I am dismayed when I hear about some organizations who appear to be blithely exploiting the employer advantage in the current labor market. While understanding that business is not for sissies and hard decisions need to be made, I believe some leaders including HR pros are being short-sighted and will pay later for short term gains achieved at the expense of their employees.
Three Reasons to Treat your People Right
1. Employees Less Than Impressed
We have many indications that employees are unhappy with recent treatment: stories of workers resigning without notice, sobering reports of unfair practices, and several recent surveys indicating that a majority of employees are considering leaving their jobs this year. Workers in unhappy circumstances hear this mantra: Just be glad you have a job. Well, employees may agree that a crappy job is usually preferable to no job. But when the economy rebounds and opportunities increase, how many unimpressed workers will stick around?
2. Political and Legislative Trends
Let’s just think about:
EFCA, EFCA-lite and Son of EFCA, and other EFCA permutations under discussion.
RESPECT Act: incarnations could have significant impact on your ability to stay union-free. Your front-line supervisors are your front-line defense, and if they are as disillusioned as other employees in this CareerBuilder survey, you’ll want to stay on top of attempts to re-introduce this act.
NLRB appointments: Craig Becker and union lawyer Mark Pearce on the NLRB changes everything according to employment attorney Ronald Mason, making EFCA, RESPECT and many other points of labor law very relevant again.
3. It’s the right thing to do.
The public is fed up with corporate greed, lack of transparency and accountability. People want ethical leaders who are true to stated values and treat people right. As this former union organizer says, to avoid unionization, communicate clearly, act consistently, and most of all, follow the golden rule!
In summary, the effects of the economic and political climates are coming together in what could be a perfect labor storm for HR and management. We should treat people right ALL the time, not just when forced by changing market conditions. Otherwise, the message is that we are aligning with the old, hated way of doing business. We increase the chances that people will flee as soon as they have the opportunity while we are left back at the shop negotiating with our new friends, the union.
photo by: SeeMidTN.com
