The industrial actions that have rocked the country in the recent past have exposed how managers are stiffly committed to following textbook management and legal principles without putting a human face to their relationship with subordinates.
In the end, it is not the insensitive managers who have to foot the costly bills in lost productivity and profitability, but the institution or rather the employer.
While terms and conditions of employment are extremely important for any organisation, they cannot substitute the real relationship between employers and employees.
A relationship outside provisions of the formal employment contract takes care of beliefs and perceptions that employers and employees expressly or impliedly have for each other.
Through these relationships, employers instinctively know that after a period of working in an organisation, employees normally would expect a promotion, pay rise, training, job security, career development and support with personal problems.
Likewise, the employees must know that employers expect loyalty, organisational protection against outside forces and extra employee effort.
Such employer-employee relationships are supposed to go beyond the terms and conditions of service if they are to efficiently payback a significant Return on Investment (ROI) and harvest the fruits of trust and feelings of being valued for both employers and employees.
A look at recent labour disputes in the country reveal a trend that threatens to run down the country’s meagre social and economic growth gains.
Almost every day, workers are rising up in arms against their employers’ failure to meet implied or expressed expectations by withdrawing loyalty, performance and productivity.
Generally, the employer-employee relationship is supposed to be a win-win game, but, unfortunately, in most cases employers want to be in control of all factors of production even though they are aware that the human resource is a very dynamic resource.
It is very unfortunate to notice that some employers resort to threats to deal with disengaged workers.
If lucky, threats may only serve to create fear and bring employees back to work but will not bring back loyalty and job satisfaction.
While most employers and managers are afraid to give employee negotiating powers, it should be known that effective industrial dispute prevention cannot run away from dialogue.
For some reason, employers want an arms-length relationship with employees because they do not want to compromise their powers. But giving employees flexible space in the workplace to exercise talents and express themselves increases morale, job satisfaction, high retention rates, less absenteeism and high quality products.
A flexible workplace is one in which, employees are given space to become part of the organisation by creating a shared sense of purpose where both employers and employees understand their collective goal.
Two-way communication channels for open-minded exchange of information on goals and progress must be created to ensure that messages flow between managers and employees. These channels can be through holding regular staff meetings, one-on-one meetings, informal meetings, memos, emails and having an open-door-policy.
One way of preventing industrial disputes is by proactively engaging with workers through trade unions, collective bargaining, grievance procedure and empowerment, among others.
This can best be achieved by forming works committees foster friendship and harmonious relationship between employers and employees as well as create an atmosphere for voluntary settlement of disputes and frictions. n
