Employee Counselling in the Workplace - Coursework Example

Employee Counselling Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecture Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date Executive summary Employee counseling is currently seen as being the latest trend in today’s work environment. In the business world that we operate in there is practically no organization or company that can claim to be free from stress to have employees who are stress free. Employee counselling is commonly termed as the help and support that is offered to the employees for them to be able to sail and face all the difficult situations in life. In most instances in a person’s life or in their career lives people are faced with certain problems that are either work related or personal and they eventually start affecting and influencing the performance of the employees and there is also a noted increase in the stress levels of those individuals. Employees should not be kicked out of the organization or told to leave they should be counseled so as to identify the problems they are facing and measures also needs to be put in place to tackle them. This is based on the fact that counselling tends to play a more important role in business and it need not to be undervalued. Counselling can assist the employees a lot in having adequate and full control, of their own lives, make decisions in a wise manner and better charge the duties and responsibilities, and also in reducing the levels of anxiety and stress. Contents Executive summary 2 Contents 3 Discussion 4 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Employee counselling in the workplace seems to be the latest trend that is closely catching up in corporate Human resource management all over the world. The world we live in seems to be very complex and thus it presents various types of stress in our lives and most especially in organizations that employees working in. Employment counselling services have been adopted by a great number of organizations as being the latest tool in attracting as well as retaining the best among the employees and at the same time increase the quality of the organization's workforce. In the business world that we operate in there is practically no organization or company that can claim to be free from stress to have employees who are stress free. The employees may at times be depressed, stressed and at times they may be suffering from anxiety that is mainly due to the different issues in the workplace for example meeting of targets, managing deadlines, family commitments and also due to lack of adequate time to accomplish certain personal commitments. Companies have over time realized the advantages of having employees who are stress free yet they are capable and motivated. In relation to this, a number of organizations have adopted counselling services and it has been made part of the overall organizational culture. The organizations seem to be offering these counselling services to their employees. Discussion Employee counselling is commonly termed as the help and support that is offered to the employees for them to be able to sail and face all the difficult situations in life. In most instances in a person’s life or in their career lives people are faced with certain problems that are either work related or personal and they eventually start affecting and influencing the performance of the employees and there is also a noted increase in the stress levels of those individuals. Counselling is more related to guiding, advising, consoling, helping and sharing with the aim of resolving problems whenever they do arise (Werner & DeSimone 2009). A great number of people view that employee counselling as just another example of the management team playing the role of a big brother, and according to them they are of the view that in instances when the employees cannot be able to handle what is in the organization they are supposed to leave. They mostly apply the quote that says that ‘if employees cannot take the heat, it would be better if they let to get out of the kitchen’ (De Cieri et al. 2005). Contrary to what they believe employee counselling seems to be an important aspect of a business. Theoretically, psychological counselling which is a type of counselling that is applied by experts with the aim of analyzing work related behaviors and performance with the aim of assisting employees to cope with it, resolve the tribulations and conflicts and reinforce the desired level of results (Foot & Hook 2005). The reason why counselling is not another example of managers playing the big brother is because it has over time become an important and essential function for the managers. The companies can either opt to ask for help from the experienced employees or at times from the professional counselor. The increased level of complexity in employee lives needs to take careful consideration of various aspects (Dessler 2004). With the major one been performance counselling. In most instances the urgent need for counselling mainly arises when an employee depicts signs of decline in performance, bad decision making and being stressed in the workplace. In the above stated instances, employee counselling seems to be the most appropriate way to deal with the problems. The counselling ought to deal with all the aspects that are closely linked to the performance of the employee for example their responsibilities, set targets, employee aspirations, and problems being faced by the employee and their interpersonal relationship in the workplace (Dessler, Griffiths & Lloyd-Walker 2007). Another aspect that needs to be considered is the employee’s personal life and their family well being. Friends and families seem to be inseparable from the life of an employee (Florian 2009). It is a common notion that employees do carry their personal issues and bring them into the organizations and this eventually have an effect on the performance of the employee. Thus the counsellor needs to help the employee in dealing with the personal issues and the employee will be able to work with enthusiasm (Cooper 2009). The other aspects can relate to work life balance with the health problems. There are employees who have health problems and yet they are working in the organization, through counselling the employees can be offered with all the required support to enable them to feel as being part of the organization. Through counselling they will be aware of the fact that even others have some health problems and yet they are performing (Cole 2007). These employees will feel motivated and they will be more willing to offer a lot of efforts to the organization. Counseling will help in identifying the problem being faced by the employee and he/she will be assisted to deal with the present situation in a better way. Employee counselling is also not an example of the managers praying the role of the big brother. This is mainly based on the great number of advantages that are closely associated with counselling of the employees (Fisher, Schoenfeldt & Shaw 2003). One of the major advantages is that through counselling the costs that are related to high turnover rates and absenteeism are reduced drastically. Employee counselling assists a lot in retaining the employees in an organization. In instances when the employee is unhappy they may opt to leave the organization or been absent for some days. The absenteeism and turnover seems to some added costs since the organization will have to advertise and look for other employees to fill the vacant posts in the organization. Through counselling employees will be able to handle the problems that are facing them and thus they are unlikely to leave the organization thus no unnecessary costs will be incurred (Bruce 2003). The other advantage that counselling is perceived to have is more related to the improvement of employee performance. Irrespective of the nature of the challenges that the employee is facing, they can also be hindrances to employee performance (Hartel et al. 2007). Employee counselling sessions are there to offer support and give confidence to those employees who may be feeling anxious and they can therefore be able to overcome the challenges they may be facing. In instances when organizations offer the required level of recognition to the employees employees will eventually feel a great level of satisfactions and security since the organizations is more concerned with the challenges and problems that are facing them (Bratton & Gold 2003). Consequently the employee will be free to think of and get beat performance while at the same time adhering to the purpose and mission of the organization. It is also vital to note that counselling is seems as a considerable aspect of an organization since through its use the employee seems to be more motivated when it comes to aching their own goals and at the same time they will be achieving the set organizational goals in the most efficient and effective manner (Boxall & Purcell 2003). The other advantage is that through counselling there is an increase in the level of productivity. Counselling is currently being seen as a major and noteworthy management tool in increasing individual's performance and this eventually leads to increase in productivity of the organization. When an employee is facing certain challenges and problems it seems hard for him/her to work according to the expectations of the organization (Banister & Harding 2004). Through counselling an employee is able to overcome the problems and this is ultimately shown with increased level of commitment to his duties this eventually leads to improvement in the overall productivity of the organization. It is a common phenomenon that a certain small group among the workers suffers from stress. In instances when managers vies stress as being a personal problem and not as a management problem that needs to be delayed with urgency, then they have to deal with other issues such as absenteeism, high turnover, sub standard services to customers and a great number of work related accidents. Thus organizations ought to deal with stress in a positive manner with the aim of increasing their productivity and thus there will also be an increase in profits (Banister & Harding 2004). Also through counselling the employees feel to be part of the organization as well as the decisions making process in the organization and they are more likely to accept change moiré readily. Through counselling employees feel that they are not being left out when discussing issues that affect the organization of any impending changes in the organization (Evans, Pucik & Barsoux 2002). When they are counseled they are able to understand why the change needs to be implemented and the adverse effect of the change on them. Based on this they will be part of the major decision makers in the organization. Counselling seems to be important aspects since they assist the employees a lot in taking control of their own lives and responding to the challenges that they may face in their line of duty in appositive way. In the current stress driven business environment, conducting counselling services to the employees seems to be the way forward since it offers the employee with a feeling of being cared for so it is unlikely for them to be absent, or leave the organization and they will at all times be working for the benefit of the organization (Cole 2002). Conclusion Based on the above discussion the statement that employee counselling is just another example of management playing big brother is false. And the employees should not be kicked out of the organization or told to leave they should be counseled so as to identify the problems they are facing and measures also needs to be put in place to tackle them. This is based on the fact that counselling tends to play a more important role in business and it need not to be undervalued. Counselling can assist the employees a lot in having adequate and full control, of their own lives, make decisions in a wise manner and better charge the duties and responsibilities, and also in reducing the levels of anxiety and stress. Counselling have a great number of desirable results in regard to the organization for example improved productivity, performance, low level of absentees and turnover and better decisions making and adherence to proposed changes in the organization. It seems to be of great benefit to the organization when the employees are aware of the fact that they are cared for and thus the organization is bale to create a sense of commitment among the employees. References Banister, R & Harding, J 2004, Human Resource Management an Introduction to the Australian Workplace, Pearson, Australia. Boxall, P & Purcell, J 2003, Strategy and Human Resource Management, Palgrave MacMillan, Houndmills, Basingstoke. Bratton, J & Gold, J 2003, Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice, 3rd, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Bruce, P 2003, Human Resource Management Casebook, 2nd edn, Prentice Hall, Riverwood, NSW. Cole, G 2002, Personnel and human resource management, 5th edn, Continuum, London. Cole, K 2007, Workplace Relations in Australia A Practical Guide To Workchoices, Pearson, Australia. Cooper, R 2009, Forward with Fairness? Industrial Relations under Labor in 2008, Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 285-296. 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Hartel, C, Fujimoto, Y, Strybosch, V& Fitzpatrick, K 2007, Human Resource Management Transforming Theory into Innovative Practice, Pearson, Australia. Werner, J & DeSimone, R 2009, Human resource development, 5th edn, South-Western Cengage, Mason, OH. Read More