Managing Human Resources

This report discusses the management of human resources and its impact on employee well-being. It includes the definition, scope, and nature of employee well-being, as well as limitations. The report also provides examples of employee well-being initiatives by Unilever and Tesco.

Managing Human
Resources
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
1) Definition of Employee Wellbeing, its scope, nature and limits in general practice..............3
2) Example of an organisation’s attempt at Employee Wellbeing initiatives.............................6
3) Another example of an organisation’s attempt at Employee Wellbeing initiatives................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Management of human resource is a strategic approach with the help of which the managers
of the organisation control and manage the people working in the organisation so that the
employees can be made competitive and capable enough of taking competitive advantage. With
effective control and guiding the performances of the employees can be improved and this
enhances the profitability of the company. Human resource management plays crucial role in the
organisation in managing the people efficiently as they undertake various HR practices. Such
practices help them to determine the requirement of trainings, compensation and benefits to the
employees etc. While the leaders in the organisation contributes in managing the workforce with
various initiatives such as they focus upon managing the culture of the workplace, environment
and working conditions, ensures the safety of the employees and many more. It enables them in
achieving effectiveness in the organisation as the level of motivation of the employees will
improve due to which they contribute to the goals and efforts of the organisation efficiently. In
this report the perspectives of Duty of Care are taken into consideration which aims to benefit the
employees. This report includes the concept of employee wellbeing, its nature and scope,
limitation. Later in the report the initiatives of two organisations for well being of the employees
are considered.
MAIN BODY
1) Definition of Employee Wellbeing, its scope, nature and limits in general practice
Employee well being is the concept that is related with the mental health and the
physiological behaviour of the employees which contributes in the level of satisfaction level of
the job and their heath. Mental ill health is a disorder condition which has impact on the moods
and behaviour of an employee, their capability of thinking and performing. Some of the example
of state of mental illness is eating disorder, addictive behaviour, anxiety and many more
(Nankervis and et. al., 2016). For managing this, an organisation adopts various strategies and
conducts various programs that enable them in dealing with such illness. They provide them
guidance about how to deal with such situation and this brings positive behaviour among the
employees at the workplace. With the help of an environment with better working conditions the
well being of employees can be ensured. It can be related with the conformability of the
employees and that leads to their happiness. Well being of the employees adds on quality in their
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life and this has impact on their performances as with this their health improves. It has various
dimensions which includes physical, emotional, spiritual, social and intellectual. The process of
well being of employees can be defined as a procedure in which the emphasis is laid down on the
changes and opportunities for the employees so that the impact of challenges that they may face
can effectively be minimised. It can be done by adopting various practices and such practices
includes curious about moments, developing better relations with other employees, developing
confidence for learning new things so that the changes can easily be adopted by them etc. For the
organisation it is important to understand it as a holistic approach in which various factors need
to be taken into consideration that shapes the behaviour of the employees towards their work and
how as an employer they can influence their behaviour effectively (Mäkikangas and et. al.,2016).
The nature of an employee well being are some characteristic that need to be understood
by the organisation and the employees as this has impact on the well being of an individual.
Various such characteristics includes that it is important for an employee to have better and
strong social connection as with this they can get assistance for doing things an working with
other in a tem which will develop better understanding with colleagues. The safety and the
security of the employees also define the satisfaction level of the employees as the rewards and
benefits provided to the employees motivate them to perform as satisfies their needs. Creativity
in the employees and the organisation leads to the well being of the employees as with this the
employee do the same thing differently which improves their performance. While with creative
mindset the managers can suggest various ways to the employees for dealing with various
challenges that they may face. The sense of belongingness also has impact on the well being of
the employees as with this the organisation ensures that the employees will perform better as
they fell some responsibility towards the organisation. This can make an employee perform
better and contribute to the goals and objectives of the organisation as per requirements (Islam
and Al Amin, 2016).
The scope of wellbeing of an employee for an organisation is consistently increasing due to
changing perception set of the employees. For the organisation it is important to consider these
factors as they contribute in the profitability and productivity of the organisation. With the
employee wellbeing, the employees can be motivated as better working environment support the
worker of an organisation to perform better and to build healthy relationship with others working
in organisation. The wellbeing of the employees has scope of increasing engagement of
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employees. This is because with the help of better emotional and physical health the employees
are more likely to be committed towards the job that they have to do. For this the managers
appreciate the work done by the employees and allow them to participate in the decision making
of the organisation by way of their suggestions and ideas. Better motivated employees facilities
an organisation to manage where is situation such as organisational stress, conflicts etc. as the
employees becomes more productive and thus this brings positivity at the workplace. Various
employee wellbeing programs contribute in retaining the employees. This is because
organisation provides favourable and supportive working environment to the employees which
leads to happier employees. It ensures retention of the employees for a longer period of time as
the employee feel committed towards the organisation. All this makes the employees feel that the
organisation truly cares about them due to which the employees plans to stay with the
organisation for a longer period of time (Huong, Zheng and Fujimoto, 2016). Further, wellness
program contributes to the overall development of the employees as for this various
developmental sessions and training programs are organised for the employees. This enhances
their capabilities and competence of dealing with very situation and this reduces the level of
stress among the employees. In addition to this it facilitates increasing the company's
productivity because various initiatives that are taken by the organisation for the wellbeing of
the employee leads to better and healthy relationships among the organisation and employees at
the workplace. With this employees can be encouraged to perform better so that the overall
performance of the organisation can be improved and the objectives can be achieved.
All the employee wellbeing programs are not always beneficial as they have some
limitations which need to be identified by the organisation before any strategies or any wellness
programs are implemented within the workplace. Some of them are, it increases the cost for the
organisation due to which it may not be afforded by every organisation. The organisations need
to manage various cost such as salary and compensation to the employees, cost related to the
business activities and many more (Key Disadvantages of Employee Wellness Programs. 2019).
If the organisation hires any expert who can encourage employees by sharing their experience
and by suggesting various ways of doing things differently, their cost increases in terms of the
fee that has to be paid to the experts. The Wellness program invades privacy of the employees
due to which the employee may not actively participate in such programs as they do not want
others to get to know about their problems. Such wellbeing programs may not be suitable for
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every employee and for every type of organisation as the employees who are already motivated
and confident will not take part in any such activity but will expect more benefits from the
organisation. Not considering the expectation of such motivated employee may impact the
overall productivity of the organisation. In this case organisation need to bear double cost which
may not favourable for them and due to this organisation avoids so (Shields and et. al., 2015).
The organisation needs to consider various legal considerations for ensuring the benefits to
the employees such as Duty of care. This is a legal obligation that is imposed on the individuals
to ensure that reasonable care is taken into consideration so that the act does not harm the others.
It is a fiduciary responsibility of the company due to which they need to set some standards for
care. This duty requires that the managers take all the decisions in the good faith of the
employees and in a reasonably prudent manner so that the utmost care is taken while taking any
decisions related to the business and for the well being of the employees. The duty of care also
ensures that safe and security is ensured at the workplace. But the duty is of both the employee
and employer as the employee also needs to execute their role ethically so that the image of the
organisation does not get any harm (Van Wingerden, Bakker and Derks, 2017).
2) Example of an organisation’s attempt at Employee Wellbeing initiatives
Organisation take initiatives for ensuring the well being of the individual and for analysing
some of such initiatives the organisation that is taken into consideration is Unilever. It is a
British Dutch multinational company that offers a wide range of consumer goods. They offer
products from different segments that include beauty products, food products. Energy drinks,
personal care products etc. The company is considered to be one of the oldest multinational
companies and is operating in almost 190 countries. Unilever is recognised to be an organisation
that emphasis a lot on their employees wellbeing (Hakanen, Peeters and Schaufeli, 2018). They
undertake ethical activities which strive to treat their employees in a better way than other
companies. Unilever organises various management skills programs and leadership skills
programs that facilitate their managers and leaders to learn various ways with which they can
ensure that their employees are treated in a better way and thus it enables them to plan for the
development of the employees. CSR activities which are undertaken by Unilever give strength to
the organisation that enables them to take sustainable competitive advantage over the
competitors in the market place.
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Unilever take various measures for protecting and promoting the health of the individual so that
they can live a better and healthier life. This has direct impact on their performance as with a
healthy life an individual carry healthy mindset which makes them efficient in executing various
tasks. The company organises various programs for their employees which enables them to
determine various ways of executing their tasks and they adopt the one as per their capability and
interest. Various healths related programs are organised with the help of which their fitness can
be maximised. Another focus for the well being of the employees is that they aim to enhance the
capacity of the employees to perform the tasks assigned to them (Fei, 2018).
In the year 2014, a four pillar framework was proposed by the company that addresses the
mental, physical, purpose and emotional wellness of their employees. With the help of this
framework their managers could ensure that their employees are treated efficiently and a
supportive working environment is created with which personal and business needs can be met.
Various pillars of the framework are: Mental wellbeing of framework, with this dimension of
the framework the organisation aim to reduce and manage the mental choices, various reactions
to the distraction that can impact the performances. Also by focussing upon various
empowerment option the metal well being can be improves as with this ability to think and
analyse can be enhanced with which the situation can be managed efficiently without any stress
or fear. Physical well framework, with this they aims to consider various physical factors such
as their health, fitness, sleep, energy levels etc. For this they emphasised on their nutrition,
recovery, energy management, exercises with the help of various programs and experts so
appointed by them. For this they also adopted various strategies such as no smoking, avoid
chronic stress and many more. With the help of such programs the employees at the workplace
can efficiently be made focussed for dealing with various challenges that they may face (Guest,
2017). Purposeful Framework, they believe that for the well being it is important to consider
the factors that matters to the individual and to the organisation. With this the objectives of both
can be efficiently as the goals and objectives can be accomplished. Also it enables the employees
for establishing a connection among their objectives and that of the organisation. Emotional
Wellbeing Framework, with the help of this framework the managers of Unilever aims to
determine various aspects with which they can bring positivity in the behaviour of the
employees. Also confidence can be developed among them so that they can face various
challenges that they need to face while performing their role in the organisation. The focus is laid
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on the needs of the employees and various ways with which such needs can be satisfied (ŠIKÝŘ,
Sekerin and Gorokhova, 2018).
Such initiatives are taken by the Unilever with the aim of improving the satisfaction level
of the employees and for increasing their morale. By making the agile working environment the
organisations aims to achieve their goal and objectives as with the employees will adapt the safe
and favourable working practices so offered by the company. Unilever offers various flexible
working arrangements to their employees such as customised working hours, commuted working
job sharing etc. This enables them to ensure the wellness of the employees as with this their
behaviour can be efficiently be regulated by the managers which enables them to create optimum
situations and to manage the organisational culture (Bratton and Gold, 2017).
3) Another example of an organisation’s attempt at Employee Wellbeing initiatives
The initiatives of the Tesco for the well being of the employees are taken into consideration.
Tesco is a UK based supermarket chain that has been operating in various countries. It offers a
wide range of groceries to the customers. It is considered to be the third largest retailers across
the world on the basis of their revenue. For improving the level of motivation of the employees
and for their well being they have implemented various strategies and programs with which they
can do so (Chowdhury and Shil, 2019). With the aim of ensuring the well being of the
employees various mental health programs are organised by the Tesco Plc that contributes to
their productivity and the success.
The policies of the company specifies that the employees need to completes their
working hours due to which it becomes important for them to ensures the better working
environment of the workplace. For this they create awareness through various assistance
programs among their employees for healthy choices at workplace and at home. Various
strategies are adopted by Tesco for the same which includes: Flexible and family friendly
working policies, with the help of this policy the employee can strive work-life balance as with
the help of this strategy they can allocate time efficiently among the friends, family and for work.
Also they can focus upon their needs for which they can swap their shifts, can take career break,
can take break for taking care of their children etc. Various flexible working practices are
allowed to the employees in which the employees can change their working timings as per their
suitability, can work from home instead of working from and many more options (Arnold, 2017).
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Various offer vouchers are provided to the employees with the help of which they can take
consultancy for the diet plans, fitness consultancy, passes for various events are provided in
which they can take their families etc. In addition to this the policies of giving up smoke is so
very helpful to the employees as this genuinely contributed in their well being as with the help of
this the addiction of the employee is reduced.
With the help of various trainings and sessions they created awareness among the
employees in context of first aid, some skills related to job, ability to manage the diversity in the
culture, skills for effectively communicating with the customers etc. All such skills contribute in
the improvement of their performances and it reduces the absenteeism among the employees
because such policies make the work place attractive and comfortable. For improving the
wellness of the employees Tesco laid their focus on various physical activities which includes
passes for the gym, this will compel their employees to undertake various physical activity that
can relieve their stress and make them healthy. All such activities make the employees active at
the workplace and confident. This improves their performances, thus the overall performance pf
the organisation can be increased with this.
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CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above report that the management need to take various actions and
have to formulate various policies with which they can make their employees competent enough
to deal with the changes that are taking place in the environment. Initiatives for the well being of
the employees facilitates with reduction of stress level among the employees, improves their
confidence, develop better understanding within the organisation etc. Adoption of the principles
of Duty of Care for the wellness of the employees makes the employers realise the need of the
various strategies for making the environment of the organisation positive. These policies make
the individuals confident of undertaking various tasks effectively; this enhances their
productivity and thus enhances the productivity and profitability of the organisation.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arnold, K.A., 2017. Transformational leadership and employee psychological well-being: A
review and directions for future research. Journal of Occupational Health
Psychology. 22(3). p.381.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Chowdhury, A. and Shil, N.C., 2019. Managing Human Resources in light of New Public
Management Ideals: Corroboration from an Australian Public Sector Organization. Thai
Journal of Public Administration. 17(2). pp.67-67.
Fei, J. ed., 2018. Managing human resources in the shipping industry. Routledge.
Guest, D. E., 2017. Human resource management and employee well‐being: Towards a new
analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal. 27(1). pp.22-38.
Hakanen, J.J., Peeters, M.C. and Schaufeli, W.B., 2018. Different types of employee well-being
across time and their relationships with job crafting. Journal of occupational health
psychology. 23(2). p.289.
Huong, L., Zheng, C. and Fujimoto, Y., 2016. Inclusion, organisational justice and employee
well-being. International Journal of Manpower.
Islam, M. and Al Amin, M., 2016. Understanding domestic workers protection & welfare policy
and evaluating its applications to managing human resources of informal sector in
Bangladesh. Journal of Asian Business Strategy. 6(12). pp.246-266.
Mäkikangas, A., and et. al.,2016. Long-term development of employee well-being: a latent
transition approach. Journal of Happiness Studies. 17(6). pp.2325-2345.
Nankervis, A. R. and et. al., 2016. Human resource management: strategy and practice.
Cengage AU.
Shields, J. and et. al., 2015. Managing employee performance & reward: Concepts, practices,
strategies. Cambridge University Press.
ŠIKÝŘ, M., Sekerin, V. and Gorokhova, A., 2018. Managing Human Resources Using the Best
Practice. Best Fit Approach. Journal of Applied Economic Sciences. 13(1).
Van Wingerden, J., Bakker, A.B. and Derks, D., 2017. Fostering employee well-being via a job
crafting intervention. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 100. pp.164-174.
Online
Key Disadvantages of Employee Wellness Programs. 2019. [Online] Available through:
<https://website101.com/small-business/disadvantages-employee-wellness-programs/
#.XkuvWi0zab->.
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