Impact of Employee Working Conditions on Firm Performance in UK Food

This dissertation investigates the impact of employee working conditions on firm performance within the UK food industry. It begins by defining key terms such as 'employee,' 'employee's working condition,' and 'performance,' drawing from various academic sources. The literature review highlights the positive and negative impacts of working conditions on a firm's image, profitability, and productivity, emphasizing the importance of employee satisfaction, health and safety, and workplace environment. The study aims to explore these conditions within the UK food sector, focusing on factors affecting these conditions and strategies for improvement. The research structure outlines the dissertation's chapters, including the introduction, literature review, theoretical framework, research methodology, data collection and analysis, discussion, and conclusion, ultimately providing recommendations for organizations to address employee engagement and maintain performance.

Dissertation
THE IMPACT(S) OF EMPLOYEE’S
WORKING CONDITIONS ON FIRM’S
PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY FROM A
UK FOOD INDUSTRY
University of Wales Trinity Saint David

TABLE OF CONTENT:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ………………………………………………………………………………………2
1.CHAPTER FIVE DATA COLLECTION AND ANAYSIS...........................16
1.Chapter Summary........................................................................................................................................19
2.CHAPTER SIX: DICUSSION........................................................................19
1.6.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................19
2.Theme1: Impact of employees working condition on the firm’s performance.......................................19
3.Theme 3: Strategy to improve employees working conditions.................................................................20
4.Chapter Summary........................................................................................................................................20
3.CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION, LIMITATION,
RECOMMENDATION AND CONTRIBUTION.............................................20
1.7.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................20
2.Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................20
3.Limitations ...................................................................................................................................................20
4.Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................21
5.Contribution..................................................................................................................................................21
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Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude to DR. Anupam Mazumdar as my lecturer
and
DR. Widin Bongasu Sha’ven as my supervisor for the opportunity to work with
them.
They gave me all the help and support, knowledge and guidance, which I
needed to complete my project.
I have learned a lot of new things. Dr Mazumdar and DR Sha’ven, helped me to
become more confident in my success and to give my best in every aspect
during my work.
Thank you!
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Chapter one: Introduction
1.1. Research Significance/Problem
Employee is defined as the one who works for some organisation in exchange for
wages or with some agreed compensation. In addition to this, they are the individuals who
perform activities assigned to them by the employer with the objective to meet with the
targets. Performance is defined as the action or procedure to perform a task and function
(Tahir, 2020 ). Along with this, it is related to how successfully an organised group of people
perform to achieve objectives. Employees are the important asset for an organisation and is
one of the main reasons of its growth and success. It is important for a company to ensure
employees are satisfied at workplace so that its productivity and performance get increased.
An effective employee performance allows a company to gain various benefits that is
development of positive working culture, increase productivity, proper execution of
activities, attainment of competitive advantage and so on (Rubenstein and et. al., 2019). Most
of the organisations prevailing within the food industry is facing various issues because of
COVID-19 which directly impact on their working performance and conditions associated to
employees. Corona virus is a deadly variant which is causing people to catch cold and the
spread of virus leads to damage of lungs and is leading to death of individuals in many cases
(Alwan, 2020). It is important for food companies to give proper working conditions so that
they can work easily and properly. The main objective to conduct the study employee’s
working conditions in the food sector of UK.
In the present time period, the working conditions has change as lot of workplace
transformation has taken place within food sector. This has arisen issue in the organisations
and decline the performance level of staff members as they are not deal with the working
conditions prevail within the company. If the working conditions of an organisation is not in
favour of employees then it develop many issues that is decline in performance and
productivity, decline in brand image, increase in employee turnover rate and so on. It is vital
for organisation’s to emphasis on employees working conditions so that performance and
productivity can be maintained.
Employees plays an important role within an organisation as it helps a company to implement
all the activities properly and attain objectives within time frame. One of the main importance
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of topic is how employees fulfils the assigned roles and complete the task within the working
environment (Leonard, 2019). The present report is focused on the UK food industry as it
identifies the impact of employee performance on the working conditions within the food
sector. It will also help researcher to know the factors which impact on staff members
working condition and the strategies they need to develop for improving working conditions
for employees at workplace.
1.2. Research Aim:
The aim of the study is to explore the employee’s working conditions in the food sector in the
UK.
1.3. Research Objectives:
- To explain the impact of employees working condition on the firm’s performance.
-To find out the factors that affect employees working conditions.
1.4. Research Questions:
- How does employee’s working conditions impact on firm’s performance?
- What ate the factors that affect employee working conditions?
1.5. Research Structure:
The first chapter of dissertation is Introduction that includes the research aim and
objectives of study on the basis of which the whole study is conducted. The second chapter
includes the view point of various authors on the topic of investigation. Along with this, it is
collected with the help of books, articles, Journals and other publications as well. The third
chapter includes a theoretical framework is developed which shows the overall basis of
conducting the study. Along with this, it shows the concept and the manner in which the
information about the whole study is collected. The fourth chapter is research methodology
chapter states the research tools and techniques used by researcher to conduct the study. The
fifth chapter is about Data collection and analysis and herein investigator find outcomes
which are based on information collected for literature review. The main objective of this
chapter is to discussed and find out collected information in a systematic and effective
manner. The sixth chapter is of discussion which is correlated with the information collected
through primary and secondary data. In this, the researcher state, the relevance of collecting
data which state the fulfilment of research objectives or not. The last chapter is Conclusion,
Recommendations and contribution and it consist information of dissertation briefly which
assist reader in easy identification of output and to know whether the research aim and
objectives are attained or not. This chapter also consist of some recommendations to
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respective organisation about how to deal with issue of employee engagement and how to
maintain performance at marketplace.
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Chapter two: Literature Review
2.1. Introduction
Literature review is basically defined as an academic piece of writing that illustrates the
knowledge and information on the particular topic. Along with this, it is basically the
secondary data which is collected for the purpose of gaining in-depth understanding about
topic. The data is mainly collected from various sources that is books, articles, journals,
online polls and many more (Fink, 2019). The main objective of literature review is to
analyse the research gaps and fulfil it by developing research questions. In the previous
research, there is a discussion about the factors which impact on employee working
condition. Along with this, it also includes the strategies that are used by companies to
improve employee working condition but it lacks data about impact of employee performance
on the working conditions within the food sector. In order to fulfil this gap, some of the
research questions were developed which is given below:
2.2. Definitions of Key Terms:
2.2.1 Employee:
Definition 1: Employee is defined as an individual who is recruited by an employer for
performing a particular job (Heathfield, 2021). In addition to this, each employee has a
specific job to perform to accomplish which is often defined by a job description.
Definition 2: Employee is defined as an asset of an organisation who perform all the
assigned roles and responsibilities and in return get both monetary and non-monetary benefits
from the company (Employee, 2015). In addition to this, Employees are the ones who
contribute effectively towards the successful functioning of an organization.
Definition 3: Employee is referred as a person who works for a company or an organisation
in return for compensation ( Employee, 2022). Along with this, employee is recruited by the
employer after the interview process and application results into selection.
This study is based on definition 2 as it properly explains the importance of an employee in
fostering growth and development of an organisation.
2.2.2 Employee’s Working Condition:
Definition 1: It refers to the workplace and aspects of an employee’s terms and conditions. It
is basically defined as the circumstances like working hours, degree of safety, stress, or
danger that can affect working environment. A better working conditions greatly contribute
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to the staff motivation and afterwards to their performance, that also enables an organization
to reduce staff turnover.
Definition 2: Working conditions is described as the atmosphere prevailing within a
workplace in relation with hours of working, employee's policies, basic facilities as well as
safety protocols in the premises of an organisation (Peterson, 2018).
Definition 3: Working conditions includes the environment by which employees are
surrounded and it determines various policies and code of conduct according to which
personnels in an organisation are supposed to work (Namato, 2022).
This study is based upon the definition 1 as it properly explains the significance of better
working conditions in improving employee's performance.
2.2.3 Performance:
Definition 1: Performance is defined as the quality of implementation of a process, operation
or an action (McNamara, 2022). In addition to this, it is the effectiveness of an individual in
performing an action associated to productivity, capabilities and so on when measured
against the standard.
Definition 2: Performance refers to the ability of an individual to accomplish a task through
using its capabilities and potential in order to attain an outcome (Molony, 2022).
Definition 3: Performance is described as the role of an individual in completing assigned
targets and how an employee fulfils his job roles and responsibilities within an organisation
(Helmold and Samara, 2019).
This study is based upon definition 1 which explains the actual meaning of performance in
relation with employee's productivity and efficiency.
2.3. Impacts of Employee’s Working Conditions on the Firm’s
Performance:
As per the view point of Neve, (2019), a good employee working condition will have a
great impact towards company image and its profitability in the market. It has various
positive and negative impact on firm's performance. In improvement of work environment, a
firm can increase its productivity which can be done by flexible working hours which make it
easier to motivate its employees. Health and safety indicators towards employees will affect
both the company productivity and on company's mean wage. In context to restaurants, by
giving proper guidance and training to employees it will enhance company's performance by
providing creative dishes to its customers (Krekel, Ward and De Neve, 2019). By proper
employee satisfaction it affects positive correlation with its customer’s loyalty and negative
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correlation with staff turnover. Giving employee's salary on time it will build their morale
and able to focus on work rather than to leave the job. In context to workplace environment,
employees are considered to be a very important asset and it is the duty of the organization to
take care of the employees through paying proper attention to the workplace environment. In
context to food industry, it involves both the internal and external conditions that can have a
major impact on the working of employees.
When it comes to physical environment it plays a very critical role to the health,
satisfaction, social relations, performance of the employees. The environment conditions of
the organization play a very important factor which have a major impact on the performance,
job satisfaction and morale of the employees. For any organization, the productivity of the
employees is considered to be the soul and heart. The overall success of the organization
depends upon the employee and its performance. In addition to that workplace environment
have a major influence on the efficiency of the employees. The Workplace environment is
considered to be the major and the most important determinant and an unfavourable and
improper work place environment can lead to unnecessary stress. In context to restaurants, it
is very important to consider various factors such as cleanliness, equipment’s design,
ventilation, air quality, raw materials used for preparing food etc. In context to increase the
level of job engagement it is very important to make the environment aesthetic, comfortable
and flexible which focuses on sensory, physical connection, mobility and concentration to
foster engagement of the employees. Effective work place communication is another
important factor which is important in order to improve workplace environment. It not only
helps in completing the day-to-day tasks but also helps in avoiding problems. When
employees communicate in an effective manner it results on less complains. In context to
restaurant, the physical aspects play a major role in having a direct influence on the
employees.
Positive Impact On Employees Working Condition:
Highly Motivated: In good working condition an employee will get highly motivated and
attain the good vibes at the workplace. It is done by giving recognition, awards and appraisal
to its employee for the great work they are doing for company(Anitha, 2014). By this it keeps
the employee working condition highly motivated.
Increases Productivity: By providing good and positive working condition it is a great way
to increase the productivity of employees. It builds the positive impact on employee working
condition (Bhavya and Satyavathi, 2017). The goals can be achieved effectively and
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efficiently as the productivity increases and also helps to become better employee which lead
to promotions and raises.
Negative Impact On Employee Working Condition:
Lack Of Innovation And Technology: When at workplace if there is lack of innovation and
technology it will negatively impact on employee (Slappendel, 1996). It is highly time
consuming process by the use of old techniques and a long process also.
Poor Communication: communication is the key to employee that work and poor
communication will negatively impact on employee working condition (Longenecker,
Simonetti and Sharkey, 1999). Due to this it will cause duplicate work, missed deadlines,
forget work etc. In food industry it will get duplication of orders.
2.4. Factors that Affect Employee’s Working Condition:
As per the viewpoint of Raymond (2020), there are various factors that affect the working
environment of the organizations. In context to employees, there are major factors that affects
the employees working conditions which involves formal corporate aspects of the company.
Another factor that plays a major role involves the motivational aspect which is required at
both the department and company level. In context to organisation's leaders and managers it
is very important to create conditions which are beneficial for the employees otherwise it can
result in adverse effects on the bottom line. It is very important to provide excellent working
conditions for the employees that also comprises of Training and Development. When
companies invest in their employees it helps in providing faster and better work quality and
also helps in improving skills over the time. In addition to that it is very important to increase
employee engagement in order to avoid decline of work performance (Sarade and Shirsath,
2012).
Company Morale and culture is considered to be the major reason and that can affect the
loyalty of employees towards the company. Moreover, employee benefits and proper
compensation can increase the chances of the employees staying in the organisation for a
longer time period. The lack of social support can result in demotivating the employees and
might affect the organisational objectives. Moreover, the company's leaders and their style of
leadership can affect the performance of the employees. In various organisations the work
load could be more depending upon the type of organisations and the workload can affect the
performance of the employees and might result in reducing their productivity (McAfee and
Champagne, 1993). Another factor that can affect the employee performance is Tools and
Equipment’s.
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It is important for the company's leaders and managers to ensure that each individual
have necessary tools that helps them in performing their tasks. In reference to organisations,
it is important to recognize employee's performance and offering them rewards and
appreciation. When a employee is rewarded and praised by a superior it results in better
performance (Claus and Briscoe, 2009). Work environment and the surroundings of the
organisation plays a very important role in the organisation as untidy, cluttered and filthy
work environment have a direct impact on the performance of the employees and the
unprofessional-ism in the workplace can decrease their creativity. All these factors play a
very important role in the organisation and decides whether the employee will stay or leave
the organisation.
Chapter three: Theoretical Framework
3.1. Introduction:
Theoretical framework is a discussion about the factors which impact on employee
working condition. The theoretical framework is significant within a study as it assist
investigator to generalise the different aspects of an observed phenomenon by easily
describing it along with its limits (Afribary, 2020). It also allow investigator to connect with
the existing knowledge due to which researcher is easily understand the concept and theories
that further leads to development of valid results. Along with this, it also includes the
strategies that are used by companies to improve employee working condition but it lacks
data about impact of employee performance on the working conditions within the food sector.
3.2. Theoretical Framework:
A good employee working condition will have a great impact towards company image
and its profitability in the market. It has various positive and negative impact on firm's
performance. In improvement of work environment, a firm can increase its productivity
which can be done by flexible working hours which make it easier to motivate its employees.
Health and safety indicators towards employees will affect both the company productivity
and on company's mean wage. In context to restaurants, by giving proper guidance and
training to employees it will enhance company's performance by providing creative dishes to
its customers. Company Morale and culture is considered to be the major reason and that can
affect the loyalty of employees towards the company (Connell, 2001). Moreover, employee
benefits and proper compensation can increase the chances of the employees staying in the
organisation for a longer time period. The lack of social support can result in demotivating
the employees and might affect the organisational objectives. Moreover, the company's
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leaders and their style of leadership can affect the performance of the employees. In order to
improve the environment of a workplace, it is very important to invest in the physical
environment. By making the workplace suitable for the employees by developing a cleaner
environment, free access to snacks, greener environment, etc. the employee performance at
the workplace can be enhanced. Moreover, an idea of listening and sharing with the help of
constructive feedback is given by the author that could help to enhance better conditions for
employees to work.
Herzberg's Theory of Employee Working Condition:
This theory has two dimension to job satisfaction that is hygiene and motivation.
Hygiene issues will minimise the dissatisfaction rather than motivate employees if it is
handled properly. Hygiene topics include company supervision, interpersonal relations,
policies, salary and working conditions (Michael and umher, 2017). Such issues are related to
employee's environment. On the other hand, motivators creates satisfaction among employees
by fulfilling individual needs for personal growth and meaning. It is the issues such as
recognition, responsibility, achievement, the work itself and advancement. By applying the
theory of Herzberg in food industry it will highly motivate them towards the work and
provide good service to their client effectively.
Agency Theory
It is a principle which is used to resolve and explain the issues in relation between
business principles and agents. It focuses on various goals and interests of stakeholders in the
company on how employee remuneration can be used in order to align these goals and
interests (Kopp and Brook, 2021). The resource of principle is used by an agent where the
agent is a decision maker and is incurring no or little risk as any loss will be suffered by the
principal. In the food industry the principal hires the agent in order to solve the differences
and solve the disputes over respective priorities.
Institutional theory
It is an approach in order to understand the management and organisations practices
as the social product rather than economic pressure. It thinks about the processes by which
structures including rules, routines, schemes and norms become established for social
behaviour as an authoritative guidelines (Greve and Argote, 2022.). Different part of
institutional theory will explain how these components are diffused, adapted, created and
adopted over time and space and how it fall into disuse and decline. It plays an important role
for employees also as it includes the structures of rules and regulation and source of rewards,
incentives etc.
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