ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT TRAINING FOR WORKERS

DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS AND WORKERS FOR THE PROTECTION OF BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT

CONTEXT

The employment relationship between the employer and the employed is a two-way street.

Both are to play their respective roles in the relationship so that a healthy and viable enterprise is created and sustained for the mutual benefit of both the EMPLOYER and the WORKER.

It does appear that for far too long the focus has been on the rights of workers, i.e. what they must get from employment without equal emphasis on what they must give to employment.

Thus, while workers know and insist that employers abide by the responsibilities and duties owed them by employers, they do not seem to know, understand or appreciate the duties and responsibilities they owe employment, hence the need for this training.

The Labour Law, Act 651, provides the framework regarding the duties and rights of WORKERS and EMPLOYERS and those actions of workers that undermine the PROTECTION OF BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT.

This training will examine and explain thoroughly the duties of workers to employment and in addition examine workers actions that undermine viability of business and protection of employment.

INTRODUCTORY QUOTES

THE UNTRAPPED MIND

The “untrapped mind” is open enough to see many possibilities, humble enough to learn from anyone and anything, forbearing enough to forgive all, perceptive enough to see things as they really are, and reasonable enough to judge their true value. Konosuke MatsushitaFounder of Matsushita (Panasonic)

ATTITUDE OF LEARNING

“If we are willing to learn, everything in this world can be our teacher”……….Matsushita

WHY EMPLOYMENT?

THE WORKER: Because of livelihood/income: Ourselves Our dependants

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Employment provides standard of livingHousehold consumer durables TV Furniture Fridges Good vacation Personal means of transport Medical benefit

Confers respect and recognition from society. A worker of VALCO.

THE EMPLOYER Investment protection Return on investment Profit Contribution to society

IMPLICATIONS: Employment is critical for income generation Employers, workers and society benefit from work/income generation

Therefore: Employers and workers must ensure (go the extra mile) to protect employment

WORKERS/UNION ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOURS THAT TEND TO UNDERMINE EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION

THEY MANIFEST IN TWO FORMS: - UNORGANIZED AND ORGANIZED

UNORGANISED Careless use of tools and equipment Damage to company property Loafing Lateness to work Early quitting Refusal to obey legitimate instructions of management Excessive absenteeism Withholding of effort Inefficient working Pilfering/Stealing of company property

ORGANISED: - BUSINESS KILLERS Working without enthusiasm Non cooperation with management Go slow Verbal and physical assault on management people and fellow employees Overtime refusal Strike or work stoppage

HOW DO THE ABOVE ACTIONS UNDERMINE PROTECTION OF EMPLOYMENT?

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They result in: Inefficient performance

- Individual- Organizational

Collapse of business Damage to company and management property Low productivity High cost of production Loss of production Bottom line Loss of supplies Issues Loss of customers Loss of business to competitors Loss of revenue Unprofitable operations

DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS:

The law specifies the duty of an employer in any contract of employment or collective agreement as follows:

Provide work and appropriate raw materials, machinery, equipment and tools;- challenges with raw materials, machinery and equipment- sometimes suppliers of raw materials do not deliver to the exact specification stated on the

order- sometimes some working tools and equipment may not be readily available

Pay the agreed remuneration at the time and place agreed on in the contract of employment or collective agreement or by custom without any deduction except deductions permitted by law or agreed between the employer and the worker.

Take all practicable steps to ensure that the worker is free from risk of personal injury or damage to his or her health during and in the course of the worker’s employment or while lawfully on the employer’s premises.- all practicable steps- the health and safety of workers is key and should be the concern of management- production targets must be met without employee injuries and equipment damage

Develop the human resources by way of training and retraining of the workers;- training must start from the time of hiring- all managers must assist in orienting new hires to the vision, mission and the strategic

objectives of the organization at plant level and departmental level- all managers must assist in orienting new workers into the organization’s values, beliefs and

culture of doing things- training in skills and competencies- training in safety

Provide and ensure the operation of an adequate procedure for disciplining workers;

- need to build a disciplined workforce/organization- people need to know the limits of their authority- educate workers in the rules- people do not take the law with their own hands- avoid authoritarian environment

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Furnish the worker with a copy of the worker’s contract of employment; Keep open the channels of communication with the workers;

- top down and down top- horizontal- create an atmosphere for candid feedback from the workers- educate the workers on business issues- update them on challenges facing the organization and also successes

Protect the interest of the workers.- be concerned about the safety of workers- concerned about the conditions of service and work environment- secure the long term employment of workers- take strategic decisions that secure the business

DUTIES OF THE WORKERS

The law specifies the duties of a worker in any contract of employment as follows:

WORK CONSCIENTIOUSLY IN THE LAWFULLY CHOSEN OCCUPATION

“We live to work well, to work with purpose, to work with honesty and quality and artistry” Napoleon Hill

work diligently work with our heart work with our minds do our work with the purpose of turning not only quantities but also quality goods, etc.

REPORT FOR WORK REGULARLY AND PUNCTUALLY Irregular attendance at work/lateness creates planning and scheduling problems results in unmet targets behaviour undermines employment and business protection.

ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY have an attitude of doing the impossible exercise self discipline/take care of your self and health be goal oriented minimize distractions look at setbacks as learning opportunities plan your work to do first have a positive frame of mind for achievement set and rank your priorities de-stress, avoid burnout

EXERCISE DUE CARE IN THE EXECUTION OF ASSIGNED WORK pay attention to your work/avoid absent mindedness be concerned about what you should do provide guardianship be careful enough not to endanger people and equipment exercise prudence exercise care (ordinary and high degree) good judgment

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reasonable precautions

OBEY LAWFUL INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THE ORGANISATION AND EXECUTION OF HIS OR HER WORK recognize management/supervisors/designate as the legitimate source of authority to provide direction and issue instructions they have the authority to issue the orders governance/command and control structures

TAKE ALL REASONABLE CARE FOR THE SAFETY AND HEALTH OF FELLOW WORKERS not only enough that they work safely they must pay attention to the safety of fellow workers new workers, old workers transferred to new environments be interested in how fellow workers go about their work engage in voluntary, informal behavior that contributes to organizational effectiveness,

organizational citizenship behaviors.

PROTECT THE INTERESTS OF THE EMPLOYER ownership orientation understand the needs and situations of the organization love the organization identify with and bear with the organization in times of difficulties care for the organization demonstrate care e.g. limit demands on the organization orientation towards the organization in relation to the organization, we behave, act, think what we would like done to our

own organization Who will sabotage/subvert his own organization?

TAKE PROPER CARE OF THE PROPERTY OF THE EMPLOYER ENTRUSTED TO THE WORKER OR UNDER THE IMMEDIATE CONTROL OF THE WORKER resources/financial equipment/materials time

TWO KEY CONCEPTSORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOUR Voluntary, informal behavior that contributes to organizational effectiveness behavior is voluntary, it is not included in job description behavior is spontaneous behavior is unlikely to be explicitly picked up and rewarded by the performance evaluation

system behavior contributes to organizational performance and effectiveness

Various forms of Organizational Citizenship Behavior might take a helping behavior, offering assistance to others conscientiousness to the details of work being a good sport, lift your head when inevitable frustrations of organized life crop up courtesy and cooperation

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ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT an attitude that reflects the strength of the linkage between an employee and an organization

affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment

GOING THE EXTRA MILE

Render more and better service than that for which you are paid, and sooner or later you will receive compound interest from your investment. For it is inevitable that every seed of useful service you sow will multiply itself and come back to you in overwhelming abundance. NAPOLEON HILL

The law of reaping increased returns by rendering more and better service than that for which you are paid is one of the basic laws of nature and has been recognized by scientists and philosophers for centuries.

Going the extra mile means willingly, of your own accord, rendering more and better service than that for which you are paid, without hope of immediate or direct compensation or reward.

“There is no way to hold down people who spend their spare time preparing to render greater and better service for others. These persons go right to the top of their profession or calling as naturally as a cork rise to the top of water.”

THE LAW OF COMPENSATION AND INCREASING RETURNS

There are two important laws with which you should become familiar.

One is the law of compensation and the other is the law of increasing returns.

Mankind is dependent upon the operation of these two laws for its very life. If the farmer did not comply with them he could produce no food.

Let us see how he must necessarily observe these laws plus the principle of going the extra mile, whether he consciously recognises it or not.

The farmer must clear the soil of trees and shrubs. Then he must plough, harrow and fertilize where necessary. After this he must put seed in the soil. He must mix intelligence with his labour, observing the proper season of the year for planting,

the correct method of crop culture, and the right irrigation and cultivation techniques.

With these steps completed, he had done all he can do. Up to this point he has not been paid for his labour. He has literally done more than he has been paid for: Now he must wait for nature to germinate the seed and time to elapse, during which growth occurs and a crop is produced.If the farmer has performed his labour intelligently, nature will reward him through the law of compensation, by which she neither permits any living thing to get something for nothing, nor allows any form of labour to go unrewarded. This law assures the return of the seed which was planted.

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But with a return of the seed alone, nothing would have been gained by the process, and no food could be produced for man or beast.

There must be another law operating at the same time. It is the law of increasing returns, for there is an increase in the amount planted. Nature gives back to the farmer the seed he planted in the ground plus a margin of many times the amount of seed. This is his reward for having done more than he was temporarily paid for. This unvarying law always rewards intelligent effort rendered in the attitude of faith, and rendered unstintingly without regard to the limits of immediate compensation.

Now you can understand the statement that this strategic principle of rendering more and better service than one is presently paid for is not a man-made law.

BENEFITS OF DOING MORE THAN YOU ARE PAID FOR:

Going the extra mile calls the law of increasing returns into action.

This means that the quality and quantity of the service you give will come back greatly multiplied – if you have rendered this service with the right mental attitude.

Sometimes your increased return may not come back in cedis at all but in increased opportunity for you to get ahead – promotion, or the making of a new friend or group of friends. It may come to you in a variety of forms, but always in increased ration.

There is another law which is the converse of the law of increasing returns. This is the law of diminishing returns.

If you render service beyond that for which you are paid, or go extra mile, unwillingly or with some other form of negative mental attitude, this law will come into play and you will get back very much less than your effort was worth, and possibly nothing at all.

The habit of doing more than you are paid for causes you to benefit by the law of compensation, through which no act or deed will, or can, be expressed without an equivalent reaction, after its own kind.

To get appreciable results, the application of this rule must be a habit, applied at all times, in all possible ways. You must render the greatest amount of service of which you are capable, and render it in a friendly, positive manner.

And you must do this regardless of your immediate compensation, even if it appears that you will receive no immediate compensation.

Life is a just employer and will willingly pay any wage you set upon your services. Nature will not let you or any other living creature have something for nothing, but she is just as strict in seeing that you do not give something in the form of service for nothing; that is, without adequate compensation.

You must render as much service as you are being paid for, in order to hold your job, or maintain your source of income, whatever it may be.

Lazy and dishonest persons are always trying to unbalance this equation in their own favour. They expect to be paid the same amount of money for an inferior product or a smaller amount

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of service. In other words, they attempt to defy nature’s law and get something for nothing. In the sale of personal services, individuals sometimes endeavour to reduce the hours and quality of service and increase the rate of pay.

This practice cannot be pursued beyond a certain point, because when men collect more for their labour than the value they put into it, they ultimately kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Such a policy is exactly opposite to the principles of doing more than one is paid to do and is not in harmony with the laws of nature.

The habit of doing more than you are paid to do will bring you to the favourable attention of those who have opportunities to offer.

This habit tends to permit you to become indispensable, in many different human relationships, and therefore enables you to command more than average compensation for your services.

While it is true that there may not be such a thing as an indispensable man, yet the word indispensable as it is used here concerns someone who is quite necessary for the functioning of an organization, or business or industry.

The habit of going the extra mile leads to your own mental growth and physical perfection in various forms of service, thereby developing greater ability and skill in your chosen vocation.

It is a well-known fact that both the body and the mind attain efficiency and skill through systematic self-discipline which the habit of going the extra mile causes you to observe. The old adage: Strength and struggle go hand in hand, expresses this very well. Body builders will tell you: NO PAIN, NO GAIN.

Every time you perform an act with the idea that you are going to excel all your previous endeavours, you are really growing. You should never deliver a talk, write a letter, or do any other task whatsoever, without the deliberate intention of doing it better than you have ever done it before. True enough, you may often fail and even fall below the record you have previously set, but to intend to do a thing better than you have ever done it before is a very healthy state of mind, and will ultimately cause you to excel yourself repeatedly.

Soldiering on the job, killing time in the gents, holding the mental attitude; “I’m not being paid enough”, or “That isn’t my job”, are merely ways of defeating yourself. Such attitudes will not pay off!

Remember we are all like apprentices through life. The more committed an apprentice mechanic is, and the more opportunities he seeks to render quality service, the better he becomes when he starts his own workshop.

This habit protects you against the loss of employment and places you in a position to choose your own job and working conditions, in addition to attracting self-promotional opportunities.

Going the extra mile turns the spotlight on you and gives you the benefit of the law of contrast, which is very important in advertising yourself.

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Cheerfully and willingly doing more than you are immediately paid to do leads to the development of a positive, pleasing attitude which is among the more important traits of a pleasing personality.

The habit of rendering more and better service than you are immediately compensated for develops the important factor of personal initiative, without which no one may attain or acquire economic freedom.

Personal initiative means doing the thing that needs to be done without being told to do it. This is the self-starter principle. It starts the ball rolling. It gets action. It causes things to happen. Don’t wait for things to happen; build a fire of personal initiative under them and make them happen.

Going the extra mile gives you greater confidence in yourself and puts you on a better basis with your own conscience

Going the extra mile helps you to overcome the destructive habit of procrastination. When you develop the habit of going the extra mile, you are so eager to get things done that you learn to love the things you are doing and the person for whom you are doing them, and pretty soon old man procrastination dies of starvation.

Going the extra mile helps you develop definiteness of purpose without which you cannot hope for success.

The habit of going the extra mile is one which you may adopt and follow on your own initiative, without asking permission of anyone to do so.

We would like to call your attention to the only formula in this philosophy. It is called the:Q + Q + MA = C formula

Because these are the initial letters of the equations:

Quality of service rendered Plus Quantity of service rendered Plus the Mental Attitude in which it is rendered Equals =

Your compensation in the world and the amount of space you will occupy in the hearts of your fellowmen.

The word compensation here means all the things that come into your life: money, joy, happiness, harmony in human relations, spiritual enlightenment, peace of mind, a positive mental attitude, the capacity for faith, the ability and desire to share blessings with others, a mind that is open and receptive to truth on all subjects, a sense of tolerance and fair play, and any other praiseworthy attitude or attribute you may seek.

AS LEADERS I WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT LEADERSHIP

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LEADERSHIP PRACTICES

PRACTICE 1: CHALLENGING THE PROCESSLeaders seek challenge and take risks whether the challenge is a product, innovation or a re-organization, a leaders role often involves recognizing the need for change and supporting and directing innovation.

PRACTICE 2: INSPIRING A SHARED VISIONSuccessful leaders have vision, a desire to change, create and make things happen, Leaders must get others to buy into their vision and engage followers to help make their vision a reality.

PRACTICE 3: ENABLING OTHERS TO ACTExemplary leaders enlist the support of others and empower them to do good work. They encourage collaboration.

PRACTICE 4: MODELING THE WAYLeaders must lead by example if they want an enthusiastic following, demonstrating in their behaviours the organizational values.

PRACTICE 5: ENCOURAGING THE HEARTLeaders must encourage the heart of their followers to carry on despite adversity and celebrate successes whether they are small accomplishment or significant milestones.

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