CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Employees are among an organization’s most important resources and coined as most valuable assets. The nature and amount of work performed by them have a direct impact on the productivity of an organization. So maintaining healthy employee relations in an organization is a pre-requisite for any organization in order to achieve growth and success (Abushawish, 2013). Employee relations is a broad term that incorporates many issues from collective bargaining, negotiations, employment legislation to more recent considerations such as work-life balance, equal opportunities and managing diversity (Armstrong & Stephens, 2016). It comprises the practice or initiatives for ensuring that Employees are happy and are productive. Employee Relations offers assistance in a variety of ways including employee recognition, policy development and interpretation, and all types of problem solving and dispute resolution. It involves handling the pay–work bargain, dealing with employment practices, terms and conditions of employment, issues arising from employment, providing employees with a voice and communicating with employees (Frank & Jeffrey, 2010).
Employee relations is concerned with maintaining employee-employer relation, which contributes to satisfactory productivity, increase in employee morale and motivation (Ahmad & Shahzad, 2011). According to Onyango (2014), employee relations can be seen primarily as a skill-set or a philosophy, rather than as a management function or well-defined area of activity. Despite well-publicized instances of industrial action, the emphasis of employee relations continues to shift from ‘collective’ institutions, such as trade unions and collective bargaining, to the relationship with individual employees. The ideas of ’employee voice’ and the ‘psychological contract’ have been accepted by employers and reflected in their employee relations policies and aspirations.
Employee relations skills and competencies are still seen by employers as critical to achieving performance benefits through a focus on employee involvement, commitment and engagement (Tepper, Moss, Lockhart, & Carr, 2017). Employee relations is seen as strategic in terms of managing business risk: both the downside risk of non-compliance with an expanded body of employment law, and the upside risk of failing to deliver maximum business performance (Ahmad & Schroeder, 2013; Tepper et al, 2017).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Poor employee relations hinder the overall workflow of an organisation and damage organisation organisation’s reputation. Most workers in some organisation in Nigeria do not produce more simply because of the poor relationship between the employers and employees. Employee cannot put up their best performances at workplace when they are not happy with the employer or even with their colleague. Poor employee relations will affect employees’ performance and organisation’s productivity. Poor employer-employee relationship results in strike action and lockout. Employees displayed their grievances through strike action and lockout. Strike action and lockout reduces productivity drastically. Employee relations or industrial relations is basically relationship between employees and employer collectively.
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study is to assess the impact of good employee relation on employee performance. The specific objectives are;
- To understand the importance of employee relations.
- To identify the factors related to employee relations.
- To analyze the impact of employee relations on employee performance.
- To establish the extent to which employee relations has improved employees’ performance.
1.4 Research Questions
The study will address the following questions;
- What is the importance of employee relations?
- What are the factors affecting employee relations?
- What is the impact of employee relations on employee productivity?
- To what extent has employee relations improved employees’ performance?
1.5 Research Hypothesis
Hypothesis 1
H0: There is no significant relationship between employee relations and employee productivity.
H1: There is significant relationship between employee relations and employee productivity.
Hypothesis 2
H0: Employee relations do not improve employees’ performance
H1: Employee relations improve employees’ performance
1.6 Significance of the Study
The intention of this study is to investigate the employee relations and its effect on employee productivity. The study will benefit both employees and employers. It will benefit the employees in the sense that each employee will be given an opportunity to state their individual perceptions toward employee relations and its effect on employee productivity, and make recommendations as to what they feel the firms should do to improve employee relations. The management will benefit from the study too, as the findings will be presented to them with recommendations from the respondents. It will also serve to make them understand the benefits of good employee relations and it influence on employee productivity.
It will enlighten management of various organisations of the effects of relationship practices between employers and employees. It will also bring out specifically, the employee relations practices which the companies have been able to make available to their employees. It will enable students and academicians to understand the causes, consequences and solution of poor employee relations. The study assists the management of Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) with their efforts and endeavours toward productivity improvement which are engagement survey, leadership development, workplace health and safety and outplacement. It will also highlight factors related to employee relations and the impact of employee relations on employee productivity.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The scope of this study will cover employee relations and its effects on employee productivity. The study will be done mainly in in Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Lagos State where the researcher will be able to get all the relevant employees.
1.9 Operational definition of terms
Employees are among an organization’s most important resources and coined as most valuable assets.
Motivation is the desire to achieve some given targets at any given time. It is a difference between sleeping state of mind and action on ground. Motivation is a self- esteem any can have in one’s inner self yet requires a stimulus for being motivated.
Performance: This is the accomplishment of an employee, organisation in relation to stated goals and objectives.
Productivity: This is achieving the highest level of performance with the least expenditure on resources.
References
Abushawish, N. (2013). Antecedents and Consequences of Organizational Trust Applied Study.
Ahmad, S., & Shahzad, K. (2011). HRM and employee performance: A case of university teachers of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in Pakistan. African Journal of Business Management, 5(13), 5249-5253.
Armstrong, M., Stephens, T. (2016). A handbook of employee reward management and practice. United Kingdom: Kogan: Page Limited.
Frank J, & Jeffrey M. (2010). Introduction to industrial and organizational psychology-3edBaruchcollege, New York Journal of Industrial and organizational psychology,19(4), 231-240. Plenum: Newyork.
Onyango, O. A. (2014). Perception of the Effectiveness of Employee Relationship Management Practices in Large Civil Society Organizations in Nairobi.
Tepper, B.J., Moss, S., Lockhart, D., & Carr, J.C. (2007). Abusive supervision, upward maintenance communication, and subordinates psychological distress. University of California: Berkeley
Do you need help? Talk to us right now: (+234) 08060082010, 08107932631 (Call/WhatsApp). Email: [email protected].IF YOU CAN'T FIND YOUR TOPIC, CLICK HERE TO HIRE A WRITER»
