Human Resource Management in the Present Times

Question: Describe about for the Human Resource Management in present times. Answer: Abstract The basic purpose of this assignment is to gain a thorough understanding on two of the most important concepts, which are being used in the present day world, for improving the conditions of the workplace and providing a great job satisfaction to the employees. The concepts being studied in this assignment are work life balance and workplace flexibility. The report has been helpful in finding out the negative impacts of long working hours on the human resource of a business firm and that the concept of flexibility is still one of the best approaches that can be used to enhance the quality of workplace environment. Introduction The report aims at studying work life balance and flexibility, which are the most debatable topics under human resource management in the present times. The report aims at studying the difference that might have erupted in the concept of flexibility and how it is being presumed by the employers and the employees today. To gain a thorough understanding of the topics, we would consult a number of websites and journals to draw a conclusion about the present and future prospects of the concepts. The report also aims at discussing the negative impacts of long working hours or overtime on the employees of an organisation. Finally, the report would discuss a number of ways in which business firms can promote and help the employees in maintaining their work life balances during economic downturns or recessions. Flexibility In the modern day business world, the competition amongst rival firms has reached a global level, which has added up new complexities in the already complex environment. The result is that the companies are striving to survive in the industry because they have become highly vulnerable to external and internal environment factors. In such a scenario, the companies cannot just merely rely upon their products, services or processes to gain a competitive edge as they can be easily replicated. Instead the companies are now trying to use their human resources to gain a competitive edge in the market. Therefore, it is highly important for business organisations to provide a good working environment to their employees so that they can work at their best potentials to achieve the maximum productivity for the organisation. ("Why is Human Resources Important? | Importance of an HR Department | TriNet", n.d.) Flexibility is defined as a strategy in human resource management that aims at providing a better work environment to the employees by bringing the employees and the employer closer and allowing them to collectively decide the working conditions that would suit both the parties. The basic objective of implementing flexibility at workplace is to bring down the operating costs, maximise the productivity and efficiency and to provide an approach to the employees that would help them in maintaining a better balance between their personal lives and their work lives. ("Flexibility in the workplace Employee entitlements Fair Work Ombudsman", n.d.). Some advantages of implementing workplace flexibility are discussed below: It increases the feeling of organisational commitment and loyalty amongst the employees and makes them more satisfied with their jobs and the management. It helps in uplifting the quality of lives of the employees as well as of the employers. The biggest advantage of implementing flexibility in the workplace is that it helps in optimisation of productivity and efficiency in the organisation. Workplace flexibility is not a new concept and was introduced a couple of decades ago. The business organisations that have been able to implement it successfully are enjoying the benefits that it brings along while the others are still trying their best to introduce the concept as it can actually improve the conditions of a workplace. The concept of flexibility is in a great demand today as the employees feel obliged to work with a company that gives adequate value to their personal lives and is not just worried about the work that the employees do. Flexibility at workplace has also proven to have positive impacts on the health of the people as they feel reduced levels of stress. ("WHY EMPLOYEES NEED FLEXIBILITY", n.d.). Workplace flexibility is a very crucial concept in the management of human resource and the organisations should definitely implement it when they want to achieve better results. Business organisations that have strict timings and are very roust about their work are less preferred by the employees and the employees tend to stay away from such companies or leave them altogether ("A Revolutionary Change: Making the Workplace More Flexible | Solutions", 2011). According to Juliet Bourke, the concept of flexibility has lost its paradigms because the concept implies that the same amount of work would have to be accomplished by a lesser number of workforces. The viewpoint of Juliet Bourke is wrong to a great extent as the fault is not in the process but is in the way in which a company implements it. Millions of firms have succeeded in achieving success by implementing workplace flexibility while the others have worsened their conditions by not implementing the concept properly. Thus, it c an be said that the concept itself is quite tricky and the companies have to ensure effective strategies to actually implement the concept. It can be clearly stated that flexibility is still one of the best concepts to manage the human resource of a business firm and has not lost its original paradigms. Implications of Long Working Hours on Employees Long working hours or overtime is a concept where the employees can work for a duration that is more than their regular work hours while they get compensated for the extra hours that they work for. The concept of overtime or long working hours is extremely beneficial as it helps the company in compensating for unexpected changes and absence of human resource without having to hire additional human resources. However, the negative impacts of long working hours have been noticed in the case of employees. Some of the negative impacts of long working hours or overtime are discussed below: Increase in health related problems a number of researches and scientists have concluded that there is a strong and positive relation between long working hours and health related problems in the employees. Some common health related problems that have been found to occur in employees that spend a lot of time working during overtime hours are: Possibilities of injuries in the lower back due to too much physical exertion People performing white collar jobs are found to experience higher blood pressures Increase in the possibility of mental health problems A decrease in the birth weight and gestation age in women An increase in the consumption of alcohol amongst men An increase in the rates of suicides Further studies have also concluded that the employees working for more than 50 hours a week are found to have a higher rates of family conflicts, reduced mental health and alcohol problems ("5 Negative Effects of High Overtime Levels", 2016). Decreased productivity some managers are of the belief that they would be able to increase the overall productivity or efficiency by making the employees working for longer hours while the case might be totally opposite. A number of scientists and researchers have concluded that the overtime working hours can in turn hinder the productivity or efficiency of the organisation. In many cases, it has been observed that the employees become bored and tired of their jobs and the tend to leave their jobs as early as possible. Increased absenteeism long working hours or overtime can also bring about an increase in the absenteeism in business organisations. Workers tends to get bored with their work if they keep on doing the same work time and again. Further, further, they also experience a decline in their work life balances which they are generally not able to tolerate. As a result, sooner or later, they start feeling like taking their time off from their jobs and spend some time with their families. Stalled work Another major negative impact of long working hours is that the employees might stall the work altogether if they think that working on the same project during the overtime hours would help them in achieving additional advantages. In such conditions, the performances of the employees might drop down, which is even lesser than what is actually expected from the employees ("How Does Overtime Affect Employee Performance?", n.d.) Work Life Balance in Economic Downturn Work life balance is one of the hot favourite topics in the present day business world and each and every business organisation is trying to introduce the concept of work life balance inside the company. In simple words, work life balance can be defined as the balance that the employees are able to build between their work lives and their personal lives. The existence of a good balance between the work life and the personal life of an employee is highly recommended in the present day world as it can highly interfere with factors such as job commitment, job satisfaction, stress, etc. In some cases, there can be period of economic downturns or recession where the companies are not able to carry out their business activities as planned and have to come out with new and innovative ideas to bring improvements in the strategies. A period of an economic downturn is when the economic conditions in a country are not well and do not promote the industry in which a company is competing. There have been a number of benefits that have been identified with work life balance and thus, it becomes important for the organisations to implement such measures that would help in increasing the work life balance of employees during an economic downturn. Let us now discuss a few strategies that a firm can use to facilitate work life balance at the workplace: Part time arrangements and job sharing one of the best ways to encourage a healthier work life balance at the workplace is by allowing the employees to choose from part time jobs. It not only helps in improving productivity but also helps in saving operating costs (Buchholtz, 2016). Sabbatical leaves these leaves are defined as those leaves in which an employee is not expected to report to the employer but is still considered to be employed under the same company ("Sabbatical leave dictionary definition | sabbatical leave defined", n.d.). Term time term time is a comparatively new concept. In term time, the employees get to work more in a particular period so that they can work less in some other period. If the business organisation has seasonal demands, term time proves to be one of the best ways to encourage a healthier work life balance. E-working e-working or work from home is another strategy that can help the management in reducing its operating costs to a very large extent and to provide a perfect work life balance to the employees. Using e-wokring, the employees can be allowed to work from home by making use of internet and information systems (Buchholtz, 2016). Conclusion The journals and the website consulted for the purpose of gaining information on the topic clearly show that flexibility and work life balance are very closely related and it is very important to introduce flexibility if a company wants its employees to have a work life balance. Though some people might say that the concept have now grown obsolete or have lost their original purpose but they have actually held their purpose till now and are still two of the most important concepts in the management of human resource. The study helped in making a clear conclusion that it is very important to facilitate work life balance for employees, even if a company is going through an economic downturn. References 5 Negative Effects of High Overtime Levels. (2016). Circadian.com. Retrieved 18 May 2016 A Revolutionary Change: Making the Workplace More Flexible | Solutions. (2011). onal.net. Davis, M. (2008). The Impact Of Recession On Businesses | Investopedia. Investopedia. Flexibility at work - the business case - Professionals Australia. (1969). Professionals Australia. Flexibility in the workplace Employee entitlements Fair Work Ombudsman. Fairwork.gov.au. How Does Overtime Affect Employee Performance?. Smallbusiness.chron.com. How Risky Is Overtime, Really?. (2007). Harvard Business Review. Managing work-life balance in a recession. W3.unisa.edu.au. Morgan, H. (2015). 3 Benefits of Workplace Flexibility. Naithani, P. (2010). Recession and Work-Life Balance Initiatives. Research Summary: The impact of overtime and long work hours on occupational injuries and illnesses: Sabbatical leave dictionary definition | sabbatical leave defined. Yourdictionary.com.