Firing People for Legitimate Reasons
Managing the employees of the company is always one of the most difficult parts of running a successful business. Working together on a shared vision of success, workers, managers, and leaders all fulfill their own unique roles. In their level of influence, employees are placed below the leaders of any given organization, and the question of legally quantifying the relationship between the employee and employer comes up. In order to ensure its legal security while maximizing profitability derived from workers, it is necessary to find a form of cooperation that will be beneficial to both sides of the process. The Unleashing the Power of Human Capital: Mastering the Legal Aspects of Business document correctly states that most businesses try to establish an at-will relationship with their employee, where either party could stop the relationship at any moment for any reason (Bagley, 2008). However, the continued use of at-will contracts favors businesses much more heavily than individuals working for them, creating a power imbalance and a cause of potential future issues.
Successful businesses are able to balance their profits with the consideration for their workers, providing them with benefits and other forms of protection while employed. Giving employees a degree of power and security in their position makes them more likely to work hard for the success of the company and increases employee retention. When considering the benefits of at-will contracts compared to this solution, the most apparent upside is that businesses are able to save money and quickly cycle through new workers without standing responsible for potentially profiting off of their wellbeing. Aside from being immoral, this approach can open a business up to legal scrutiny and introduce a wide variety of human resource issues moving forward. To protect the company in the case of a dispute and promote the happiness and wellbeing of every worker, firings should only be initiated for a legitimate reason, such as poor work performance, absence, or undue conduct. This approach to terminating an employment relationship can ensure that organizations retain a stable workforce and a good reputation.
Fostering a Cooperative and Supportive Relationship
Creating the right workplace climate for an organization is a necessary and important task. In a business, many people have to interact continuously, work alongside each other, meet goals, and complete projects. As a result, there is a need to ensure that people are treated with the kindness, respect, and dignity they deserve. According to the document, a serious problem for many leaders and managers is considering their employees from an adversarial perspective (Bagley, 2008). In this view, workers are inherently seen as opposed to the goals of a company, requiring restrictive action and policies designed to make them more powerless against a business.
This is especially true in cases of contract termination, where companies often dread legal action initiated by their former colleagues. The issue, however, stems not from the overly-litigious nature of workers but from their wrongful treatment. The assertion that employees should necessarily be treated harshly or considered an adversary of a business is incorrect. It contributes to abuse, discrimination, and misuse of power. In order to lead a truly successful and sustainable company, it is necessary to embrace employees as a part of a business, respect their autonomy, understand their wishes, and empower them (Mazzei et al., 2019). Workers that feel content in their position are more likely to stay in their workplace and contribute to creating more value for their leader. Furthermore, a content workforce creates a happy workplace environment and a healthy office culture. The combination of these three factors can aid leaders and managers in fostering beneficial, long-term relations within the organization. In addition, it can be seen as a morally and ethically correct course of action.
Perform Tactful, Timely, and Helpful Performance Evaluations
One of the primary reasons for terminating employment contracts or firing a former employee is their inability to meet the needs of the organization adequately or their lack of good work performance. This can manifest in not meeting quotas, submitting subpar work, or contributing to toxic workplace culture. However, firing “bad” employees is far from the only possible solution in such cases. In particular, the guidance of other members of the company and performance evaluations can make a difference between a failing employee and a successful one. As stated in the resource, any evaluation and feedback should be timely, supportive, and tactful (Bagley, 2008). It is improper to scold or punish a worker for their bad performance. Instead, steps should be taken to identify the problems a particular employee faces and help them navigate them more successfully. A focus on open discussion, understanding, and problem-solving puts human dignity first in an effort to gain the trust of employees. In addition, it is also an ethically sound choice, as it is capable of promoting the happiness and wellbeing of the majority of people in the organization. In this way, employers can preserve the power and autonomy of their workers, retain a stable workforce, and improve performance.
References
Bagley, C. E. (2008). Unleashing the Power of Human Capital: Mastering the Legal Aspects of Business. Harvard Business Publishing Education. Web.
Mazzei, A., Kim, J., Togna, G., Lee, Y., & Lovari, A. (2019). Employees as advocates or adversaries during a corporate crisis. The role of perceived authenticity and employee empowerment. Sinergie Italian Journal of Management, 37(2), 195-212.