Job Security Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Return to Work

Balancing health, home, family, work:

With this purpose, this research paper probes into the methods, mechanisms that policies managers may utilize in the quest to facilitate employee leave and return to work. As this is a subject that deals with policies that may have a resounding impact on the welfare of both the company and it's employees, hence it is necessary that we take into account the psychological and emotional needs of individuals as discussed in the theories of Maslow, Herzberg and McClelland. This proposal shall demonstrate the beneficial aspects of leave policy implementation, as none exists at this point and prove that just a little consideration on the part of the management can turn any company's ventures into a roaring success.

THEORETICAL SUCCESS OF THE PROPOSAL:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that each need must be satisfied in turn starting with the most basic physiological needs and proceeding to the higher order needs like safety, belongingness and love, esteem and Self-Actualization in the exact order as mentioned. I shall give an example, which would remain coherent through out the discussion of other theories to prove the theoretical success of my proposal even in situations where the organization is relatively small and does not have a sufficient population of employees. Consider the example of the company bookkeeper diagnosed with cancer, facing two months of recovery. The bookkeeper has no vacation available and is unable to work during that time. It is now the duty of the manager to help him through the first stage of the Hierarchy of Needs i.e. The physiological needs. This can be done by implementing...

In doing so, not only will he be helping the employee attain the satisfaction of higher levels of the hierarchy but also the trust of other employees which can be an asset to any company. This trust would help him in not only earning the gratitude and loyalty of his employees but also substitutes eager to please the management that is concerned about the welfare of its employees.
Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory:

He identified

Motivator factors-which created satisfaction

Hygiene or maintenance factors -- which created dissatisfaction

In order to implement the Herzberg's theory we must begin with the hygiene factors that cause dissatisfaction, which are not to be confused with motivator factors that have an altogether different set of reasons for the satisfaction they provide. Company and administrative policies can be a huge source of frustration for the employees when they aren't accommodating enough. As in the example of the bookkeeper, allowing him a medical leave for a duration of two months would remove the hygiene factors causing discomfort and if in addition to this the employee is ensured of being taken back once he recovers then this would result in the increase of his motivator factors by making him feel that his work is important and meaningful. This would result in greater efficiency and satisfaction of the employee and a gloating success for the company.

McClelland's Theory of Needs:

McClelland's Theory of Needs states that a person's motivation or effectiveness in certain jobs is influenced by three factors, which are

Achievement,

Affiliation

Power

It's up to the…