Today, Hr Issues Such as Low Employee Morale, Absenteeism and High Turnover Rate Are Challenging for Organisations and Hr Managers.
Today, HR issues such as low employee morale, absenteeism and high turnover rate are challenging for organisations and HR managers.
Introduction
As organisations have developed to suit and cater for an increasingly competitive marketplace, so too have the ideas and notions of job satisfaction. In fact, these ideas and notions have developed to such an extent through both theoretical and empirical means that it has now become the most important application of human resource management within the workplace. In its simplest form, job satisfaction is an attitudinal variable with which to judge an employee’s inclination towards their work. However, these attitudinal variables are so diverse and wide-ranging that it is fundamentally difficult to understand the most common causes undermining or underpinning job satisfaction. As such, wide ranging studies on the matter bear distinct disagreement with each other’s assertions and findings, instead only finding common ground on some issues.
In this essay, I will seek to make sense of these wide ranging issues and correlate the most likely causes behind human resource problems. In particular, I intend to focus of three main subjects; low employee morale, absenteeism and high turnover rates and examine the ideas behind each issue. In addition, using this information, I will seek to explain the consequences faced by organisations and by employees themselves who are faced with low employee morale and continued job dissatisfaction. Furthermore, I intend to examine the fundamental thinking behind the organisational response to these matters, as well as examining the solutions implemented by human resource managers to combat the problem.
Causes of low employee morale
There have been increasingly frequent studies pertaining to the causes of low employee morale in workplaces throughout Australia, with the findings generally indicating a vast array of differing causes and circumstances. However, a key factor behind the
Introduction
As organisations have developed to suit and cater for an increasingly competitive marketplace, so too have the ideas and notions of job satisfaction. In fact, these ideas and notions have developed to such an extent through both theoretical and empirical means that it has now become the most important application of human resource management within the workplace. In its simplest form, job satisfaction is an attitudinal variable with which to judge an employee’s inclination towards their work. However, these attitudinal variables are so diverse and wide-ranging that it is fundamentally difficult to understand the most common causes undermining or underpinning job satisfaction. As such, wide ranging studies on the matter bear distinct disagreement with each other’s assertions and findings, instead only finding common ground on some issues.
In this essay, I will seek to make sense of these wide ranging issues and correlate the most likely causes behind human resource problems. In particular, I intend to focus of three main subjects; low employee morale, absenteeism and high turnover rates and examine the ideas behind each issue. In addition, using this information, I will seek to explain the consequences faced by organisations and by employees themselves who are faced with low employee morale and continued job dissatisfaction. Furthermore, I intend to examine the fundamental thinking behind the organisational response to these matters, as well as examining the solutions implemented by human resource managers to combat the problem.
Causes of low employee morale
There have been increasingly frequent studies pertaining to the causes of low employee morale in workplaces throughout Australia, with the findings generally indicating a vast array of differing causes and circumstances. However, a key factor behind the
Bibliography: De Boer, E. M. Bakker, A. B. Syroit, J. E. & Schaufeli, W. B (2002) Unfairness at work as a predictor of absenteeism. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 181–197. Donaldson, C (2007) HR’s burning issues. Human Capital Magazine, Available: www.hcamag.com/resources/hr-strategy/hr8217s-burning-issues/113449/ Last accessed 5th January, 2012 Donaldson, C (2007) HR’s burning issues Hackett, R. D (1989) Work attitudes and employee absenteeism: A synthesis of the literature. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 62, 235–248. Harmer, R. & Findlay, B (2005) The effect of workplace relationships on employee job satisfaction for 25 to 35 year olds. Paper presented at the 5th Annual Conference of the APS on the Psychology of Relationships Interest Group 2005. Houtman, I. & Blatter, B (2005) Prediction return to work in employees absent because of psychological problems Nelson, D & Hammond, J (2011) The AWU-Auspoll Job Satisfaction Index 2011. Auspoll, Available: www.awu.net.au/tracking_poll_for_media_release.pdf Last accessed 7th January, 2012 Steers, R Work-life balance causes relationship/job dissatisfaction (2007) Human Capital Magazine, Available: http://www.hcamag.com/news/domestic/work-life-balance-causes-relationshipjob-dissatisfaction/113300/ Last accessed: 5th January, 2012 Ybema, J ----------------------- [1] Most Australian workers want to quit their jobs (2011) News.com.au, http://www.news.com.au/money/most-aussie-workers-want-to-quit-their-jobs/story-e6frfmci-1226022356541 [2] Ibid [3] Burke, K (2011) Restless generation lacks job satisfaction [8] Work-life balance causes relationship/job dissatisfaction (2007) Human Capital Magazine, http://www.hcamag.com/news/domestic/work-life-balance-causes-relationshipjob-dissatisfaction/113300/ [9] Ibid [12] Ibid [13] Balzer et.al (1997) Users’ manual for the Job Descriptive Index (JDI; 1997 Revision) and the Job in General (JIG) Scales, Bowling Green State University [14] Harmer, R & Findlay, B (2005) The effect of workplace relationships on employee job satisfaction for 25 to 35 year olds. Paper presented at the 5th Annual Conference of the APS on the Psychology of Relationships Interest Group 2005. [17] Hackett, R (1989) Work attitudes and employee absenteeism: A synthesis of the literature. Journal of Occupational Psychology [18] De Boer at.al (2012) Unfairness at work as a predictor of absenteeism, Journal of Organisational Behaviour [19] Ybema et.al (2010) Antecedents and consequences of employee absenteeism: A longitudinal perspective on the role of job satisfaction and burnout. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology [20] Op.cit [21] CCH 2007 Unscheduled Absence Survey (2007) CCH Incorporated [22] Steers, R & Rhodes, S (1978) Major Influences on Employee Attendance: A Process Model [25] Ibid [26] Kirsch, C (2007) Loyalty and disengagement – taming the retention monster [31] Ibid [32] Donaldson, C (2007) HR’s burning issues