CASE 6 - Total Rewards and Employee Engagement

In this week´s blog post I am going to talk about motivation at work, rewarding and how employees can be engaged to work.

Motivation and engagement

Dan Pink speak about motivation and rewarding performance at work place in his Ted Talk in 2009. Dan refers to a researchers saying that if there are high cash rewards for performing well, it actually affects negatively on the level of performance in some cases. Pink talks about ´autonomy, mastery and purpose´ as a driver for motivation at work. Employees should have autonomy over their daily routines and work. This way employees are proven to be more productive and engaged to their work and happier about their employer. Pink also tells about some companies in the Northern America as an example where the employees can have a total ´mastery´ over their work. They can choose where to work, when, how and attend meetings if wanted. And a purpose is also presented as a very important aspect what comes to motivation at work. Employees want to feel that what they are doing, matters and that they are in control of their performance. (Pink 2009.)

Dan Pink´s idea of what is behind motivation

When I think of my own experience in working life, my conclusion is that employees are more satisfied with their work and motivated if they can control at least some parts of their job and make decisions on how they do things and when. I feel that I am motivated when I can choose how I do a certain task and If I feel that the task or a job is developing my skills and I learn something out of it. I do not feel good if I am used for doing too easy tasks, then I feel like my expertise and skills are not appreciated. 

I have been in a sales job where there was cash rewards according to the level of performance, and the rewards would be paid each month. In some months, there was also chosen the ´Most valuable player´ of the team, usually the one who made the most sales in monetary value. This system is motivating when the rewards are not too unrealistic to actually reach. But if the reward seems like way too hard to achieve, then performance could drop dramatically. There was also competition between employees in the same job and the would get bonus rewards occasionally. This is a well working system if all the employees are competitive in a nature. 

non-monetary reward

Kevin Kruse emphasis that making employees happy at work is different matter that making them engaged and being productive and profitable. The engagement at work means that the employees are engaged to the businesses´ goals and the whole organization. And this engagement means emotional engagement too. This kind of emotionally engaged employees do not work only for the paycheck but they care about the endeavors and goals of the company and really might think about how they could develop certain functions and their own work. According to Towers Perrin research, companies with truly engaged employees have 6% higher net profit margins and higher shareholder returns. (Kruse 2012)

Thinking about my own experience, I have seen both, employees who are not engaged in any level to their work, and employees who are very engaged to the company and their own work. As an employee and also as a fresh entrepreneur, work engagement is very important to me. When talking about working for someone else, I want to feel that I am doing my best at work and think how could I develop the organization and it´s actions so that my work also becomes more effective and enjoyable. I would not work for a company where I do not feel engaged, because it is no good for me or anyone else either. I don´t feel like wasting my time for work which I do not want to do. As an entrepreneur it is clear that I am 200% engaged to the company and would do anything to make it work, but it gets interesting when I would hire an employee. And when I would hire one, I want him/her to add value to my company, not just be in it for money.

Rewarding employees

A company can decide to give monetary or non-monetary rewards for its employees. Monetary rewards are tangible and non-monetary are intangible. Non-monetary rewards could be for instance more interesting or challenging assignments or public recognition or recognition within the organization. eBay offers for example golf lessons or dental services as a reward for employees. Those companies who emphasis monetary rewards, usually reinforce individual achievement but in companies providing non-monetary rewards, the focus is on the company as a whole and relationships within departments and culture. (Gómez-Mejía L., Balkin D., Cardy R., 325.) In my previous work places there were monetary rewards, such as cash and also holidays to different destinations. Some work places did not have rewards at all. 

New trend in rewarding has been offering well performing employees for example holidays, trips or REI (recreational equipment) to have more engaging activities for employees. And for employees with family, reward could be working from home which creates more flexibility. (Gómez-Mejía L., Balkin D., Cardy R., 326.)

My conclusion is that it always depends on the working environment, organizations´ culture and goal which way employers reward or motivate their employees. If the company wants to make great profit and gain global recognition for instance, they should invest in making a good reward system for the employees and hear the employees on how they want to do their job and why are they engaged or not. It is most likely very important to know your employees so that you know what motivates and drives them into better performances.



Sources

Gómez-Mejía L., Balkin D., Cardy R. 2016. Managing Human Resources. Pearson Education Limited. Harlow. Accessed 23.10.2018.

Dank Pink ´The puzzle of motivation´ https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation/discussion?language=en. Accessed 23.10.2018.

Picture 1: https://corporate-rebels.com/dan-pink/
Picture 2: https://www.trophiesplusmedals.co.uk/recognition-at-work-why-you-should-reward-your-employees/recognition-at-work-why-you-should-reward-your-employees/

Kevin Kruse ´What is employee engagement´ https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/06/22/employee-engagement-what-and-why/#10ec23ac7f37. Accessed 23.10.2018.

CASE 5 - Employee Well-being and Health and Safety at work

In this blog post I will study cases in employee well-being and health and safety at work. I will study two cases regarding safety and health issues at work.

The case 5A a 21-year old intern Moritz Erhardt died after working for long hours at bank Merrill Lynch. Erhardt also suffered epilepsia but he had not told anyone about his condition at the workplace. Allegedly the employees at the bank, and commonly in the same industry, had a competition with each other who can work longest hours. Erhardt was known as passionate, hard-working, humble and down to earth person. He was just a week away from signing a permanent employment contract at Merrill Lynch before he died. (Thomas 2013)

This case A shows that is can be hard to detect if the incident was due to the working conditions or not. In this case it was probably a mix of both. Erhardt was so motivated to work that he forgot his own health and limitations and was maybe under a social pressure to do longer hours at work. I think still the employer should take care that employees cannot work around the clock, set a rules for working hours. In this case the fatal incident did not happen at the work site, but at the intern´s home. The Merrill Lynch representative said that there is no procedure to monitor the working hours of employers, but I think it should be highly considered and taken as a common practice in the banking industry where these kind of incidents are stated to happen commonly (Thomas 2013).

Moritz Erhardt

The case A reminded me of a movie I saw a long time ago. The movie is called ´concussion´ and the movie addressed and issue in the football industry. Will Smith is acting Dr. Omalu, who examinated american football players who where suffering from severe and unexplained symptoms. Some players even died before getting the right medical treatment. Dr.Omalu confronted a previous doctor of the NFL (national football league) players and the NFL presentatives on the issues. Dr. Omalu found evidence on serious concussions in the autopsies he conducted on the players. Dr. Omalu states that the players are exposed to deadly concussion while on the football field. 
Here you can see a clip from the movie where Dr. Omalu talks with the former doctor. In the clip, the former doctor denies that he knows about the health problems of the players, referring to the football culture and its importance and how much money the NFL makes every year and donated to charity.

This movie shows as an example when the money is more important for the company than its employees or moral. NFL of course wants to keep up its reputation so that they can continue making business with their players life in danger.

An American football player injured

The case 5B tells about wellness programs at work and if they really make a difference at the workplace. Morgaine states that wellness programs provided by employers are more popular than ever. A wellness program could include giving employees discounts on their health insurance premiums, cash rewards, providing gym or other memberships free or charge or offering healthier food options at work. For companies the motive for providing such benefits is saving money for instance, when employees are healthier, they take less sick leaves and are more effective at work. Morgaine tells that the issue is that most employees do not participate the program, and few solutions are stated; making sure that employees are aware of the program, encourage employees towards it and even nominate a ´wellness leader´ who is close to the employees. (Morgaine 2018)

I have worked in the wellness and sports industry myself and it was self-evident that the employer promoted healthy lifestyle and keeping up a good exercising routines. The employer offered a gym membership for free and the gym facilities were also the area where I worked everyday. I did use the gym actively for a while, but when time passed, I felt that I did not want to stay to workout in the same building where I just had worked for eight or more hours. I also felt that my supervisor who I worked with daily, was not that motivating what comes to healthy eating and training habits. 

And my observation after working in the sports industry for years is that even if the employer and the whole company provides great facilities for taking care of oneself, there can still be a lot of sick leaves, illness, burnouts and lack of motivation. My opinion is that sports industry can be demanding and exhausting, physically and mentally, in such a way that it can even make harm for you instead of improving your life quality. Whether is it about a wellness industry or any other, an employees should always look after him/herself and be aware of employers´ responsibilities also to avoid harmful situations or misconducts.

Law and standards

There are certain laws which protect employees in the health and safety matters. For example in the US, the workers´ compensation laws at the state level and also OSHA (occupational safety and health act of 1970) in the federal level. The OSHA act includes different standards in safety, inspections, citations and fines, but it does not provide compensation when accidents happen. Employers are entitled to maintain insurance for the employees at the workplace, and those companies who have higher incident levels, have to pay for higher insurance fees. (Gómez-Mejía L., Balkin D., Cardy R., 530.) 

Under OSHA´s provisions are stated that employers have as an obligation to provide safe and healthy work environment, comply with specific occupational safety and health standards and to keep records of occupational injuries and illnesses. For example, if employer does not provide written or electronic records in incidents and illnesses, employer can face fines and citations. Falsifying records can result in fine and six-month prison sentence.(Gómez-Mejía L., Balkin D., Cardy R., 532,534)

Employees also have responsibilities in the safety and health matters. They have to comply with the safety and health standards regarding their occupation. Any injuries, conditions or illnesses should be reported to their employer as soon as noticed. Employees can file grievances or complaints if there occurs and issue at the workplace. (Gómez-Mejía L., Balkin D., Cardy R., 534)


Conclusion

Referring to these topics discussed in this writing, it can be hard for an employer to detect if the incident was caused by the job conditions or other issues in some cases. In my opinion, the employer should anyways encourage employees to take care of themselves, physically and mentally providing a safe and trust-worthy working environment where employees feel safe and respected. Training and providing accurate information on safety and health is a must in today´s demanding working conditions. 

Sources


Gómez-Mejía L., Balkin D., Cardy R. 2016. Managing Human Resources. Pearson Education Limited. Harlow. Accessed 9.10.2018.

Case 5A: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2511911/Moritz-Erhardt-exhausted-Merrill-Lynch-intern-died-epileptic-fit.html#ixzz4RTj2xoP1 Accessed 4. & 9.10.2018.

Picture 1: https://www.georgianewsday.com/news/world/170823-bank-of-america-intern-moritz-erhardt-drops-dead-after-pulling-all-nighters.html

Case 5B: https://www.liveplan.com/blog/does-corporate-wellness-work-the-surprising-truth-about-employee-wellness-programs/ Accessed 9.10.2018.

Movie ´concussion´ clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59wvo9e2XQY

American football player picture: http://www.buddhistpeacefellowship.org/american-groundlessness-grappling-with-the-nfls-concussion-crisis/

EU statistics on accidents at work https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Accidents_at_work_statistics

CASE 4 - Legal Compliance and Discipline and Grievance

In this blog writing, I am going to study legal compliance and discipline and grievance at workplace and how different situations can be handled. 

In the study I am going to use three different cases:

In the case A, a police inspector was charged with sexually abusing female officer in 2016 in New York. The sexual abuse was about touching, official misconduct and harassment which happened at the office of the suspect Keith Walton. The victim attempted to push Walton´s hands away and told him to stop. Walton although denies the allegations. Later, the inspector was relieved of his gun and badge and placed on a modified duty. Months later Walton was promoted as a deputy inspector. (Mele and Baker 2016.)

In this case what I think happened was that Walton made a deal with his supervisor or another employer of his to stay in the job and avoid any other consequences in addition to the charges. The victim, female officer, did not get justice or that´s what I made as a conclusion from the article. The case was kind of buried in favor of Walton.

The case B presented a situation happened at a restaurant in Denver. In a Mexican restaurant, a customer received a receipt which stated hate words written by the employee. This has not been the only case where this kind of insulting has happened. This kind of situations have killed careers, destroyed businesses and started lawsuits. And this kind of behavior goes both ways, also customers had offended employees, especially at diners.
Experts say that this kind of behavior is due to social media or perhaps, lack of training at workplace. In America, the jobs in the restaurant business can pay very low compensation, yet the job demands great professionalism in customer service and dealing with different kind of customers.  (McCarthy 2016.)

In the B case, I think that the problems are faced also because of the lack of training at workplace, but there just simply is people who cannot behave or leave things unsaid. And what I think about the social media impact on the situation is that social media provokes people to talk whatever they want and not face consequences. This does not work the same way in real life, it is not anonymous when for example a waitress writes offensively about his/her customer. So employees could be trained better and also trained about the consequences of inappropriate behavior (discipline). 

The case C described a situation where a family from Flint, Michigan discovered that there is a poisoning amount of lead in the tap water. Lee Anne Walters, as mother of her sons which both were diagnosed with lead poisoning, has been a spokesperson in the city about the problem. Later her husband, a sailor in US Navy, has faced harassment and mistreatment at his workplace due to his wife's advocacy in the water crisis. Dennis Walters have requested a transfer to another unit within the Navy. The Navy has not responded to any comment requests. (Kaufman and Ganim 2016.)

Protesters in Flint, Michigan on water crisis

This case regarding the water crisis in Flint was very disruptive to me, I do not understand why Dennis Walters was mistreated at his workplace when his wife was trying to defend the citizens´ rights. The case was left quite open because the Navy does not want to comment on the issue. One possibility could be that the Navy has something to do with the water being contaminated by lead and they wanted to keep Dennis Walters away from the case since he might reveal some details about the contamination. Or US Navy might use Dennis´ wife's involvement in the water crisis as an excuse to eventually discharge him if they have wanted to fire him for other reasons which are not adequate.

According to European Agency for Safety and Health at work, bullying can also be result in organizational culture, poor relationships between employees and supervisors, extreme levels of work demands and abrupt organizational change.

Employee and employer rights

An employee has statutory rights, meaning right to form an union and protection against discrimination. Specific laws are applied to these employee rights. Employees´ contractual rights include right to employment contract and contract with the union. These rights are controlled by law of contracts. Other rights employees have are for instance right to ethical treatment, free speech (limited) and privacy (limited). (Gomez-Mejía, Balkin and Cardy 2016, 458.)

Employment contract as a right of an employee

Employer rights contain right to run the business and to retain any profits that result and right to manage the workforce and hire employees. Also employer has rights to promote, assign, discipline and discharge employees. These rights are monitored by the discrimination law, for instance. (Gomez-Mejía, Balkin and Cardy 2016, 462.) In conclusion, employer has rights to make decision affecting the business and workers within but limited by laws and contracts.

Discipline types and processes

There are mainly two types of discipline practices done by supervisors; progressive and positive discipline. Progressive discipline consists of series of management interventions, giving the employee a chance to correct his/her behavior. Positive discipline encourages employees to monitor their own behavior and responsibility is assumed to be taken by the employee on their actions. Positive discipline focuses on motivating the employee to learn from his/her mistakes and make a plan for correcting it. In positive discipline collaborative problem solving is the key to success. (Gomez-Mejía, Balkin and Cardy 2016, 473-474.)

Processes presented by Gomez-Mejía, Balkin and Cardy (2016, 473-474)
In progressive discipline the process could be as follows:
1. Verbal warning given to an employee regarding his/her actions.
2. Written warning follows if the verbal warning was not effective as correcting the behavior.
3. Suspension can take place for a certain time if warnings are not enough.
4. Discharge is the last step if warnings and suspension do not correct the situation.

In positive discipline the process could be as follows:
1. Counselling session takes place with a goal to solve the problem occurred.
2. New counselling is required if the first one was not effective.
3. Warning of discharge and also time (for instance one day off) could be given to employee to come up with a solution to the situation.
4. Discharge, if nothing mentioned above works.

Employee ´discipline´ in action

Discipline standards

Before the employer decides to discipline the employee, he/she should consider few important things effecting the situation. The manager should consider the standards of discipline used for determining if the employee is treated fairly with the disciplining, if the employee has right to appeal actions of discipline, communication rules and performance criteria and rule awareness among the employees. In order to successfully discipline an employee, documentation of convincing evidence is important to that there are even grounds for discipline. (Gomez-Mejía, Balkin and Cardy 2016, 476.)

Summary

From these cases we can learn that there can be many different kind of situations, even very complicated ones, regarding the legal compliance and discipline and grievance. And some cases will never be solved or justice is not served to the right people. There still are some tools the employers can use regarding discipline, and employees and employers have their own rights under employment. It is important as an employee to know one´s rights so that even difficult situations could be solved fairly in favor of each party.


References

Gómez-Mejía L., Balkin D., Cardy R. 2016. Managing Human Resources. Pearson Education Limited. Harlow. Accessed 2.10.2018.

Case 4A: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/nyregion/new-york-police-sexual-abuse-of-officer.html?_r=0. Accessed 2.10.2018
Case 4B: https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/receipt-rage-why-food-is-being-served-with-a-side-of-hate. Accessed 2.10.2018
Case 4C: https://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/29/health/whistleblower-complaint-us-navy-flint/index.html. Accessed 2.10.2018

Case C picture: https://sites.tufts.edu/caitlinjosephcommunicates/2016/01/29/flint-mi-water-crisis-a-media-analysis/
Employment contract picture: https://www.allenlawaz.com/employment-contract-conflicts-new-az-employee-rights-law/
Employee discipline picture: http://karenlusby.com/three-reasons-self-discipline-fails/

EU OSHA Bullying at work: 
https://haagahelia.sharepoint.com/sites/globba/coursematerials2/Basic%20Courses/HRM1LF101%20Basics%20of%20Human%20Resource%20Management/Materials/Course%20Readings/EU%20OSHA%20Factsheet%2023%20Bullying%20at%20work.pdf?slrid=2482949e-8029-7000-5935-8eb3d0d17f49. Accessed 2.10.2018