Maintain the Health and Welfare of Employees by HRM

Employee being a very vital organ in the organization, there is a need for protection and opportunity to perform better achieving the set objectives, mission, and vision. In doing this a department, Human resource created in order to manage the human resources, also an asset to the business has achieved its objective (Renckly, 2002). Human resource management is an organizational function mandated to provide direction for the employees by making their stay in the company more interesting and comfortable (Richard, Emener, & Hutchison, 2009). It provides services like recruitment, staffing, orientation, training, and development, safety in the organization, wellness, as well as the administration of the employees. In addition, it is a management function as well (Secord, 2003).

Employees’ health and welfare

An effective employee performs well achieving the company’s goals, objectives, mission, and vision with minimal costs associated with breaking down of machines caused by employee stress (Renckly, 2002). In order to achieve this, an employee’s health and welfare must be part of the human management functions and priorities in the organization. Welfare may be defined as the well-being of an employee while health is a term when used in the organizational concept means the physical soundness of an employee when delivering duties (Secord, 2003). The combination of health and welfare describes the mental, physical, moral, and emotional well-being of an individual provided by employers, governmental and non-governmental organizations its understanding varying from place to place (Sison, 2000).

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A very good example is the labor welfare; all the efforts put in place by trade unions, employers, government agencies and the private sector to ensure that employees are at their better if not best when performing duties of an organization. At times, it means making a job better and easier for an employee (Renckly, 2002). In addition, it includes all the facilities ranging from social amenities to physical resources such as machines that make working not only easier but also enjoyable. Interestingly, the concept of labor welfare has the two ends; negative and positive (Secord, 2003). In capitalistic nations for instance, labor has a significant demerit of interfering with the large-scale industrial production while at the positive end, it gives employee opportunities for a good life (Richard, Emener, & Hutchison, 2009).

Merits and demerits of the welfare measures

Having looked at the welfare introduction, we would like to identify some of the examples or forms through which the said organizations could establish this (Amos, et al. 2008). Before then, we shall try to enumerate the merits and demerits of all the health and welfare systems in an organization (Sison, 2000). Welfare movement especially labor welfare have received scores fro people who think they are a step forward. According to them labor has numerous advantages not only to an organization but to an individual as well. Some of the merits include:

Work welfare enables reminiscence of the services that an employee has offered.

It encourages an employee to work hard and a chain of employees working hard leads to an efficient, effective, and faster way of achieving the organization’s goals, mission, and vision.

The equipments used in performing the duties help in motivating and retaining the employee.

It improved the socio-economic relations of the work to the other workers and the nation.

Herzberg suggests that since welfare facilities absence creates dissatisfaction, they should be removed to enhance employees’ satisfaction increasing loyalty of the employee.

It prevents minimizing social vices including alcoholism, gambling, prostitution, since the level of frustration that leads so many into these considerably reduces.

In conclusion, it helps uplift the image of the company when the employee is satisfied and talks well about it (Richard, Emener, & Hutchison, 2009).

With all these beautiful and well convincing merits, the concept has had scholar that opposes of its application terming it as disadvantageous. According to them, it is a small concept where workers unions and other organizations will take advantage and attack a firm or organization in question.

Types of Health and Welfare Activities

Health and welfare activities are two: internal welfare measures and external welfare measures (Bratton, & Gold, 1999). The former refers to conditions that are put in place within the organization to make the working environment better while the latter is the whole industry having the required conditions. We shall look at some examples of the welfare measures used.

Non-smoking programs,

Smoking is a very harmful act other than its addiction problems. Most organizations put in place measures to prevent employees fro smoking. In such organizations, a warning is normally placed strategically for instance on the door (Secord, 2003). Most employers are proactive in nature forming programs that enlighten the employees on dangers of smoking. As a result, there is reduced healthcare costs for the employee, improved production process per person, reduced accidents, machine failure due to inappropriate use caused by ‘hangovers’, decrease absenteeism and boosts the morale of the employee (Lawler, & Boudreau, 2009). In dealing with the issues of smoking and to some extent, drinking an employer employs proactive measures, invested into the employee help program or reactive approach involving disciplinary sanctions such as dismissals (Aswathappa, 2007).

Human resource should develop policies that accept smoking and drinking as a disease to some people. Dismissing them may add injuries and frustration resulting into more smoking or drinking whichever the case. Such policies should help in identification of the employees affected and the right measure, limited to dismissal taken against and for him to help him recover.

Nutrition classes and information on healthy feeding

The employees need basic information regarding their health. This is only attainable through nutrition. It is very important for an employee not to be malnourished, the issue of information regarding how and what to eat can avoid this (Sison, 2000). The human resource management has all the responsibilities of organizing such forums for the employees where they re given tips on how to live very health life. Usually most firms do it from people to health issues. Well developed human resource though education on not only on the job issues but also on their lives is very important in as far as the employee cared (Lawler, & Boudreau, 2009).

Human resources need procedures and techniques used in the promotion of the individual as well as the implementation to maintain a healthy body. As a result, there will be increased productivity among the employees (Renckly, 2002). The internal nutritionist in the organization can provide this service or the firm can decide to bring nutritionists to keep them informed. However, this might be demoralizing if the firm has an internal nutritionist who is not given a chance to perform the duty (Aswathappa, 2007).

Gym memberships in companies

Organizations have facilities within them that include the gym facilities. In such cases, employees are encouraged to go to the firm’s gym together with their families and enjoy themselves. Firms that are well established have all the required equipments for the office and all they need to have a glimpse on how the facilities work. It is amazing that some employees will ever talk about alcohol when there is a lot to be shares on the nutrition, health, and fitness. Earlier on, we discovered that a worker’s productivity depends as well on the fitness of the individual (Bohlander & Snell, 2010).

The companies without the gym facilities and would like their employees to keep fit, will sign a memorandum of a certain kind of understanding and through regular remittances of the services offered. Once this has been done, the employees should be able to access the facilities due to membership (Sison, 2000). This is the same concept used in the various cubs. Most of them own such clubs and a member declared. Better policies need to be in place to avoid any possibility of attraction being by another firm consequently loyal the state (Aswathappa, 2007).

Wellness newsletters

Provision of other encouraging and beautiful facts such as newsletters is another way through which the human resource management can help promote the well-being of their employee to enhance productivity. Production of the newsletter will achieve the goals of shaping the employee’s well-being and promoting the company as well (Sison, 2000). It can be a sale promotion tool. In this regard, the firm in question produces a newsletter at a regular period and giving it to the employees. The issues normally highlighted in the newsletter may include the performance of the company within a given period say a half a year, how some very extraordinary employees have performed and many others (Armstrong, 2003).

By the newsletter, an employee will get a variety of information that includes as well his or her well-being in the society and the working environment. The newsletter contains the entertainment bit where an employee refreshes the mind through puzzles and other entertainment. In addition, it offers new opportunities and updates the employees accordingly with the firm’s issues (Sison, 2000).

Parties and tours

Some companies in the spirit of enhancing the employee well-being organize parties and tours for them. Parties organized in most cases do include the family members of the employee and a maximum number is usually given. In the parties or tours, there is free socialization between the senior and junior employees (Bohlander & Snell, 2010). This free interactions and socialization creates in the employee a sense of good morals, consultation, healthy competition and many more. Everyone is equal in the parties. The refreshed minds and bodies will have an increase in production when they get to work. The party is a way of realizing stress from the employees. Stress is amongst the major contributors of low productivity of the employees (Secord, 2003).

Conclusion

Human resource management can rejuvenate the productivity of the employees in many ways to ensure attainment of the set objectives, goals, vision, and mission. Policies, procedures, and strategies need to be in place for the health and welfare of the employees. It is believed that the employees are the most delicate assets a business has, taking care of it means growing the business, and assuming the special asset would mean bringing the business down. Efforts should be made to satisfy some of the obvious needs of the employees in the organization such as self-actualization and entertainment. This will increase the productivity of the firm, turnover and consequently the profits of the firm will increase significantly.