Issues in the Work Placefrom An Employer’s Perspective of their employees

Last week, I addressed the fact that no TCI Islander should be unemployed and so this week we will address some issues in the work place from an employer’s perspective of their employees. (Please note that in a future article, I will address some concerns that employees have of their employers) I am aware that some work environments need a major improvement so that employees can perform effectively, however, there are some environments that are very conducive for excellent performance but yet some employers have major issues regarding their employees.

Tardiness
Employees are being paid for working a certain number of hours in a day. It is unfair to an employer when an employee shows up to work late and thenleaves work exactly on time. When it comes to lunch time, In the private sector, the duration for lunch is normally an hour and in the public sector, the lunch break is for an hour and a half and yet employees continue to take more than the allocated time for lunch. Employees should make every effort to come to work a few minutes before the start time and leave after the time ends. Employees should empathize with the employer’s position on tardiness. How would you feel if you were the employer and your employees are showing up to work late? How would you react? I believe employees must inform the supervisor at all times if they plan to be late and if they are late, they should make up that time either during lunch break or at the end of the day. In addition, if you have to pick up your children from school in the afternoons, shorten your lunch break or modify your lunch break with your supervisor to coincide with the time to pick up your children.

Use of Cell Phone, other gadgets and the Internet
Another major issue is the excessive use of the cell phone (unrelated to the work being performed) during working hours. I know that there are many parents in the workplace and so the phones are in their possession at all times in cases of emergencies. However, without any cases of emergencies, employees are on the phone taking away time from their work. Basically, employees are being paid to be on facebook, WhatsApp, other social media and watching movies and being on the internet while at work. Multitasking is a challenge and not everyone can do it. How can you perform effectively on job and provide your employer with the correct number of hours when you spend a lot of time on the phone and internet? I know the use of the phone can be addictive (trust me I know) but some control must be in place. The use of phones and internet for personal use should be usedonly during lunch hours or any breaks your employers may provide.This type of behavior on the job is a distraction and will impact your productivity.If this excessive use continues, soon employers may be force to implement harsh policies on the use of phones or take drastic disciplinary actions.

Confidentiality
Recently, I recalled details about two of the TCIG’S vendors that went viral on the social media. I thought that was so inappropriate and should not have been tolerated. Employees must maintain confidentiality regarding sensitive information about the company even if you are no longer an employee. Simply put, the company’s data it is none of your business and it should not be anyone else business. All employers should ensure that all employees sign a confidentiality agreement and if there is any violation of the agreement, disciplinary action should take place. If competitive information or personal information gets in the wrong hands, it can be detrimental to a company or individual. The rule of thumb is “mind your own business”.

Loyalty to the Company
I believe you should not badmouth the company that you work for.If you do, perhaps are you on the wrong job. Some employees are bold enough to even vent their issues about their employer on social media. Potential employers are observing you and will not want to hire you. Your current employer is also observing you and will not want to keep you as an employee.
You should be an ambassador for your company at all times. Learn as much as you can about your company and promote your company. If you hear complaints about your company and you can make a difference, take the initiative and make the changes even if it is not part of your duties. If you cannot make the change, inform the appropriate individuals who can make the change so that it takes place. Take ownership of that task and ensure that the change is done.

Conclusion
There are other issues that employers face such as lying about being sick, negative attitudes, lack of professionalism, just working for a paycheck and not taking the initiatives to learn about other areas on the job. However, I believe the aforementioned issues are the top three issues. Employees I am aware that you too have issues with your employer that I will address in a future article. However, the onus is on you to be wise on your job and exceed the expectations of your employer.