Navigating the Workforce Landscape

Introduction

Industrialisation has led to massive competition for human resources and customers amongst business owners. As businesses come up with new inventions and ideas to improve their businesses and enhance their general performance, it is evident that customer satisfaction is heavily dependent on employee satisfaction. The formation of trade unions across the world has enabled the pushed for creation and implementation of employee benefits. Strong union memberships have influenced politics and the political culture enabling the adoption of employee benefits into trade laws. Some of the benefits adopted by businesses to attract and keep employees are fringe benefits. For those who are delving into HRM dissertation help, understanding all these dynamics is vital for comprehending the evolving landscape of employee benefits along with their impact on organizational success.

What are fringe benefits?

Fringe benefits are additional benefits offered to an employee above the stated salary, wages or payment for the performance of a specific service. Fringe benefits may as well vary significantly depending on the levels of a company’s hierarchy and their choices of benefits (Thomas, 2019). Executive levels of management may enjoy fringe benefits related to their work prestige while other employees within the same facility may receive fringe benefits as a compensation for costs incurred during service delivery or as a motivation for general job satisfaction. There are two types of fringe benefits, the ones implemented as a legal requirement by the law and those implemented on a voluntary basis (Landau, 2014).

Fringe benefits required by law

These are a mandatory requirement of the organization by the legal frameworks protecting employees. These requirements are designed to provide employees with medical cover, provide re-enforcement income in the event they lose their jobs, protect employees against economic hardship and provide for sustenance during their retirement, these benefits include;

Health insurance; various acts make provisions for businesses above 50 employees to provide healthcare covers for their employees (Landau, 2014). However the medical covers may vary depending on the institutions, primary healthcare provision is a minimum requirement. Other fringe benefits may provide for specialized doctors and treatment solutions.

Worker’s compensation; in the event an employee gets injured at work or acquires a disease due to his or her occupation, workers compensations are administered by the labour department of the workers federation. Workers compensations are fringe benefits legally required by the government to protect the labour force against occupational risks (Kokemuller, 2019).

Medical leave; to enable workers recover or seek specialised medical, medical leave is provided by an employee as a legal requirement. It stipulates the number of weeks an employee can go for an unpaid leave having worked for one year while at the same time protecting their jobs.

Voluntary fringe benefits

These are fringe benefits which are not a legal requirement but are based on a voluntary will of the employer are; they include paid holidays, education benefits, life insurance, commuter benefits, housing allowance, achievement awards, fitness training, part time off or employee benefits. These voluntary benefits are of a wide range and vary depending on employees and organisations they work for as well as the organisations core principals and believe (Tanner, 2019). Employers mainly offer fringe benefits for retention and appreciation purposes but in general fringe benefits are important in that; they create and improve relations amongst workers and junior staff. This benefits the organisation by opening communication channels amongst employees.

Benefits of fringe benefits

Fringe benefits boost employee morale and encourage them to give their best in service delivery

By identifying and providing certain needs especially under voluntary fringe benefits motivate employees hence positively impacting the business.

Fringe benefits provide a sense of security to employees easing pressure on certain worries they may have had in relation to health and social benefits such maternity care and occupational risks (Sharma & Jaiswal, 2018).

Fringe benefits are important in promoting employee’s welfare and health in general; these benefits may include gym and club membership, health cover and sick leaves.

Fringe benefits create comfort and a sense of belonging amongst employees therefore enabling employers retain well trained and best performing employees therefore retaining the company’s workforce and maintain a general good performance (Brink, 2017).

Fringe benefits protect employees against occupational hazards enabling the company save time and money on court battles with regard to such issues.

The characteristics of talented happy supported workforce

The difference between successful and unsuccessful companies significantly lays in the characteristics of their workforce, happy and supported workforce exhibit the following characteristics, they are;

Ambitious; ambitious employees are eager and willing to go the extra mile to deliver quality services to clients and learn from their employers. They also strongly yearn to progress in their line of duty regardless of whether to achieve individual success and climb the corporate ladder and boost their careers or achieve company goals (Saranya, 2017).

Confident; confident employees have faith in their abilities and are willing to take risks that would enable the company’s growth and development

Humble; productive work places are determined by humble employees who are willing to learn and take corrections as well as share knowledge with fellow employees.

Committed/Passionate; highly motivated employees are willing to do more that what they are required of in order to achieve company goals and objectives. Passionate employees also do their best in service delivery since they take each responsibility as an action they love (Kulisa & Sierpińska, 2018).

Reliable; Reliability is a characteristic of motivated employees who are expected to deliver quality services and on time.

Positive; motivated employees portray a positive and optimistic attitude which creates a good working environment not only for themselves but also other workers around them enabling team spirit in the organization

Driven or self-motivated; happy and supported workforce possesses the stamina to perform and provide good outstanding work consistently and on time (Nisar & Siddiqui, 2019).

Enthusiastic/eager, supported workforce show drives and exhibit energy towards their daily activities within the organization

Hard-working; supported workface put effort in terms of energy and knowledge into their actions in order to deliver quality services.

Team Spirited; supported workforce attribute a company’s success not only to an individual but to the entire team in an organization through motivation, teaching and learning from one another and also supporting every member of the team (Aslam & Mundayat, 2016).

Self-managed; supported workforce deliver under very little to no supervision, they are well aware of his roles and duties and deliver on their strengths through self-discipline..

Proactive; supported work force take initiative in the development of various inventions so as to provide better methods to deliver quality work. They are action-oriented and focused on growth within their respective fields

Marketable; supported workforce is marketable to both clients and investors; they show quality representation of the organization they work for professionally (Kulisa & Sierpińska, 2018).

Detail-oriented; supported workforce put an extra effort in looking out for details and correct minor mistakes in their work and performance, they are perfection oriented.

Autonomous; supported workforce prioritize on their work delegation and manages time well and productively

Creative; supported employees constantly seek for need to create and invent ideas out of the box in order to improve performance, these employees are productivity oriented.

Honest, supported employees are forthright and honest with their clients and with the organizations management with matters relating to their service delivery and performance (Nisar & Siddiqui, 2019).

Communicator; supported employees are confident in information delivery whether in speech or writing amongst their peers within the working environment or across the communication channels. They confidently express themselves and deliver information straight away.

Leadership qualities; supported workforce have the ability to lead and guide others where need be, they can take leadership roles at any time and deliver goals set by the company (Valaei & Rezaei, 2016).

Factors that must be in place to have a supported workforce

Communication-communication is important in establishing employee needs and communicating company goals as well. Encouraging constructive discussion of workplace should also be enabled to address issues that affect general performance and how to improve on such.

Challenging and exciting work– periodic creation of competition ensures employees are constantly looking for new ideas to improve their work and better their services. It also creates an exciting work environment through constructive competition (Valaei & Rezaei, 2016).

Opportunities– recognizing effort and promotion of well perfuming and deserving workers and enhances overall performance of the company as it enable employees create personal career goals.

Recognition and reward for performance–recognizing good performers and encouraging improved performers builds motivation amongst employees and creates a sense of

Trust–building trust amongst management and employees in that they will deliver on their duties is important as it enables them plan themselves and be creative in how they perform their duties (Nisar & Siddiqui, 2019).

In comparison, fringe benefits are monetary benefits that can be calculated and measured, however the factors that must be put in place to ensure a supported work force recognise needs stated by various motivational theories in order to achieve motivation. The factors above address physiological needs, social needs, self-actualisation needs, hygiene and motivation factors and recognises achievement and reward (Nisar & Siddiqui, 2019). Fringe benefits provide solutions that benefit the employee outside the work environment while influencing their overall performance. Factors to enable workforce support impact the employees work environment directly.

Motivation theories and the broad’s forms of motivation

There are two broad forms of motivation namely; the intrinsic and extrinsic forms of motivation. Intrinsic motivations are physiological stimulations and implemented by the employee while extrinsic motivations are tangible rewards implemented by for example a work supervisor or manager. In relation to motivational theories, forms of motivations apply differently in a work organisation. Motivational theories that align to physiological fulfilment of an employee apply intrinsic forms of motivation as motivational theories that are reward driven apply extrinsic forms of motivation as illustrated below;

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow states that a people will be highly motivated if their need s is fulfilled. These needs range from the lowest to the highest in order of Physiological needs, Safety needs, social needs, self-esteem and Self-actualization. In relation to the order of needs provided in this theory, it’s important to note that the most important needs and basic needs are made mandatory in the provision for fringe benefits. This theory is evident in physiological motivation (Lester, 2013).

Hertzberg’s two-factor theory

Hertzberg’s theory classifies needs into two broad categories namely hygiene factors and motivating factors. Hygiene factors are needs provided to ensure that an employee is not dissatisfied. Motivation factors are needs ensuring employee's satisfaction and employee’s motivation for higher performance (Alshmemri et al., 2017). This theory is demonstrated in incentive motivation.

McClelland’s theory of needs

McClelland states that there are three motivating drivers which are;

Achievement: an individuals need to accomplish and demonstrate competence; people with. People with a high need for achievement prefer quick acknowledgement of their effort and prefer personal tasks and responsibility based on their own efforts (Royle & Hall, 2012).

Affiliation: affiliation is the need for social belonging, acceptance, and love. People with need for affiliation are highly motivated and are more accepting of others in an organization. They work well as a team and are comfortable in social gatherings.

Power: power reflects on need for people to control their own work and that of others. Such people exhibit desire to express authority and influence over others, they aspire for positions with status and authority and would work hard only as a motivation to climb corporate ladders. These theories are demonstrated in competence and learning motivation, attitude motivation and achievement motivation (Royle & Hall, 2012).

Vroom’s theory of expectancy

Victor Vroom determines that people will be highly productive and motivated if two conditions are met: these conditions are if people believe that their efforts are likely to be successful or would produce successful results and if people believe that their efforts would be rewarded as demonstrated in achievement motivation (Renko et al., 2012).

McGregor’s theory X and theory Y

Douglas McGregor formulated two theories with a positive and negative view on human beings based on participation. Theory X is based on the assumption that a worker lacks ambition, avoids responsibility and only works on motivation by their personal goals. Theory Y is based on the assumption that workers are self-driven and require little supervision to perform their duties. In reality both individuals exist and require different management approaches to deliver (Lawter et al., 2015).

Theory X: The traditional view of the work force holds that workers are inherently lazy, self-centered, and lacking ambition. Therefore, an appropriate management style is strong, top-down control.

Theory Y: This view postulates that workers are inherently motivated and eager to accept responsibility. An appropriate management style is to focus on creating a productive work environment coupled with positive rewards and reinforcement. This theory is demonstrated in fear and power motivation (Lawter et al., 2015)..

Conclusion

To ensure and enable good performance of employees in an organization, various aspects of motivation need to be provided and while motivation is considered a state of mind, which pushes human beings to perform better and maintain a positive mindset. It is important to note that more than one form of motivation needs to be applied in order to achieve maximum outcomes, as there are different people in an organization who need different approaches.

Continue your journey with our comprehensive guide to Navigating Statutory Rights and Responsibilities for Employers and Employees.

References

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Kulisa, B., & Sierpińska, M. (2018). Directions of change in corporate fringe benefits. Finanse, Rynki Finansowe, Ubezpieczenia, 91, 219-229.

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Royle, M. T., & Hall, A. T. (2012). The relationship between McClelland’s theory of needs, feeling individually accountable, and informal accountability for others. International Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 5(1), 21-42.

Saranya, R. (2017). Impact assessment of fringe benefits in job satisfaction and employees’ attitude. International Journal of Management, IT and Engineering, 7(6), 150-162.

Sharma, K., & Jaiswal, N. (2018). A Study on Employees Attitude towards Fringe Benefits. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research (IJEMR), 8(2), 176-180.

Aslam, W., & Mundayat, A. A. (2016, August). Impact of fringe benefits on organizational performance mediating role of Employees satisfaction. In Proceedings of the Multidisciplinary Academic Conference (pp. 161-184).