HRMN DQ 6

Managing Employment Relationships

Businesses are significant social institutions in our society. While having satisfied employees does

not necessarily make organizations more productive, it does contribute to lower turnover rates

and greater customer satisfaction, contributing to greater profits. Managing the relationships

between the employee and the employer is a critical function in a successful organization.

An organization can be fair and equitable in its treatment of employees but still have problems

with employees if there is a perception that the organization is unfair and/or inequitable.

Managing the perception of employees is as important as the reality of the treatment of

employees. This means that open and clear communications with employees is one of the most

important factors in managing employee relationships.

Three major concepts must be taken into consideration when dealing with employees.

These concepts are equality, fairness, and justice:

1. Equality is treating every employee in the same way.

2. Fairness is treating employees in a way that is appropriate for the employee's situation.

3. Justice is the perception that the treatment of employees fits with society's

expectations.

It is easier to treat all employees the same (equally) than it is to treat all employees fairly.

Equality is easier to measure than fairness. If everyone is given the same raise when some

employees have worked hard, and other employees have hardly worked, the equal raise may be

seen as unfair. On the other hand, a raise that may be given to some employees, and not to

other employees, is unequal and may be perceived as unfair by some employees. The best way

to deal with this perception of unfairness is through open communication as to why different

employees are being treated differently.

Justice deals with the processes of administering fair policies in an organization. Justice can be

distributive or procedural. Distributive justice determines who gets what in an organization.

Procedural justice is the process of deciding who gets what in an organization. Organizations

are often held to procedural standards by the courts without regard to the actual distribution of

resources.

Organizations cannot legally violate a person's basic civil rights. For example, an organization

cannot lock someone in their workplace and not allow them to leave; or an organization cannot

require a person to commit illegal acts. The leaders of organizations and the organizations

themselves are subject to legal sanctions for any actions that violate an employee's rights.

There are several trends in employment in organizations that may raise fairness issues among

employees.

• The use of part-time and temporary workers often creates two classes of workers in an organization: (1) long-term, full-time employees, and (2) short-term, temporary or

part-time employees. The shorter-term employees often do tasks that are as important,

or more important, than the longer-term employees, but they receive less compensation

(especially fewer benefits).

• Flexible work schedules provide an opportunity for employees to fit the organization to their personal needs. Flexible schedules may bring about some feelings of unfairness

among employees, however, if the flexible work schedules are not distributed fairly, or if

the process for determining who has what schedule is seen as unfair.

• Sexual harassment is, legally, an EEO issue but is also an unfair and unjust situation for the victims of sexual harassment. It is also important to be aware of the paranoia that

some males feel about the possibility of being unfairly accused of sexual harassment.

• Whistleblowing is an internal or external effort by an employee to expose unethical or illegal actions that are witnessed in an organization. With the threat of serious negative

consequences for whistleblowers, protections have been developed in an effort to be fair

to whistleblowers and to encourage whistleblowing.

• Privacy issues are concerned with the rights of employees to prevent distribution or disclosure of their employment records and the obligations of organizations to cooperate

with governmental anti-terrorism efforts. While there have been some changes to privacy

rights of employees in recent years, it is still an ethical obligation of human resource

professionals and managers to protect the privacy of information about individuals, within

the law.

A good manager is not only aware of being fair and just, but is also aware of the perceptions that

employees have about whether the manager is being fair and just. If there is a possibility that

some action will be interpreted as unfair, good managers make sure that they communicate the

reasons for their actions so that those actions are interpreted as being fair.

Employee handbooks define the policies and procedures for handling an organization's

relations with employees. Even with statements that the employee handbook is not an explicit or

implicit contract, the courts will usually interpret the employee handbook as an agreement

between employer and employee. The employee handbook can be an important tool for

communicating expectations and processes to employees. Well-written employee handbooks

save both the employer and employee numerous legal problems.

Employment at will enables both employees and employers to terminate the employment

without warning, but only if no employment contract exists. Employment at will is a much

weaker concept today than it was in the past because today, most employment involves a

contract or a collective bargaining agreement that supersedes employment at will.

Disciplinary actions should be spelled out in the employee handbook and should be as uniform

as possible across all levels of the organization to avoid any perception of unfairness. Discipline

is designed to bring about better behavior or actions in the future. The reasons for discipline

should always be clearly defined so the person or persons being disciplined know how to behave

better in the future. Progressive discipline should be used when possible by increasing the

seriousness of the consequences if the unwanted behavior is repeated.

The key element in managing employment relationships is to make certain that the

organization's actions are fair and just. An employer's actions may be fair and just but

sometimes may not be perceived as such by the employees. Communicating the reasons for any

employer/employee action is vital in helping employees perceive the reasons for the action as

fair.