Employee Relations: Tools, Conflict Management & Work-Life Balance Assignment Sample

Employee Relations: Tools, Conflict Management & Work-Life Balance

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Introduction : Emerging Trends in Employee Relations and Dispute Resolution

TASK 1:

1.1 Review of emerging developments:

Employee relationship management is a kind of interpersonal relationship. Employee relations in an organization is an essential concept and concern matter for enriching the abilities of an organization. The internal relations between employers and employees create a morale trust which develops harmony in the workplace (Nguyen et al.. 2021). There are recommendations by which REBU can improve and approach employees to engage in the activities more.

Employee-centric leadership approaches

The approaches to centralization of leadership styles can develop the emerging trust and loyalty between organizations and employees. The building of trust and maintaining honesty ensures the right decision-making process. Leaders must ensure that employees feel a part of an organization (Wood and Lehdonvirta 2021). Employee-centered decisions can be successful in achieving goals and objectives.

Building trust between employers and the hierarchy

The organization needs to implement practices for building up a positive relationship with the employers and employees so that it ensures the best decision-making approaches. Managers should manage the trust-building encounters to inherit the issues and come up with a solution (Walsh et al. 2018). The action plans should be made in such a way that employees take part and dare to maintain the employee-line relationships.

Feedback from the employees and active listening to employees

The effectiveness of active listening is held with a channel of communication internally and externally. Paying attention to employees' approach conversations by which both individuals would get to know each other's behavioral aspects (Fu et al. 2022). Managers are the core members who listen to team members and approach them to participate in the listening process.

1.2 Differentiate between employee involvement and employee participation:

There is a crucial difference between the involvement of employees and their participation. The decision-making process involves employees getting initiated with other peer groups. Employee participation refers to when employees perform the activities to achieve the business goals and objectives and employee involvement is stated as the input level that supports the decision-making process to supervise the responsibilities. Participation is a process where employees share power and discuss tasks with their superiors. Involvement of employees is a broad concept where incorporated mechanisms can be designed to manage the task forces and teams as well (Ahakwa et al. 2021). The quality approach perks the positive involvement of employers and employees in managing the labor-management for running an organization. Work culture influences the active participation of employees and also improves the criteria for the continuous development of teams.

Employer involvement can be characterized as inputs to a task or project that allow employers to make decisions and provide generous advice to put effort into achieving. Employee participation engages with activities that are needed to complete and define the business activities into a standard form. Managers should deliver an effective understanding to the teams about the difference between impassiveness and participation so that employees can understand that an organization needs to explore its strategies for growth and development. Transparency in feedback is a must and thus it should inculcate the actual issues that are needed to resolve to maintain harmony between leaders and team members (Ababneh 2021). The communication process accomplishes an idea of understanding the peers and helps to give feedback for the active participation of employees to strengthen the conversation process also.

1.3 Employee voice tools and approaches:

The assistance of employee voice tools and approaches strengthens the conversation power and makes a communication process for understanding the behavioral aspects of an organization. Encouraging employees and approaching them for active listening to instructions is another way to build trust and reduce the communication gap also. Tools and approaches for appraising the voice of employees are a concerning matter and managers should implement employee-centric approaches to maintain hierarchy standards (Ishiyama 2021). Tools and approaches are beneficial for engaging employees to complete the tasks or projects within a given period and the ability to understand the abilities that upgrade the level of self-development.

Team meetings

The arrangement for meetings is an essential tool where all the communicators can communicate with other peers through a formal discussion about the welfare of employees as well as organizational aspects. Teamwork initiatives are to be taken to empower the engagement of employees to form interpersonal relationships. Scheduling of meetings provides an array of mechanisms which is a strong tool for the communication process ((Nguyen et al.. 2021)). Formal discussions related to employee retention and recognition can be analyzed through effective communication elements.

 A strong rationale for presenting ideas and innovations

The engagement of employees is necessary and crucial for the processing and completion of projects or tasks. Employee voice tools are considered by the hierarchies and provide freedom of speaking up with their opinions and ideas and it is a piece of vital information for enriching business performances (Wood and Lehdonvirta 2021). The proactive personalities of employers demonstrate the importance of presenting ideas and opinions in a standard way as a form of communication channel with peer groups.

1.4 The interrelationships between employee voice and organizational performance

The competence of interrelationships lessened organizational behavior and related to the overall business performance. Effective voice of employers makes a contribution which holds the impoverishment of organization and improves productivity levels (Walsh et al. 2018). The importance of interrelationships between employees and the organization is a communal harmony relationship and it helps to implement the business strategies and earns well establishments.

Continuous improvement of team and members

The delegation of improvement and development refers to the growth of an organization that holds performance levels. Highly trained managers should take initiative in the continuation of engagement activities so that employees learn skills of managing situations and tasks (Fu et al. 2022). Surveys through questionnaires are an example of conducting a program where employers and employees both can give their valuable feedback.

Authenticity in workplaces

The audacity of speaking and learning without fear of consequences is necessary because it reflects the actions of presenting something in an order. The impact of authenticity in the workplace maintains professionalism and creates the ability to perform better to enrich the level of learning skills and set an example for other co-workers (Ababneh 2021). Productivity and shaping organizational culture is a major aspect and articulates the employees' voice to understand the ongoing consequences and strategies needed to develop.

1.5 Implication of better working lives

“Work-life balance” refers to that equilibrium state in which a person can equally prioritize the career demand as well as the personal life demand. The ordinary reasons that can lead to a poor “work-life balance” include: increasing work responsibilities, increasing working hours, lead in increasing the responsibility in personal life, and having children (Oludeyi, 2021). A good balance of work-life has various positive effects which include the reduction of stress, Reduction the burnout risk, and an increased well-being sense. It has a positive impact not only on the employees but on the employers too. Employers that are accomplished in providing an environment that supports the balance of work-life for their respective employees can make more profit in business and also experience absenteeism if fewer and can have a more loyal workforce with productive efforts in work.

Companies that offer a flexible schedule of work along with telecommuting can help employees have a better balance of work-life. Moreover, the implications of better work-life prioritize health. Linking with the CIPD professional practices is important to organize. Overall mental health and physical and emotional health is the main concern that is promoted by REBU, and this guides those suffering from anxiety, depression, or any chronic illness. It is important to call a day off so that the body can prevent getting better (Roche, 2021). Prioritizing health is the foremost property that makes the person and employees better. Maintaining superior health by availing a suitable table of holidays and allowing leave whenever the employees need will lead to a perfect work-life balance for the employees.

TASK 2:

2.1 Differentiation between organizational conflict and Misbehavior

Organizational conflict is known as workplace conflict and can be described as a lack of understanding or misunderstanding along with disagreement regarding some decision or needs, beliefs, resources as well as the relationship between the employees of an organization. Several factors influence conflicts within an organization. The factors are the interpersonal relationship between the employees, lack of sufficient resources, and unclear responsibility (Horbach et al. 2019). If the interpersonal relationship is not good enough between the employees, it means there is a lack of understanding which leads to conflicts. On the other hand, if sufficient resources are scarce, such as time, money, and other materials which prevent the employees from competing with each other, it leads to conflicts. 

Besides that, conflicts are categorized into two parts, formal and informal conflicts. “Formal conflicts” can be described as when conflicts can’t be solved by discussion. On the other hand, when third parties are allowed to mitigate the conflicts by conducting several discussions between the conflicted parties is known as “informal conflict”. Organizational misbehavior can be described as, violating organizational policies and norms intentionally. This kind of practice is also punishable and can hamper employment. Organizational misbehavior also affects directly the organisational culture (Petousi and Sifaki, 2020). Organizational leaders should take strict action against this kind of practice. 

2.2 Official and unofficial employee action

An “official employee action” can be described as when the employees of an organization are members of a trade union and their actions are premised by the union (Haipeter et al. 2018). An employee who is not a member of a trade union also can take part in official industrial action that can be authorized if their approach is proven valid. On the other hand, “unofficial employee action” is an industrial action that is not conducted by any responsible person or member or not by their trade union. In this systematic approach, one employee can claim any unfair approach if he/she is dismissed while participating in that kind of action. In addition, industrial action is generally authorized or encouraged by the union of an organization which is also official. The persons who can authorize their industrial action are empowered by the rules and policies of the employees union and also act as a question in which the executive committee, General Secretary, or President are bound to take every decision officially. 

2.3 Types of conflict and industrial sanctions

With the changes in times, Trade unions are maintaining their role to maintain a good relationship between the employees and management. Several conflicts are also there which are preventing organizational development and also preventing the employees from establishing a good relationship with each other. In general, organisational conflicts are divided into four categories goal conflicts occur when two persons push to achieve their goals at the same time. Due to this reason conflicts generally occur (Akoto et al. 2020). The next type of conflict is cognitive conflict occurs when one person or group's ideas are inconsistence with others leading to cognitive conflicts. Affective conflicts occur when some people or groups of people are not comfortable with others' behaviors or attitudes leads to this kind of conflict. Apart from that, conflicts have both positive and negative effects. The positive side is, that conflicts can improve or change the wrong practices of an organization and the negative effect is, that it can hamper organizational performance, and also prevent them from achieving their goals and objectives. Sometimes conflicts can lead to strikes and the operations of an organisation get paused for a long time. Therefore it is essential to manage every conflict before it spreads out and promotes a worse situation. 

2.4 Distinguish between third-party conciliation, mediation, and arbitration

A conciliator is a skilled as well as a trusted third person, who used to establish a good relationship between the negotiator and opponent by mitigating their issues as well as challenges. The concept of conciliators is used in vast fields of conciliation, internationally, among employees, families, and also in family disputes (Ibsen, 2021). There are two types of conciliation, such as informal conciliation in which, disputes or issues are addressed between client and lawyer over email, call, or wiring letter. Besides that, formal conciliation is when a lawyer and client meet physically to discuss and try to resolve their issues in the presence of the conciliator. 

Mediation is a systematic structure through which a third party helps the opponent and the negotiated party to solve their issues by using communication and negotiation techniques. On the other hand, arbitration is a process through which both parties submit their agreement by the negotiation made by both sides. More specifically, arbitration occurs outside of judiciary courts (Ibsen, 2021). The dispute will be determined by one or more persons which is also known as an arbitration award. 

TASK 3:

3.1 Principles of legislation

“Unfair dismissal” in the UK belongs to UK labour law which requires fair and reasonable practices by the employees, if not, then the employment of that person will be hampered. The “Employment Rights Act 1996” states that employees should get fair and polite behavior if they get dismissed. On the other hand, if an employee works for an organisation for more than two years the employee has to treat family before getting dismissed or terminated. The overall procedure should be under lawful behavior (Bleeker and Abdulkadri, 2020). This act also states that before dismissal or termination, an employee has to show valid reasons. Termination or dismissal should not be done based on an employee's current health condition economic position, or pregnancy. Therefore employee termination should be performed with lawful acts and need a valid reason for termination, either the employee has the complete right to dodge the case against the organization and also can claim compensation if the employee is proven right. In addition, dismissal and termination also can be performed if an employee is proven to have committed any misconduct in laws and Bylaws of an organization.

3.2 Causes of employee grievances

Employees' grievances occur due to misunderstandings by employees and they are thinking that they are going through unfair, inadequate treatment at their workplace. It leads to employee dissatisfaction and unhappiness, which directly affects employee retention rates. Therefore it should be maintained efficiently. Several factors lead to employees' grievances such as insufficient salary and bonuses, unachievable targets and standards, strict bylaws of the organization, lack of career planning and skill development opportunities, bad health and safety services, and worst working environment, communication gap between the employees and so on (Horbach et al. 2019). These are the major reasons for employee grievances and also major factors that reduce the rate of employee retention. On the other hand, those employees unable to leave their organization due to a lack of other opportunities become too frustrated, which increases the probability of organizational conflicts. As a People-practiced professional, I have the responsibility to take care of those factors and focus on increasing the employee retention rate in REBU. 

3.3 skills required for effective grievance and discipline-handling

Appointing several skills and approaches will effectively help an organization to handle as well as manage employee grievances and discipline maintenance. First of all, leadership skills are required. In that case, HR managers and organizational leaders should follow servant leadership to establish a good relationship with the employees. In this way, they will be able to identify the factors that are creating challenges for their employees and determine the ways to mitigate those issues. With this strategy, they will also be able to understand if there is any misconception or misunderstanding of the employees on organizational policies and they will be able to eliminate their misunderstandings. In case of grievance, practices are performed by an organization intentionally or unintentionally, then the leaders could follow several steps (Ibsen, 2021). First of all, they can conduct a meeting with the employees who have raised the grievance to understand their approach to the grievance. If they have any misconceptions or misunderstandings regarding any practices, the leaders can provide them with a brief to conclude their misconduct. On the other hand, if the employees are facing it, as a line manager it is a responsibility to work effectively on this matter and provide the best solution to increase their satisfaction. 

3.4 Recommendation to manage grievances

To handle grievances effectively, it can be recommended that managers and leaders should establish a better relationship with the employees. Proper investigation of grievances is also required to ensure that, there is no misconception among the employees who arise the issues regarding grievances. Besides that, implement a system, through which employees can submit their grievances confidently (Akoto et al. 2020). Getting the report of grievances it is necessary to investigate the whole case. To solve any issues of grievances, one manager can promote the employees or provide several perks and benefits along with bonuses. It will help to satisfy the employees who are facing grievances unintentionally from the organization. It should be given as an acknowledgment to those employees.

TASK 4:

4.1 Provisions of collective employment law

This is a branch that represents the employment law for regulating the behavior and activities of work councils, unions of trade, and the association of unions and the interaction pattern between the industry’s two sides. REBU faces different sides of issues that concern the rights of the workers. It is further concerned with issues such as the worker’s rights for collective codetermination and consultation, union government of internal, trade union’s freedom, and recognition of trade union. Other issues such as collective strikes and bargaining, lockouts, and different industrial action forms are also concerns. In the case of the UK, several major changes seem in past decades in the collective law of employment. These included the union requirement placed by the “Conservative Governments” of the 1980s (Mahafzah, et al. 2020). Recently under the labor government, statutory recognition introduced the extension of “European Works Council legislation” to the country and the adaptation of “Consultation and Information of Employees Regulations”.

4.2 Comparative between the types of union and non-union firms along with employee bodies of employee representation

Employee history is one of the biggest pieces of evidence that shows the importance of unions. It played an important key role in the past as well as in the world scenarios of today. Union is something that not only works for the employees but it also helps the managers by minimizing the turnover ratio. According to McLachlan, (2022), it also helps by reducing the training and hiring cost that is associated with other new employees because of these reasons the organizations prefer having a unionized set-up for the employee voice heard publicly. These are the ways that organizations save resources and function smoothly in the company rather than being individualistic. Union motivates the employees by enabling the promotion ladders and implementing the collective interest, also it helps by knowing their rights in the organization. Being in a union helps the employees be a part of any social welfare that gives them advantages. Being in a non-union does not give any advantages; instead, it provides no facilities to the employees (Gao, 2019). This way the union keeps the employees by providing platforms that help them to keep a good relationship and help in constructing the welfare for the employees.

4.3 Evaluation of the purpose of collective bargaining

Collective bargaining is a factor that allows a group of people to tailor a collaborative agreement governing the employment relationship with their particular enterprise or industry. It also allows the group of people to solve any problem that can specify the particular enterprise or industry. As per the view of Handy et al. (2020), the main process of collective bargaining deals with the working people that negotiate with the employees by their unions to determine the employee terms. These include benefits, pay, leave, hours, safety policies, and job health for balancing their family and work and other important aspects. Those issues are directly linked with the REBU.

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