Of cagey employers and caged employees
Aruti Nayar

IT’s rare to find an employee who has a good word to say about the organisation s/he works in. Strange isn’t it? But it’s true. Most of the time we continue to stay on in an organisation even when we recognise that it has nothing positive to offer to us. Why is it so? Why do we crib and grumble till we turn crabby and yet continue to work for the same organisation we often hate or condemn? Perhaps, it is the small pay packet, long duty hours or the lack of a congenial work environment that is responsible for the dissatisfaction.

However, despite security of service, an employee also looks for job satisfaction. An employee is seeking more than a pay packet. He wants to realise his potential and the optimum utilisation of all his capabilities. In a scenario where levels of unemployment tilt the scales in favour of the employers, what needs to be done to ensure that both the employees and the employer are satisfied?

According to Peeyush, an MBA, often discontentment arises out of comparing pay packets, without seeing the other person’s input. It is usually mid-career as well as middle-level employees who are the most disgruntled lot. The mismatch between expectations and the fulfillment of those can create a feeling of stagnation and a no-exit situation. Very often, the question is ‘what is the employer giving to us’ and not the other way around. Rashmi Puri, an assistant marketing manager with Punwire Mobile Communications, feels that the middle and junior staff is not indispensable for the management. That is why there is hardly any effort to retain them or to oversee their job satisfaction levels. According to her, another factor that creates a lot of dissonance for the employees is the system of dual reporting. If a boss is not competent, he does not even allocate work in a satisfactory manner. Loyalty, an important component of the boss-employee dynamics, is no longer a must, with expertise and not age becoming an important criterion.

Vandana Saxena, who helps in the management of the engineering firm set up by her father-in-law in 1972, maintains that a large group should be divided into smaller sub-groups. Monitoring is a must, especially in the case of unskilled labour. Group leaders have to be selected and each person has to be evaluated before utilising his potential to the utmost. For instance, some workers can get things done. What is essential, feels Vandana, is the ability to do the work with your own two hands. That, coupled with the ability to constantly remain in touch with the workers and keep the channel of communication open is a must to facilitate interaction. As she proudly declares, they have never sacked an employee ever since the concern was set up in 1972. Another factor that has to be kept in mind is never to turn down the request for monetary or material help, whenever it is made.

Meenakshi Malhotra, Professor, Organisation Behaviour and Organisational Development, University Business School, Panjab University, is of the view that the employers do not have any employee-recognition or involvement programmes. That is the major cause of employees being disgruntled. The employers must make their salary structures competency and skill-based. That will automatically motivate the employees to improve and upgrade their skills and knowledge, lay stress on performance and lower the levels of dissatisfaction. Malhotra does not subscribe to the view that due to the unequal ratio of employer-employee, the latter is often dispensable. Bringing a skilled worker to a certain level wherein he becomes useful for an organisation, requires time, effort and investment on the part of the employer. If there is a failure to retain employees, it is bound to affect the costing.

While it might be possible to link the pay packet to skills and competency in the private sector, the laid-back, hierarchical structure of the government organisations is a different ballgame altogether. Cronyism, not competency, is the buzzword here. When promotions are strictly time-bound and there is neither reward for performance nor punishment for non-work, a chalta hai attitude is bound to flourish. No amount of globalisation can change the widely-held perception of a majority of Indians about a government job being a life-long security blanket. Once having got in, one doesn’t need to work. Perhaps that is why there is no stress on productivity and an unabashed apathy towards loss of working hours due to holidays.

In a time when expertise matters more than age or experience, employers too have to hone their skills. Malhotra is of the conviction that today’s employer has to be emotionally intelligent, since he is dealing with a knowledge worker who does not require supervision but inspiration. An emotionally intelligent employer should possess the following qualities: self-awareness, self-control, empathy, should be self-directed and has inner motivation and social skills that facilitate group dynamics. An employer should be able to evolve an optimum utilisation of time, money and resources. While employees enhance skills, employers should hone their leadership qualities.

In the ultimate analysis, it boils down to something simple: sense of belonging to the place we work in. This can neither be bought nor taught. It either is there or isn’t. And if it isn’t, it is much better to look elsewhere rather than accept oneself as a square peg in a round hole or vice-versa. If personal satisfaction is the bottomline then all one needs to do is to step out and seek it, wherever one can find it. No amount of grumbling would yield it, anyway. Or do you think, otherwise?

 

How to minimise discontent among employees: There should be channels of communication open, so that the employees can give a vent to their grievances. Brainstorming sessions in which the employees can speak out their minds without any inhibition work to release pent-up emotions and thoughts. There should be a system of evaluation that is fair and transparent. An adequate recognition of the effort or contribution of the employees helps to give them a sense of involvement. Employees need to feel that they are not merely cogs in the wheel and only fulfil a function. They are human beings with aspirations and they merit a humane treatment. Remembering an employee's birthday is bound to make him feel special. The organisation should ensure that the employees get adequate opportunities to upgrade their skills and expose them to new learning techniques by way of orientation programmes etc Spending on employee welfare schemes is not a waste, it is an investment. It is up to the employers to identify, tap and hone the areas of strength of the individual employees. Thereby not only will the individual realise his potential but also maximise his output — benefitting both himself and the organisation.

TELL ME WHY!

Why do the employees remain disgruntled ? — An upset employer

• In most organisations, the horse and the donkey are considered equivalent. There is no incentive for good work, no punishment for bad performance. Rajnish Sharma, 35, an employee of the Department of Education, Chandigarh.

• No attraction in the office, we have lots of guys and few girls! It's so boring! Sanjeev Malhotra, 25, executive with a computer company.

• You keep on slogging for hours together and in the end the boss is pleased by the girl who smiles at him and she gets the promotion. Amit Bhardwaj, 30, marketing executive with a private firm.

• The boss is more interested in the suit I am wearing than the work I have done. Shivani Sharma, receptionist in a private firm.

• It is so disgusting if you do not want to flirt around. Ruchi Gupta, 22, employee in the Department of Telecommunications.

• Perhaps your expectations are too high. Saugat Dutt, 32, head of a computer centre.

• You are looking at what others are getting rather than being satisfied by your own achievements. Sandeep Gaur, 41, an administrative officer

• Youngsters want to rise fast in life without even waiting to gain any experience. This is why there is this feeling of dissatisfaction and stagnation. Vikramjit Singh, 45, working in the Chandigarh Housing Board

• Everyone cannot become Vice-President of an MNC. Nishant Mathur, 27, manager of an advertising agency.

• You are not moving fast enough. You are expecting too much and doing too little to achieve it. Kawaljit Singh, 38, working in a private bank.

• Why does my wife nag me about my drink in front of others?

• Why doesn’t my husband realise that his drinking adversely affects his health, relationships and performance at work?

(Responses are sought from wives and husbands on these questions, respectively. Mention your name, age and address.)