Response 1

Respond to this question in 350 words on page 2

Due 8/24/2026

When Employee Problems Become Organizational Problems

This week, I read an NPR article by Andrea Hsu titled  “Missed shifts were costly to this McDonald’s. An app has fixed the problem.” What caught my attention was that the company did not simply look at employees missing work as an attendance problem. Management looked deeper into why employees were missing shifts and found that transportation, childcare, and other unexpected situations were major barriers.

The article discusses seven McDonald’s locations in Maryland that began using an employee-support app called Escalate. Employees can use the app to receive assistance such as Uber vouchers for transportation, grocery assistance, or help with childcare expenses. Management reported fewer employee callouts and improved retention after implementing the program. The company behind the app estimates that it has saved the franchise approximately $35,000 per month in costs associated with missed shifts.

This connected directly to our discussion of systems theory and organizational effectiveness. When one employee calls out, it does not only affect that employee. It can lead to longer customer wait times, overtime expenses, additional responsibilities for coworkers, and stress throughout the organization. The McDonald’s franchise experienced this same “trickle-down effect.”

I can relate to this from my experience in law enforcement. Staffing is extremely important, and when someone is absent, other officers may have to take on additional responsibilities. As a security business owner, I also understand that employee reliability directly affects the service you are able to provide to clients. At the same time, this article reminded me that effective management is not always about disciplining employees when something goes wrong. Sometimes management has to understand the circumstances affecting employee behavior and determine whether the organization can remove some of those barriers.

I also see this as an example of the evolution of management. Traditional management may have focused primarily on rules, attendance, and consequences. Today, organizations are increasingly using technology and employee-support strategies to solve workplace problems. In this situation, supporting employees also helped improve the effectiveness of the business.

My question for the class is: How much responsibility should an organization take for helping employees overcome personal barriers that affect their ability to perform their jobs?