Introduction
Employment is defined as a contract between two parties, the employer and the employee. An employee is thus defined as any person under contract appointed to work for an employer following the directions provided the contract. The extent of the services the employee provides the employer is referred as the job description. The employer refers to the job description in case of conflict in behaviour and manner of the employee. On the other hand, the employee is protected by the state in laws and legislation regarding employment. This employer-employee relation is important to understand. The expectations of each party are quite varied. This essay investigates expectation of each party and the changing factors affecting the changing labour market.
Employer Expectations
An employer is any individual or organization that has the right to control and direct the manner of service of the employee. In this sense, the employer could be deemed t the several levels of management within an organization and this has several implication on the conduct of the employees. In general therefore, employers expect their employees to do their work diligently, efficiently and on time . This is but a general assertion however employee expectation can be classified into three main group of requirement.
Personal Qualities
Employers expect every employee to have some basic personal qualities that will ensure a good employer- employee relation. First and foremost, the employer expects every employee to report to work on time and on a daily working day. Most businesses have a strict reporting time. Keeping this time is vital for the employer in planning and meeting obligations set out in their strategies. In case the employee cannot make it to workplace on time, most employers expect such persons to report either via calling or email and explain why he/she cannot make it work on time. Additionally, an employee is expected to remain at work until the end of the working day.
Personal grooming is also a major expectation on the employees . Some industries such financial institutions and other service sector businesses dealing directly with customers require that employees dress in a proper manner and be appropriately groomed. This is due to the fact that employees represent the company and that any poorly groomed employees will hurt the impression the customers will have towards the company. In fact, several firms have gone to the extent of providing dressing allowance for its employee to ensure properly dressed employees.
Other personal matters that the employers expect from employees include coming to work sober and avoiding the use of illegal drugs. They are also not expected to steal form the company and to keep the workplace as clean as possible.
Social Qualities
Apart from personal qualities, employers also expect some social qualities from the employees. Businesses and organization are nowadays composed of employees who vary in race, religion and ethnic backgrounds. Finding a social balance among employees will help the organization find a good team to work with. To get such a socially balance team, an employee is expected to be tolerant to fellow employees from different ethnic background, sex, nationality, race or religion . New employees are also expected to adapt to the working environment as presented by the organization. One is required to use self control in addressing matters that they disagree with.
Employees are also expected to be willing to take risk and make mistakes as they seek to work better for the organization. In doing so, such persons are expected to learn their mistakes and take criticism in a positive way. This calls for a more flexible person and one that learn to work as a team player. Also in criticizing a fellow employee, workers are expected to provide constructive criticism and not based on personal emotions or feelings. In case of working on a joint project, employees are expected to exhibit a high level of cooperation.
Technical and Job-Related Expectations
Before an organization hires an employee, most businesses or organization prefer to subject such a person to an interview or probation to affirm that the person is able to do the job adequately. If the employee is hired, a common expectation by employers is stated as “beyond our expectation”. In this sense, the employers mean that apart from doing the job the employee was hired for, doing more is desirable.
The employee is expected to know what to do at the workplace. One is expected to identify jobs to prioritize and struggle to meet deadlines of jobs allocated to him. In working, the employee should be able to anticipate possible problem and take preventive action before they affect the work. In communicating, an employee is also expected to express his/her ideas in an eloquent manner. The ideas expressed should be facts and should be done in logical sequence.
An employee is also expected to thoroughly understand necessary technical aspect for job for which one was hired. In the current world of business, incompetence cost several companies millions of dollars in poor workmanship. Employers trust the employees to do a quality job and one that pleases the client or the customer. In doing so, employees need to keep up with the changing market trends and adopting new technologies in their field of expertise. It is also important for employees to understand regulation and government policy regarding their field of expertise.
Employee Expectations
On the other hand, employees also have expectation form their employers. In general, people seek employment so that they can earn a living. A descent and respectable living is comprised of a humane working condition and just treatment from the employer . To ensure a descent treatment to employees governments have developed rules and regulations that guide employers on how to treat employees and at the same time protecting rights of the employees
One of the expectations required of employers is reasonable remuneration for work done or services advance on behalf of the company. Such remuneration is to be adequate according to the qualification of employees and the industry standards. Furthermore, employees expect such remuneration on a constant periodic and timely basis.
In addition to remuneration the United States Government has set out some mandatory benefits that employers are expected to advance to their employees. Employees are fully aware of these benefits and have always relied on good employers to grant them such benefits. These benefits include the following.
Medical Benefits
According to Hogler (2004), one of the most common and basic benefits that an employer are expected to advance to the employees is the Medical Benefits. The federal government passed a legislation known as the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 . This act provides that an employer must allow an employee who has worked for the organization to take up to 12 weeks leave for medical reasons without losing the job. Employees also expect to be return to the same job or rank as before the medical leave.
A more common form of benefit expected by American employees under the medical benefits is the Health Insurance Scheme. Employees expect the employer to register with a medical insurance scheme that would pay for their medical expenses. In many organizations employers assists employees in contributions towards such schemes. An employer is also required to declare to the employee all the aspect regarding the medical scheme. These include the standard that qualifies an employee for the scheme, the rights of the employee in the scheme, the procedures involved in claims and any changes that may be effected in due time .
Social Security Disability Benefits
The Federal Government has set up a benefit scheme that employers are expected to pay disabled persons. A governmental agency called Social Security Administration (SSA) was set up to help identify and provide for the disabled . According to the SSA, disability is the medical impairment, physical or mental, that significantly curtails the ability to do a job.
The benefit, just like the medical benefit, has some requirements that must be met for one to qualify. Firstly, the individual must prove such disability through diagnosis of a licensed medical physician. A report from the physician will be mandatory to ascertain such a claim. Secondly, as at 2004, the SSA granted this benefit to employees who earned less than 820 dollars annually. Such persons are granted cash advances due to their inability to perform a job. Employers are expected to comply with this benefit.
Capacity development
As much as the employees are there to serve the objectives of the employer, they also need to be helped to develop themselves as individuals. Motivation is a key area that employers should invest in to ensure that employees have a satisfactory working relationship. Employers should strive to develop the capacity of their employees to promote a sense of belonging at the work place and also encourage better performance of duties. Various companies have put in place measures aimed to achieve these and they include trainings, mentorship programs and scholarships.
Domestic Partner Benefits
This is the fourth kind of benefit granted to employees who are in an unmarried couples’ relationship just as if they were married. Domestic partners are defined as unrelated non-married couples living in the same household just as married couples. This rule is enforced in several states and cities, and is sometimes used to as distinguishing aspect when granting contracts to companies and other economic engagements.
The most important aspect that the benefit grants to partners of employees is medical coverage. While several employers may argue that this plan may be expensive, studies have shown that the plan is not as expensive as initially thought. This fact is attributed to the fact that non-married couple are in most cases young and healthy people who do not get medical problems regularly. Employees would expect their employers to provide such coverage to them. The other benefits that come along with the plan include access to company property and consent to attend company functions. The plan also grants the employee sick leave in cases where the partner is unwell.
In addition, an employer is also expected to provide working equipment necessary to perform the job. Each job detail requires different tools for operation. The organization should take keen interest in providing the required working material.
Changing Labor Market
However, the current labor market is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Globalization is presenting one of the biggest transformations in labour industry. Organizations have embraced the use of technology and are moving company operations cheaper and more productive parts of the globe . Additionally, governments are granting good working conditions for expatriates, therefore organizations are now characterized by multicultural workforce. Globalization of working places has been proved to provide several benefits and opportunities for businesses. This puts pressure employers in meeting requires for such a workforce.
Taking advantage that comes along with cultural diversity in the organization requires an equal response by the employers in terms of adjusting the norms of the company to accommodate everyone. Such flexibility involves allowing flexible payment schedules, respecting cultural values towards work and treating employees as consultants and not workers. Some have gone further to allow its employees to work from home providing them with telecommuting technology. This gives business less strained employees who are willing to work longer than the conformist working hours.
Conclusion
In conclusion, an employment contract is always the reference document used to solve disputes between employers and employee. The contract stipulates the expectations of each party at workplace. However, the above mentioned expectations help to keep the relation in good state.
References
Goldman, A. L. (1996). Labor and employment law in the United States. Kluwer Law International.
Hogler, R. (2004). Employment relations in the United States: law, policy, and practice. New York: SAGE.
Strecker, D. E. (2011). Labor Law: A Basic Guide to the National Labor Relations Act. Boston:
CRC Press.
Sullivan, C. E. (2008). Basic Labor and Employment Law for Paralegals. New York: Aspen Publishers Online.
Tan, J.-S. .. (2010). Trends In Organizational Change . Retrieved Nov 29, 2011, from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Trends-in-Organizational-Change.html
