First day on the job: employee experiences and workplace integration

¶ … Job

The factors relating to the employee's dissatisfaction in this case have to do with the lack of fulfillment the employee feels. From the brief discussion Malik had with the employee, a lack of fulfillment and too much "busywork" that the employee did not feel was getting her toward her goals were the main problems. If there are other reasons for the employee's dissatisfaction, they were not brought up during the time the two were interacting, but it is clear that more information is needed by Malik in order to better determine what course of action to take in the future. Because Malik had been told that the employee was a good one, losing that employee to something highly preventable could be a serious blow to the company and how it operates. Some managers would simply let a dissatisfied employee leave, but human resources is about more than just providing paychecks and health insurance information. It is also about ensuring that employees who are struggling with issues in the workplace are treated fairly and provided with help (Holton & Trott, 1996).

Management and human resources may be two different departments, but human resources is not really just a department in the company. Companies that take their employees seriously and that offer them support and encouragement are more likely to retain those employees in the future (Nadler, 1984). If Malik wants to retain a good employee, it will be necessary to find out the root cause of the employee's difficulties. He will need to talk to the employee and see what she may be going through in order to formulate a plan that he can use to help her. If she is dissatisfied with the level of work she receives that can be adjusted, and she may also be able to be provided some work that is more challenging and that allows her to exercise what she already knows how to do and to build her skills so that she can potentially move up in the company.

If Malik was able to address just one of the factors that are causing the employee's dissatisfaction and that would relate to the way the organization handles development, one of the best things he could do would be to look into the potential for upward movement in the organization. If people who are working for a company have learned all they need to know and have mastered their job, is there potential for them to move to a new level in the company? If they are truly stuck in what they would term a "dead-end job," where is the incentive to continue with that company? Career advancement is important, and people who have no career opportunities rarely give their all to the organization for which they work (McLean, Osman-Gani, & Cho, 2004). Some people are quite happy to remain at one level, but it is clear that Malik's employee does not feel that way. The woman must know her job and perform it very well, because she comes highly recommended as a good employee. However, keeping her may be difficult.

The fact that she was willing to express her frustration to Malik on his first day as her manager may also be a cry for help, of sorts. She may want to stay with the company and is hoping that a new manager can offer her something more than the work to which she has been exposed in the past. Malik could address this by allowing her to move up, recommending her for promotion, or promoting her himself if he has the authority to do so. Any kind of promotion might entice her to stay, and if she cannot be promoted (due to a lack of vacancies or other reasons), than Malik may want to work with her to find something else she can do that will be fulfilling. Perhaps she can get involved with other teams or committees, or an assistant can be hired to help her with the work that she finds so unfulfilling, so she can help the company with work she finds more interesting and challenging. Ultimately, there are many options for employees when management wishes to retain them.

Tomorrow, Malik should meet with the employee and should really listen to what she has to say about the job she is doing and the problems she has with that job. He should also evaluate her current position, whether there are other positions to which she could move and in which she would be interested, and her past work record in order to determine how strongly he wishes to retain her as an employee. If she is not the only employee who is complaining of this kind of problem, long-term changes need to be made within the company. These changes include better opportunities for promotion for all individuals in the company, along with workloads that are reasonable and that keep people interested in what they are doing on a daily basis. Employees who like their jobs are much more likely to do those jobs well (Holton & Trott, 1996; McLean, Osman-Gani, & Cho, 2004).