Do You Value or Exploit Your Employees?

A recent headline in the Independent caught my attention “Union hails huge win firing and rehiring fight.” I am sure I’m not the only one who read the full article to understand what this was all about. The court ruled in favour of the union and employees who Tesco were planning to fire and then rehire with less favourable terms.

The judge said “The practice of firing and rehiring staff on less favourable terms and conditions has been in widespread use over the last 18 months as employers try to erode rights that have been hard fought for and are there to protect some of the lowest paid in society.”

Whilst this case was about 42 employees in thousands who, I understand from the article, Tesco was trying to bring their conditions in line with other employees, it does not matter. What matters is that the voice of the employees was heard and the unfairness and potential exploitation of these employees highlighted and halted to benefit other employers who might be thinking to do the same.

What are the deeper impacts of this management decision and consequent legal action on the business, these employees and Tesco employees as a whole?

We hear almost every day about the difficulty to get staff in the market for various job roles. It was only this week in PM Daily the headline: “Firms will have to work even harder to attract talent as unemployment falls.”  And on 10 February “In house development for young workers is essential for business survival.” Often one of the reasons sighted is Brexit and the lack of EU workers to fill these and many other positions due to visa constraints. Perhaps this has some impact?  Could the way management have historically and in many cases continue to treat personnel in organisations have a large role to play here? The continual exploitation through the use of contracts that jump through every loop in the labour law to minimise the cost on the organisation has surely got a large role to play?  Why are Tesco and let’s face it, Tesco is not the only employer unable to see further than the end of the month to provide to their employees what they themselves seek – job security, fair pay for a day’s work, possibility to learn new things, to grow within the organisation and to feel trusted and supported by their managers?

Why is it that the less skilled jobs, which are critical in most organisations because when no one is doing them the organisation grinds to a halt, are more often the ones that are exploited through these loopholes? Surely if a position/role is important, whether someone is stocking shelves, waiting on table, dishwashing, cleaning, driving or caring that management policy, decision making and day to day leadership would take care of these valuable people who turn up willingly and reliably for their shift every day?

I seem to have more questions than answers. Where this is leading is to highlight the link between mental and physical health and therefore absenteeism and sickness and overall performance and productivity of the organisation.

Consider the following results from the survey published in April 2021 by CIPD. Excluding Covid figures, the chart illustrates the top four reasons for absence:

Conclusions we might draw from this survey of which I am sure there are many more to be extrapolated from this and many other similar survey,

• Stress if not addressed in the short term will lead to longer term absence.
• Mental ill-health escalates to long term absence when not addressed in the short term
• Minor illnesses as listed here may not be the true reason for absence, as employees are often afraid of telling their employer that they are suffering with mental ill-health, therefore increasing the loading on long-term figures of stress and mental ill-health.  2019/20 Labour Force Survey shows a clear upward trend in this area of sickness and absenteeism 

Returning to the Tesco situation - How much stress and anxiety has this case against these 42 employees caused them, their families and their co-workers?

Whilst not giving full explanation behind my conclusions, leaving you some thinking space, in my opinion and experience:

1.      Happy, secure employees give of their best

2.      Happy well employees don't take sick pay and aren’t absent unless something is truly wrong with their health or the health of a family member that demands their attention.

3.      Happy, secure and well employees might be challenged and stressed on occasions, but they do not suffer anxiety and depression due to constant overwhelm, crisis management, poor leadership and lack of human support.

4.      The reputation of an organisation is not formed by the company PR campaigns – that is the glossy brochure. Company image and reputation is created by its employees and ex-employees - those that got out because they were fed-up with being under-valued and exploited. Ask an ex-employee or a current employee whether they like/d working for your company and you will always get the real story.

5.      When the reputation of your company, or sadly industry as a whole, such as the hospitality industry has been dished, only the very desperate or those using the job to their own advantage to the next position or to pay off their student loan, will want to work for you. When HR tells you hiring is really difficult as the market is flat right now, think about how you and your leadership have contributed to the poor reputation of the industry and/or your company, before blaming the lack of candidates on Brexit, Covid or something else.

6.      People do not just work for a salary, they work for many different reasons such as teamwork, relations with colleagues, security of the company and location which is convenient for their children’s schooling etc. When senior management make such moves as Tesco did, you don't only damage the relationship with those employees by breaking down trust, but you de-motivate which results in employees not caring about the organisation, the results, and of course the relationship with the customers. In all honesty why should they care when they’ve just been stabbed in the back by their employer?

What needs to be done to LOVE our employees so that they love us, love the customers and love the organisation?

L – Listen to them unconditionally and learn from what they are saying. The majority of our employees are either directly fronting the customer or are supporting those that are. Everyone in the chain is a customer!

O – be open about goals, challenges, performance, achievements, non-achievements etc. Everyone in the organisation needs to feel they can share ideas, opinions and difficulties and receive recognition and support in doing that. Give each and everyone regular positive feedback and constructive, negative feedback when required, always with the view to reinforcing desired behaviour.

V – Share the company vision and values, the direction and the goals with each and everyone. More importantly lead by example and live the company values in day-to-day practice through processes, decisions, actions and insights. Don't just play lip-service to them.

E – energise through teamwork, fun, humour and authentic leadership that demonstrates humility, openness and gratitude. Remember 2+2 = 5, and that costs nothing!

Employees who are loved, will love in return, raising performance, productivity and the reputation of your company making leadership easier, more dynamic and exciting as you and your organisation forge ahead leaving others in your wake.

Productivity and Wellbeing is a course that has been created to address many of these stress-related issues by helping individuals understand factors that are causing feelings of stress and perhaps even anxiety and to provide tools to manage these issues with the overall goal of developing a healthy work-life integration so that both your employees and the organisation thrives and prospers.

Find out more about the course here.