The Loyalty Question

Business leaders are in a dither about the loyalty question.

Why so little loyalty from employees?

We will explore this question and the answer will not be pretty.

So for starters - loyalty has largely been a one way street for forty years, the Reagan era started  a change in employer-employee relationships that persists to this day.

Employees owe loyalty to employers, but not the other way around.  This is no longer working.

The pandemic period changed everything, plus the demographics of retiring baby boomers and low birth rates.

Stay tuned for a longer discussion.

Quick Hits #3

 

If you are going to terminate or layoff an employee who has key knowledge of your computer security and/or operational systems, you might want to do this carefully.

Six months from now the former employee might have a very poor memory or be hard to contact.

A severance agreement with a cooperation clause might be worth the cost.

Tell the Turth to Job Candidates

 Telling lies to job candidates is not a healthy practice.

As employers look to expand and restaff following the pandemic, another pandemic seems to be mushrooming - misleading job candidates about work practices and rules, especially work-from-home (WFH) practices and expected work hours.

If WFH is discouraged or not allowed, say so. If employees are expected to work 10-12 hours a day, or work on weekends, say so.

Tell.....the....Truth

Loyalty is a Two Way Street

The start of the pandemic was almost exactly 40 years after there was a major shift in US economics and in the treatment of workers.

The new wave changed the level of bargaining power, away from workers and toward employers. The dramatic reduction in private sector union activity was one reflection of this trend.

Good for employers!

Other changes, including the globalization of many activities and the rise of the service economy, further diminished worker bargaining power.

And then, the pandemic blew up ther labor market, and employees started to rebuild bargaining power (aided by the retirement of 3 million baby boomers).

Employers must recognize and respond to this change.

Grumbling about the "good old days" does not make the problem go away.

So the presumption of one way loyalty is gone and over.

Quick Hits #2

 If you use a voice mail system, return the calls. Sooner rather than later.

Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Law Update

 President Biden signed a brief but important bill outlawing mandatory arbitration in sexual harassment and sexual assault cases.

Employers have been using mandatory artibration to deny legal avenues and rights to workers (businesses prefer arbitration because is tends to favor the employer).

It appears any policy or procedure statement, employee handbook or contract with such a clause, the clause will be void per se. 

Best policy - prevent sexual harassment and assault.

Second best policy - deal with harassment and assault firmly and decisively.

(not legal advice, consult your lawyer)

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4445/text

Politics and the Workplace, Part I

 This is a difficult era for politics.

And not surprisingly politics have bled over into the workplace.

Sometimes because of the conduct of owners and managers.

Sometime because of the conduct of employees.

And sometimes because of the conduct of customers and patients and protesters.

What to do?

General Rule:

Politics should be kept out of the workplace.

Reality:

This may not be possible.

Who can be caught up by this?

Employees, employers, customers, patients, vendors, the community, and potential customers, at a minimum.

Rights vs. Responsibilities

This is where the tension lies and this is where the complexity begins.

More in following posts.