In simple terms Employee Grievance means any type of disappointment or unhappiness arising out of factors related to an employee’s job which he/she thinks unfair. A grievance can be factual, imaginary or disguised. In order to understand the word Grievance more clearly, it is necessary to understand the differences among the words disappointment, complaint and grievance.
- Disappointment- Anything that disturbs an employee, whether it is expressed in words or not
- Complaint- a spoken or written dissatisfaction brought to the attention of your immediate supervisor
- Grievance- a complaint that has been formally presented to a management representative or to a union official
Causes of Grievance
There are number of factors which can be caused for employee dissatisfaction and unhappiness at the work place. Below are some of the Causes of grievance:1. Unachievable and Irrational Targets and Standards
2. Inadequate Wages and Bonus
3. Bad Working Conditions
4. Inadequate Health and Safety Measures
5. Layoffs and Retrenchment
6. Lack of Career Planning and Employee Development Plan
Effects of Grievance
On Production
a. Low quality productionb. Low Productivity
c. Increase in wastage of material
d. Increase in the cost of production
e. Unnecessary delay in production
On Employees
a. Increase in conflicts among employeesb. Increase in the rate of absenteeism and turnover
c. Increase the number of accidents
d. Reduction in employee morale and commitment
On the Managers
a. Strained superior –subordinate relationsb. Increase in indiscipline cases
c. Increase in the degree of supervision and control
d. Increase in labor unrest
e. How to Handle a Grievance
Grievance Handling Procedure
Grievance affects not only the employee and the manager but also the organization as a whole. Therefore the manager should immediately identify all grievances and must take appropriate steps to eliminate the causes of such grievances so that the employees remain loyal and committed to their work. So following are the approaches that the management could adopt to manage grievance effectively.
- Quick action- As soon as the grievance arises, it should be identified and resolved. Training must be given to the managers to effectively and timely manage a grievance. This will lower the detrimental effects of grievance on the employees and their performance.
- Acknowledging grievance- The manager must acknowledge the grievance put forward by the employee as manifestation of true and real feelings of the employees. Acknowledgement by the manager implies that the manager is eager to look into the complaint impartially and without any bias.
- Gathering facts- The managers should gather appropriate and sufficient facts explaining the grievance’s nature. A record of such facts must be maintained so that these can be used in later stage of grievance redressal.
- Examining the causes of grievance- The actual cause of grievance should be identified. Accordingly remedial actions should be taken to prevent repetition of the grievance.
- Taking a decision- After identifying the causes of grievance, alternative course of actions should be thought of to manage the grievance. The effect of each course of action on the existing and future management policies and procedure should be analyzed and accordingly decision should be taken by the manager.
- Execution and review- The manager should execute the decision quickly, ignoring the fact, that it may or may not hurt the employees concerned. After implementing the decision, a follow-up must be there to ensure that the grievance has been resolved completely and adequately.
An effective way of grievance handling ensures an amiable and pleasant work environment because it redresses the grievance to mutual satisfaction of both the employees and the managers. It also helps the management to frame policies and procedures acceptable to the employees. It becomes an effective medium for the employees to express their feelings, discontent and dissatisfaction openly and formally.
References
https://www.geektonight.com/grievance-handling/
https://www.slideshare.net/chamikrish/grievance-handling-and-grievance-procedure
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