure for presenting employee grievances for many years. Studies indicate that the use of unions as a voice on behalf of the workforce has been a useful mechanism of lowering the level of quitting or exit within organization (Gall, 2013). Employees also use inside games as a mechanism of expressing their dissatisfaction with the employment relationship. Inside games consist of a wide range of activities that employees can adopt within their workplace in order to resist the actions of the management or show dissatisfaction. The underlying tactic in the use of inside games by employees is to combine activities which have high level severity. Such activities include; reducing efficiency, damaging production, damaging management- employee relationship, loading the grievance procedure, confronting supervisors, creating a war like atmosphere in the work environment, filing charges against management and symbolic demonstrations such as dressing alike (Blackard, 2000). The use of strikes is another dominant expression that is used by employees in order to express dissatisfaction with the employment relationship. A strike can be defined as the stoppage work, slowdown or the interruption of the normal operations by the employees. Normally strikes needs a high level of mobilization or organization by a union, however in unionized organizations employees can organize a strike using their elected employee representatives (Blackard, 2000). For instance, a group of employees can make an agreement to stop working in order to protest against a certain policy or occurrence that they think is unfair. The workers can resort to withholding their labour in order to pressurize the management to listen and work on their demands. The striking demands range from employment relationship issues such as a better working environment, solving problems at work, leave and holidays and higher wages. Generally strikes are used by employees in disputes that are the most serious and as a last resort after other approaches of presenting their displeasure have not worked out. In other situations employees resort to a strike due to the fact that it can make the management to recognize cost implications which include the long- term effects on employee performance and the immediate economic effects. Therefore, in order to avoid the cost implications arising from a strike, the management is forced to listen to the views of the employees. Key Aspects of Good Practice in Management’s Handling of Employee Grievance The handling of employee dissatisfactions or disputes should be undertaken positively in order to ascertain that an amicable employment relationship is maintained. There are various good practices in management that can be used in handling employee grievances. One of the approaches is through the establishment of a formal grievance procedure. It is vital for the management to establish a formal process in which the employees can present their disputes in a more orderly, peaceful and expeditious manner. Aquinas, (2009) proposes that a formal grievances process should consist of five major steps. The first step is where the aggravated employees verbally present their disputes to their immediate supervisor. The supervisor should then give a response to the employee or employees within forty –eight hours of the presentation of the grievance. The grievance can then be solved if the supervisor has proper training and adheres severely to the basic method of problem solving. The second step is initiated in the event that the grievance is not resolved by the supervisor. If employees do not get a response within the stipulated time or if they are not satisfied with the answer, then they can move to the head of department who in this context can be the industrial relations officer, business manager or a superintendent. At this particular stage, the grievance should be answered within three days. If the employee or employees are not satisfied with the answers offered at the department level, then they can take their complaints to the grievance committee which consist of management representatives, union officials and fellow employees. The grievance committee will then evaluate the issues presented and then make recommendations to the management within a period of seven days. If the decision made by the committee does not satisfy the employee or employees then the employee/ employees should make an appeal for revision which is given to the management. The management will then communicate their decision with a period of seven days. In the event that the employee/employees are dissatisfied with the decision of the management, the issues can be taken for a voluntary arbitration where both parties agree on the best way forward (Aquinas, 2009). Employee grievances should also be handled promptly. This does not basically imply that they should be handled in haste, but rather a short time scale should be provided. Many managers hold the view point that raising grievances is actually a disruption or disturbance which makes them take a longer time to resolve the complaint. However, if an employee provides a genuine grievance, it is essential for the manager to deal with it promptly. The manger should discuss the matter with the employee, understand the perspective of the employee and if possible provide a solution immediately (Macdonald, 2008). Listening is another essential good practice that managers should practice when handling employee grievances. Many people exhibit the characteristic of talking more as opposed to listening. Such an attribute may affect the process of handling disputes. For instance, if a manager does not listen to the employees but always talks, it because difficult for them listen to employees even when a grievance arises. A good manager will therefore offer an opportunity for the employees to vent out their frustrations. The manager also listens keenly and lets the employee speak their mind without disrupting them. Psychologists have commonly stated that the amount of anger and frustration can be reduced significantly if one is given an opportunity to be listened to (Pingree , 2008). Another good practice by the management when handling employee grievances is confidentiality. It is essential for the management to acknowledge the fact employees who file for complaints have a right to discretion. If the employees choses to tell every other employee or even the public concerning the grievance, that is definitely their own choice. However, the management should handle the grievance procedure with total discretion. The management should also ensure that those servicing in the grievance committee must comply with the principle of confidentiality. This is because they may be handling sensitive issues that affect the organization such as employee pay rates and the conduct of the management. The management should ensure that a grievance committee member who does not maintain confidentiality should be barred from the proceedings (Colter, 1994). The management can also handle employee grievance through implementing procedures of whistleblowing within the organization. The adoption of such a practice is useful in protecting employees who present concerns about wrong doing in the organisation. The wrong actions may include activities such as fraud, mistreatment of employees and cover –ups. Sometimes an employee can raise a complaint concerning the behaviour of a manager or even a supervisor; considerations should be made in order for another manager to listen to the grievance. Thus it is important to have a working environment where whistleblowing can comfortably be undertaken (Gregory, 2014). How recent evidence suggest that the workplace in the 21st century is more ‘peaceful’ than ever before Gall, (2013) in his book ‘’ New Forms and Expressions of Conflict at Work’’ discloses the fact that employees today have changed the manner in which they express their grievances and conflicts in the work place. The existence of these changes has to a great extent made the workplace more peaceful that before. Gall, (2013) highlights that conflict resolution through the adoption formal grievance procedures have been a major attraction in the current workplace. Many empirical studies also reveal that employees essentially in unionized organizations use their unions as a formal voice to represent their dissatisfactions. The use of unions has acted as the voice of employees and has to a great extent reduced the quit or exit rates in many organizations. A study by Riscigno and Hodson (2004) revealed that in the recent years there has been a decline in workers resistant and strikes. This is basically due to the existence of unions. Also it can be argued that the workplace in the 21st century is more ‘peaceful’ than ever before due to the fact that in recent years, the job market has bottomed out resulting to an increase in the unemployment rate (Vangel, 2011). For instance, the recent 2008-2009 financial crisis greatly cut down job opportunities. Many employees continue to face poor prospects of employment as a result when employees are dissatisfied with the employment relations in their workplace, they do not exit but rather they learn to live with the existing conditions. In addition, many employees have the fear of losing their jobs as a result they remain peacefully in the organization despite the existing dissatisfactions. The 21st century is more ‘peaceful’ than ever before based on the fact that employers today work towards enhancing employee satisfaction as a significant strategy of making the workforce more productive (Vangel, 2011). For instance, many organizations today aim at providing their employees with good remuneration packages, work life balance has also been introduced in order to ensure that employees balance their work and also their social lives, Human resource departments in many organizations have also become more proactive in resolving the challenges facing employees. Such strategies have therefore made the work environment to be more peaceful. Conclusion The above discussion has presented various views concerning ways in which employees express dissatisfaction with the employment relationship. One of the ways highlighted is the exit, voice and loyalty model proposed by Hirschman (1970). Other ways discussed include; Inside games, the use of unions and also strikes. The paper also discussed key aspects of good practice in management’s handling of employee grievance, some of the aspects proposed include establishment of a formal grievance procedure, prompt handling of grievances, listening to the employees grievances and handling employee grievances in confidentiality. In conclusion the paper also takes note of the fact that in the 21st Century the workplace is much more peaceful due to the proactive use of unions as the voice of employees, reduced employment rates and increased job satisfaction. References Aquinas, P 2009, Human Resource Management.Vikas Publishing House. Blackard, K 2000, Managing Change in a Unionized Workplace: Countervailing Collaboration. Greenwood Publishing Group. Colter, C 1994, Grievances: Doing the Right Thing. Cooperative Grocer Network. Gall, G 2013, New Forms and Expressions of Conflict at Work. Palgrave Macmillan Gregory, C 2014, Employment tribunals can be costly for businesses. Retrieved on 31 July From< http://www.changeboard.com/content/3591/> Hirschman, A 1970, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms. Harvard University Press. International Labour Organization 2011, Employment relationship. ILO. Pingree , L, 2008, The Manager's Guide to Becoming Great, Business & Economics . Macdonald, L 2008, How to Manage Problem Staff Successfully, Business & Economics. Vangel, K 2011, Employee Responses to Job Dissatisfaction. University of Rhode Island. Read More