Employee benefits and services are offered purposely to retain employees rather than to increase their productivity. They are indirect compensation to the employees as a way for companies to obtain an upper hand in the skilled labor force. Managers need to know the benefits generally since they are divided into various categories. Among the first additional advantages, there are benefits required by the law; these include service and old-age pension as well as disability one or in case of death, the surviving family members are entitled to some pay. This secures that the retired or the family bereaved one of its members receives a person. Leave or absence payments are entitled to the worker to be a salary while he/she is on leave. Time not worked pay occurs in case the employee is sick and needs time off to get treatment and medication. This may also be in the form of a fully paid-up holiday. Insurance and health range of cover may vary from company to company (Beam, & McFadden, 2001).
Employees are entitled to obtain free-of-charge service. Some companies offer services that aid their members easily to get to work, for example, a staff bus. It may be also in a form of reservation of parking spaces for its topmost employees. Provision housing options give a worker an opportunity to get the company houses that normally charge below the market price. Some have installed outpatient services in the company premises which take care of minor staff sickness. A company may encourage educational training at a discounted rate in order to improve the staff skills. There is an introduction of an individual package in the workplace. This is about being able to have a choice of benefits that the employee prefers. The services and benefits offered by the company keep growing each time when competition stiffens (Beam, & McFadden, 2001).
Career development stage
I am in my early career stages having just graduated from the university and joined the company that I am currently working for. This stage is characterized by high demands as it is a level where one tries to settle down. Most of my colleagues are newlyweds, and setting up in a new home with an additional bill makes up the new challenges. I have some college loans that I am paying; this makes a dent in my earnings. At this stage, there is a need for financial security in the future. This means that it is important to set aside some money as savings and investments. Stock investments are good at early career stages as pressure for saving for retirement is high. At this level, one is energetic and hopeful of climbing up the service ladder. At this level, employees are less experienced, but the value they bring is hard work and zeal. My boss can try to make this stage worthwhile first by allowing me to make small mistakes that help me grow. Learning without mistakes is just unreal. Secondly, my boss can give me some financial as well as workable advice on how to manage myself since I believe a happy employee is a productive one (Brown, 2002).
Approach to discipline
A progressive approach to discipline means that there is an increment in the severity of the discipline meted out on the employee. It varies from issuing warnings, reprimands, and unpaid suspensions. The challenge with this approach is that it has fallen out of favor with both the boss and the employees. It was invented to help the boss manage rude employees while offering him/her a fair chance to reform. A positive approach is more concerned with developing the employees through coaching them, giving them more responsibilities, and having a problem-solving approach. The discipline is by being given coaching lessons to attend. Failure to change may then result in dismissal. The Gap strategy focuses on the skills of the employees versus what the company wants to be in the future. Through this, the boss is then able to rank the employees according to the level of their performance. The essential of these approaches is the need to improve the employees’ work performance. The progressive approach is of great concern as its result brings about an adversarial relationship between the boss and the employees. When working with difficult staff, I would prefer to use a positive approach. This is because an employee may have some personal attitudes that by giving him some responsibility may help redirect his energy towards a positive course (Human Resources Procedures for Employee Management, 2008).
Workforce productivity
Research has it that a healthy workforce is intertwined with economic health. With an ailing workforce, the company, as well as the economy, faces a major crisis and a slowdown. Employees need to work in a safe environment. Any company in need to retain quality staff has to go out of its way and provide an environment where safety is paramount. The sense of security safety reflects directly on the productivity of the employees. Studies have and continue to be done in regard to the employee’s safety, and wellness. They all share one common thought, which is that the benefits of improving employees’ well-being have a positive effect on the business. It also contributes positively to the economy (Snell, & Bohlander, 2012).
The jury
In my view, this research has some slight validity issues. I am of the opinion that they, by acting as mock jurors, do not take the gravity of the matter into account. They seem to be a real court that has the power to alter careers and life. Lack of proper training might have led to such results too. However, in as much as their decisions may look weak, they may contain some underlying facts. The hidden message of the matter is that people judge a person by external appearance sometimes. A problem that may arise in the future is if the lawyers representing the accused exploit such bias to win the case (Samaha, 2006).
References
Beam, B. T., & McFadden, J. J. (2001). Employee benefits. Chicago, IL: Real Estate Education.
Brown, D. (2002). Career choice and development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Human Resources Procedures for Employee Management. (2008). USA: Bizmanualz, Inc.
Samaha, J. (2006). Criminal justice. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Snell, S. A., & Bohlander, G. W. (2012). Managing Human Resources (16th edn.). United States: South-Western Cengage Lerning.