Abstract
Since the American civil rights era, employees have tussled with organizations for better working conditions and wages. Trade unions have been on the frontline to fight for employees’ job security and to keep organizations in check, not prioritizing profits over people. Unfortunately, during this period, workers resented poor working conditions where people had to be productive no matter their conditions or wages. Recently, organizations have been empathetic to their workers and are starting to integrate policies that encompass the well-being of workers. Some of the reforms include tea breaks, workers’ holidays, increased wages, and the provision of personal protective gear.
Unfortunately, the management and the labour cabinet disagree over the bathroom-break policy for a company like The Jim Beam bourbon-making plant in Bullitt County. The company argues that despite permitting the workers to use the bathroom during lunchtime and two other times during the day, employees keep pushing for freedom for unscheduled access to the restrooms. The company reported that most unscheduled visits are motivated by smoking habits. On the other hand, workers are anxious about losing their jobs due to the companies’ tight policies. The general problem addressed in this research paper is that employees should be flexible enough to adhere to the company policy of scheduled washroom access, which results in productivity and job security.
Key Words: Human relations, organization, employees, employers, company policies, productivity, working conditions, job security, workplace, theories, Labor unions, scheduled breaks
Key Roles and Organizational Issues
Ideally, for any organization to thrive, both workers and company management must be satisfied with each other. Since workers form the fundamental aspect of organizations, it is safe to say organizations have a moral responsibility to ensure their well-being. According to Scott & Davis (2007), organizations are shaped by social-political-cultural factors. For instance, the federal government can and has enforced policies that mandate organizations to provide restroom facilities and personal protective gear and not to fire employees without notice or unlawfully. On the cultural front, organizations are required to act ethically without undermining human dignity and environmental protection. The Bible upholds leadership attributes from Jesus, such as compassion; this challenges organizations to lead organizations by serving them.
Furthermore, it is understandable that for a workforce to be productive, the employees need to be serviced with resources that keep them stress-free. According to the federal laws, employers must provide restroom facilities for employees. Installing washrooms is one step to ensuring a practical and comfortable work environment. However, it is one thing to install facilities and another to allow the accessibility of such areas. For instance, Krystal Ditto asserts that it is unreasonable for a 36-year-old woman to justify her need to use the washroom and has been warned against unscheduled restroom visits. The company is adamant that after being disciplined, workers will lose their jobs after six incidents, which in its essence, has kept the whole workforce on tenterhooks.
However, when the company faces organizational issues, production, and organizational culture are disrupted. Workers use their representatives to air demands while the company, through their spoke person, states the stands that the company is willing to negotiate. Therefore, it is important to diagnose the case considering both narratives to settle for a middle ground; however, eventually, one party will have to compromise for any decision to be practically implemented. Using specific theories and personal perspectives, this section of the research paper will analyze Jim Bean’s case scenario and give recommendations.
Specific Theory
Unfortunately, it is uncomfortable to hear that workers wear protective undergarments for fear of losing their job if they ever visit the washrooms outside the stipulated time. According to Hussain et al. (2019), the Neo-classical theory views behavioural aspects of workers as motivations for effectiveness, which makes human relations a critical factor for management to consider while construing organizational policies. On the other hand, the classical theory emphasizes scientific and bureaucratic managerial practices with a central motive of maximizing efficiency. From a human relation perspective, liberating employees from strict organizational policies will motivate employees even more. In the case scenario of Jim Beam, the issue of the restrooms is informal; viewing this from the perspective of neoclassical theory, employees should get unrestricted access to washrooms.
However, it is only sometimes true that workers will be motivated if their employers meet all their social and psychological needs. Allegedly, the company permits scheduled access to the restrooms as per the urologist. Moreover, it is reported that employees took advantage of the liberty to access the washrooms for behaviours such as smoking freely. According to Araújo et al. (2020), cognitive behaviour theory states that human thought, emotions, and behaviours are interconnected. Therefore, if workers train to visit the bathroom every two hours at home on the weekend, they will progressively train their minds to adapt and stay within the schedule. Workers need to challenge their personal attributes, such as stress tolerance, in such circumstances. Concerning human relations, the company has done an excellent job of installing restrooms and setting aside time to access them.
Personal Perspective
From a logical perspective, it is good that the company holds its ground since they offer reasonable employee breaks. However, workers with medical conditions should get a leeway provided they notify the management and support their request with doctors’ written recommendations. The assumption is that rotating off the line for unproductive habits such as smoking is a disservice to the organization, especially if the organization is adequately meeting other responsibilities, such as good working conditions and timely salary payment. According to Al-Hawari et al. (2020), employees can use attributes such as stress tolerance to get through emotional exhaustion for their well-being. Workers need to be flexible enough to individually discipline themselves, not to overburden the organization in their quest for wellness programs at the workplace. Moreover, if workers are given liberties, they should be accountable and utilize such privileges with integrity.
Conclusion
Labour unions have reprimanded companies through protests over the past years regarding poor working conditions and wages. Due to the constant strikes in corporations, most organizations have, over the past years, improved the working environment for their worker’s sake. Business organizations have done away with some aspects of classical theories and adopted more human relations in the work environment. Therefore, in the case of Jim Beam, the company has ensured a positive work environment by providing restroom facilities. Despite complaints from workers, pushing the company for more freedom in the workplace might eventually roll to the other side of productivity, considering workers who abandon their posts for unnecessary breaks. Finally, it is the company’s responsibility to ensure employees’ wellness. Similarly, it is the responsibility of the employees to refrain from taking advantage of the privileges and rights at the workplace.
References
Al-Hawari, M. A., Bani-Melhem, S., & Quratulain, S. (2020). Do frontline employees cope effectively with abusive supervision and customer incivility? Testing the effect of employee resilience. Journal of Business and Psychology, 35, 223-240. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10869-019-09621-2
Araújo, D., Davids, K., & Renshaw, I. (2020). Cognition, emotion, and action in sport: an ecological dynamics perspective. Handbook of sport psychology, 535-555. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119568124.ch25
Hussain, N., HAQUE, A. U., & Baloch, A. (2019). Management theories: The contribution of contemporary management theorists in tackling contemporary management challenges. Yaşar Üniversitesi E-Dergisi, 14, 156-169. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/jyasar/article/635061
Scott, W. R., & Davis, G. F. (2007). Organizations and organizing. Rational, natural, and open system perspectives. Upper Saddle River: Pearson. https://toc.library.ethz.ch/objects/pdf_ead50/5/E57_010819571_TB-Index_006088078.pdf
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