Labor Relations

A recent article I read showed some companies received the highest ratings by employees based on investing in their employees’ well being, whether it was valuing their loyalty, investing in training or providing an environment with good work life balance.

A long time ago when I studied management science, a course entitled organizational behavior covered issues related to managing humans which showed people behave how you treat them or how they are expected to behave. For example, the study showed that if you treat people (let’s say employees) with respect and trust them in a way that most people wish to be trusted, most of the time, their behavior will be consistent with how they are treated.

It is not disputed that labor relations in the United States is getting out of hand with conflicts at the work place, through the roof, litigation increasing, whether based on wrongful termination, wages disputes or discrimination related claims. Most of these conflicts can be prevented or at worst resolved long before they reach the court house or even a labor attorney. How?

Any good business is based on having the right people working for it so it is key to have a good fit between labor and management, whether it’s based on having the same values or work ethics, correct pay and benefits. If this relationship starts on the right foot, it can be built on. It is no surprise that the longest running relationships at work are based on people who like each other; those long term working relationships are not built on the best resumes. Of course, a likeable employee should also be able to do the job.

Wouldn’t it be nice if most businesses could have a 30-90 day probationary period for a new employee to work on before there would be a long term commitment to see there would be a good fit for them to proceed to a more long term relationship?

More and more employers are hiring problem solvers and people with “personalities” than graduates of top schools! See recent comment by Elon Musk on how he looks to hire people who can articulate how they solved problems.

CONFLICT PREVENTION AND RESOLUTION

Once employed, there is no guarantee everyone will get along or everyone would do their job well. So when it comes to conflict, why not prevent conflict than wait to resolve it once it’s too late?

It is highly recommended to consult or hire an inhouse labor dispute resolution person or an outside mediator before things get out of hand. For decades the U.S. companies have relied on HR “human resources,” an oxymoron. First off, HR never taps into human resources. If anything they are usually trained to document a “trouble employee” with the goal to terminate with the lowest chance of a lawsuit in the horizon or a high chance of success if one is ever filed. For more information see www.employment-adr.com

With multi million dollar verdicts being common place in liberal leaning U.S. states, especially California, a little investment ahead of time would provide both peace of mind and a lock on endless legal fees. California Labor and employment defense attorneys bill at rates close to $600 per hour for garden variety labor disputes , not to mention the cost of liability insurance for coverage and defense.