Investments Job secure work courses

Job Security is an assurance that an individual will keep his or her job without the risk of becoming unemployed. S/he will have continuity in employment and it may be from the terms of a contract of employment, collective bargaining agreement, or labor legislation that prevents arbitrary termination.

Assurance (or lack of it) that an employee has about the continuity of gainful employment for his or her work life. Job security usually arises from the terms of the contract of employment, collective bargaining agreement, or labor legislation that prevents arbitrary termination, layoffs, and lockouts. It may also be affected by general economic conditions.

Employee job Security

Employers must not overlook the importance of offering employees long-term job security, as this allows employees to feel secure in their work and makes them more willing to contribute more time and effort to their companies.

With greater job security, employees would be more eager to think of novel ideas for enhancing the competitiveness of their companies in their field and in society.

Ultimately, this is beneficial to the companies and would greatly improve overall performance. Thus, offering long-term job security for employees could be viewed by companies as a means to motivate workers and increase productivity. It is in fact more important than salary alone.

Salaries can always be increased when contracts are negotiated and renewed at the end of every contracted period. Although some may argue that a high salary could motivate employees to work harder and put in extra hours, as well as compensating them for their efforts during office hours, pay alone is no guarantee of satisfaction or fulfillment. Even employees on a high salary might not truly contribute much to a business they don’t feel part of. Jobseekers are more concerned about the availability of, and being able to secure, long-term employment than just a satisfactory income.

Human Resource Investment Considerations

Several factors will be considered in the discussion of strategic human resource investment decisions. As noted earlier, these will include management’s values, views of risk, the economic rationale for investment in training, utility theory, and alternatives to human resou1rce investments. Investments in training are covered in this section because they are fundamental to the formation of human capital. Firms also invest in many other human resource practices with the expectation that there will be impacts on performance and financial returns.

Management Values

Fundamental values must be addressed in many human resource issues, particularly those involved in major strategic initiatives. When senior managers formulate and implement strategies, their values and philosophies are communicated to members of the organization through human resource policies and practices.

For example, senior managers who are committed to the preservation of the organization’s human resources can manage the stress associated with major strategic events, through such measures as dealing with rumors and providing accurate information, so that mis-information does not have such a debilitating impact on employees.

Risk and Return on Investment

Although there are a number of important benefits to investments in human resources, such investments contain an element of risk. Investing in human resources is inherently more risky than investing in physical capital because the employer does not own the resource. Employees are free to leave, although contractual arrangements may limit their mobility. In order for investments in human resources to be attractive, the returns must be great enough to overcome the risks. Further, for some investments, such as cash outlays to maintain no-layoff policies, the benefits are not easily quantified and there are meaningful costs. Decision makers have to be prepared to trade off current costs for long-term strategic benefits, such as a more flexible, committed workforce and related positive aspects of the organizational culture to which such policies contribute.

Investment in Management Development

The continued development of managerial personnel is a critical strategic issue in most organizations and a particularly difficult challenge given the massive shifts in strategy. Before considering management development, it is useful to quickly review some evolving and forecasted trends in the managerial environment. It is clear that organizations are becoming less hierarchical and that many middle-management positions have been eliminated. Further, larger numbers of workers are better educated and many are professionals. As a result, they expect to participate more in decision making. In the future, more work is expected to be performed in task force or project teams, power will be shared, managerial status will be deemphasized, and leadership responsibilities may be rotated. Because of the participative aspect of these empowerment trends, many professionals and highly educated employees may have more exposure to managerial responsibilities and may develop related skills as a natural part of their work.

Job Enrichment and Job Satisfaction

Job-enrichment practices, such as those building in increased responsibility or autonomy, knowledge of results, meaningful work, knowledge of how assigned tasks contribute to the greater activity of the larger organization, and skill variety, have been found to produce moderate reductions in turnover. Practices that enhance job latitude and job satisfaction also have a positive impact on employee retention. However, when high-performing employees feel undervalued, they tend to have higher turnover rates. Another company from Fortune top 100 companies provides a good example of the retention effects of job enrichment and job satisfaction:

“Being at a good company is like having a good wife,” says Floyd Williams, a senior production manager at sports gear maker K2 (No. 52), who gushes about the opportunity to work on as many as 25 projects at a time. “When you get used to a certain level of freedom and excitement, you don’t want to leave.” In fact, none of Williams’ three marriages has lasted as long as his 28-year career with the company. “One wife told me it was either K2 or me. And I said, ‘Well, I’m not leaving K2!’