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MANAGING EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN A GLOBAL

CONTEXT
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Introduction

Employment relationships refer to the relationship between an employer and the employees,
which eventually impacts the overall business activities of an organisation in the long run. In
today’s highly globalized world, managing employment relationships has become a challenging
task to carry out. Therefore, it directly impacts various activities associated with Human
Resource Management (HRM). In this report, a detailed discussion will be made on the different
essential aspects of employment relations, including the challenges present in the field and how
they may be appropriately managed in the United States.

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Discussion on the significant employment relation issues and challenges

affecting the United States

Issues related to lack of trust

Trust issues have always been a significant factor. It impacted employment relations to a
considerable extent, where employees of the United States often find it difficult to trust their
employers on various grounds such as poor communication, ineffective leadership, treat unfairly,
lack of investment in the employees for their career etc. Several laws and regulations regulate
employment relations in the U.S., such as the Equal pay act, Immigration Reform and Control
Act, Fair labour Standard Act, Medical leave act, and discrimination law (Frege and Kelly,
2020). In the U.S., a lack of trust arises when there is a conflict between the interest, not
allocating proper wages to employees, not feeling safe in the workplace and not being able to get
the right to work leaves.
Lack of trust creates an unhealthy work culture where employees do not disclose or share all the
necessary information with the employer, negatively impacting employment relations and
organisation performance. Effective implementation of employment relations laws can reduce
the trust issues between the employee and the employer (Chiang et all., 2017). In the United
States, several organisations are adversely affected due to the lack of trust between the employee
and employer (Katz and Colvin, 2015).

Issues related to job satisfaction

Positive employment relations depend on job satisfaction. Job satisfaction of the employees also
depends on the job roles given to specific employees, and it becomes a crucial factor in
maintaining a good employment relationship. The United States is no exception to it. Positive
feelings or a high level of job satisfaction can lead to greater productivity in the workplace. In
the United States, job satisfaction issues arise due to changing work, working time and work-life
balance (Walsh, 2019).

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The HRM department of organisations in the United States often fails to implement and adopt
strategies and policies that may improve the employees’ job satisfaction levels and negatively
impact the employment relationships. HR managers and executives in U.S. organisations play an
increasingly important role in resolving difficulties in the workplace while also improving cross-
cultural working environments (Zhao and Pan, 2017).

Issues in Communication

Communication issues are the most critical issues regarding employment relations. Without
proper communication, an employee cannot create a good employment relations culture within
the workplace. For a cordial connection among employees, communication must be open and
accurate. Clarity in thoughts is essential (Khabibova and Khizhnyak, 2020). Issues related to
communication are considered to be one of the most common issues affecting employment
relations in the United States. Due to this reason, changes in HRM policies and strategies play a
crucial role in maintaining healthy and effective employment relations. In the long run, It may be
claimed that managing the diversified workforce of corporations operating in the United States is
challenging. Due to cultural differences, diversified employees are not effectively
communicating with their employer, negatively impacting employment relations (Tamunomiebi
and John-Eke, 2020).
Employers in the United States often fail to understand the importance of maintaining a solid
network of communication in the organisation, which becomes an essential factor in strategically
handling organisational conflicts. Maintaining proper communication has arisen as a significant
challenge in maintaining successful employment relations in the United States. Cross-cultural
employment relationship management in the United States is a developing concern today. Since
it is impossible to conduct global business efficiently if there is no relationship between the
diverse labour and the employers (Sanchez et all, 2020)

Issues related to recognition and appreciation

Employers frequently overlook the significance of acknowledging and appreciating the efforts
made by employees, which eventually has a detrimental effect on the overall employment
relationship. Employee recognition is a fundamental employee right and a problem with

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organizational management. American HR managers occasionally fail to recognize workers who

go above and beyond. The employment relationship suffers when the employee’s task is not
acknowledged. On the other hand, identifying even the most minor efforts made by employees
greatly inspires and encourages workers, positively impacting employment relations (Plester and
Hutchison, 2016).
Employment relations in the United States have worsened due to the HR departments of many
businesses and organizations being reluctant to recognize employees’ accomplishments. If the
HR manager can maintain a positive working environment, employee productivity and loyalty to
the organization will increase. As a result, it is now essential to maintain solid working
relationships in the US (Khan and Jora, 2015).

Discrimination issues

Discrimination in the workplace has always been a significant issue throughout the world, and
the United States is no exception to it, where employees often face problems and challenges
related to discrimination based on gender, culture and skin colour. Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 makes it illegal to discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, or Origin in other
aspects of employment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is in charge of this
law. It can occur when an employee is mistreated due to colour, skin tone, social status, sex,
incapacity, or age. It is against the law to differentiate employees on anything connected with
business. Discrimination can likewise stretch out to keeping business open doors from workers
due to their relationship with a person of a specific race, religion, or nationality. Managers
should illuminate representatives about their privileges under EEOC regulations and incorporate
that all workers will be liberated from reprisal if they document a discrimination objection.
Employers often fail to mitigate the issues resulting from the discrimination, which harms
employment relationships (Barker and Christensen, 2019).
Discrimination on the grounds of race and ethnicity is a significant factor affecting employment
relations in the United States (Triana et. all, 2015). HR managers must create solid policies and
procedures to deal with the discrimination problem. Changes in management techniques and
implementation cooperation at all levels may be effective in the United States. Discrimination
issues, whether direct or indirect, must be dealt with utmost attention to managing employment
relations positively by ensuring better organisational culture.

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Critical assessment of the implications of managing the issue of employment

relations in the United States

The United States has a pluralist approach to employment relations. US employment relations
are incredibly complex, but it is helpful to have accurate information about them. The US is
among the best-performing economies in the world. The US has a political system where the
voices of businesses and employees are heard. Labour unions do not have significant influence in
most states. The most crucial part of an organization is the employment relationship (Ahmad,
2015). They are managing employment relations in the USA from different perspectives.
Employee protection law in the United States is not universal. It isn't easy to implement a single
labour market policy. The management of employees must pay keen attention to managing
aspects of employment relations to maximize the organization’s ability to achieve its goals and
objectives. In the United States, employment law is primarily a product of federal laws that set
minimum standards that employers must abide by and state laws which may provide additional
protections

Managing lack of trust

Maintaining trust in the workplace is a crucial organizational component that sets apart employee
performance and attempts to move business operations closer to long-term sustainability. A more
dependable employer in the United States may create employee satisfaction with a healthy work-
life balance that positively supports the corporate aim, higher productivity, and employee
relationships inside the organization. In the end, American companies are required by law to
keep an eye on their employee to identify and address concerns with employee trust. They must
be aware of the difficulties and often recognize them while adopting a proactive strategy to
address them under solid leadership. The management usually listens to both sides without any
biases, which may encourage the employee’s trust in the employer with clear foresight and
protection of employee interest in a pragmatic approach (Muncy, 2020). According to state and
federal government legislation in the United States, such as the Equal Pay Act (Equal
compensation for equal effort must be provided to men and women working in the same area),

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the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (The law forbids discrimination in the workplace
against those who are 40 years of age or older), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (offers up
to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees each year), management
practices proactively interact with employees to avoid disputes and lack of trust. Further, these
laws direct the American employer to manage employee relations by fulfilling individual
concerns with workplace safety, anti-discriminatory approaches, clear vision and objectives,
team bonding, recognition and energizing for innovation with personal benefits and development
to accompany the individual aspects in the organisation (Braithwaite, 2021).

Evaluating the employee job dissatisfaction

Employee job satisfaction is a vital aspect of the employee-employer relationship where

employee aspects are crucial for business management and organisational benefit. High job
satisfaction has reduced employee turnover. On a specific note, low payment, underemployment,
lack of opportunity, emotional discretion and health issues contribute to job dissatisfaction and
negatively impact the overall business status. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has enforced
more than several laws for consecutive terms to increase employers’ participation in managing
employee choice. The Fair Labour Standard Act has accommodated the organisational internal
business conduct. The Employment and Labour Laws such as The Equal Pay Act, The Fair
Labor Standards Act, and The Age Discrimination in Employment Act have specified the
responsibility of both the employee and employer relation in a straightforward way to
communicate the government decision amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and growing employee
dissatisfaction. Moreover, frequent engagement with the employee effectively addresses the
issue with a personal development plan and the opportunity to explore the potential for
promotion and development for better job credibility and satisfaction with psycho-physical
support (Katz and Colvin, 2020).

Regulating communication issues

Communication is the essential part of an organisation that enables the acknowledgement of

organisational policy and vision to achieve market competitiveness where lack of
communication may adversely ruin the business outcome. Managers who devote time and effort

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to establishing clear communication procedures build confidence among their employees (Mone
and London, 2018). Solid trust among employees and organisations leads to increased
confidence and efficiency. Administrators are more forthright about forthcoming changes that
affect their groups, and groups work even more successfully. Instead of managing the leadership
ladder, when a representative has an issue that must be addressed, they send a direct
communication to the appropriate person, resulting in a speedy response. Good and
omnidirectional communication assists the employer in developing a good employment
relationship within the workplace which help to identify the individual effort of the employees.
To improve the coordination and collaboration within company operations, it is necessary to
remove communication barriers and difficulties to handle the strong connection between
employers and employees (Bucata and Rizescu, 2017). In the US, the National Labor Relation
Act has been adopted to protect the rights of employees and employers, encourage collective
bargaining, and curtail certain ill-practises of labour and management practices in the private
sector. Additionally, the federal Service Labor-Management Relation Statue has verified the
miscommunication in organisational management where employer personal effectiveness shapes
the working culture with cooperation and conflict management along with the diverse employee
strength. The enhanced communication among the employees and management may boost the
employee trust and satisfaction with an improvised business procedure for inspiration to
creativity and innovation (Baldé et. all. 2018).

Managing recognition and appreciation

Positive employee relations must be established, which requires employee appreciation and
recognition. Employee recognition refers to giving praise based on an employee’s
accomplishments or performance. In the United States, credit is provided as an n honour, a
bonus, a promotion, or a salary raise. Mangers in America follow several strategies such as a
casual acknowledgement is made: an oral thank you, a handwritten letter toward employee
recognition. These strategies can be successful, mainly if applied quickly and truly (Bamber, et.
All, 2015). They’re also motivating and fascinating since everyone wants to be praised for their
efforts. The goal of appreciation, on the other hand, is to acknowledge a worker’s inherent value.
Their accomplishments are not significant. It has to do with their worth as a worker and a person.
American employers encourage their employees to do better in performance management to

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reflect the organization’s values and practices by receiving praise and acknowledgement for their
work, leading to a good employment relationship (Rai et. all, 2018). In addition, appraisals,
rewards, bonuses, opportunities for remote work, promotions, and leaves are other ways to
convey gratitude for an employee’s performance and degree of confidence in handling daily
chores with ease.

Controlling discrimination issues

Discrimination is still prohibited more than half a century after groundbreaking civil rights laws
like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 declared it illegal. Furthermore, by excluding
smaller companies, federal anti-discrimination rules such as Title VII have carved out
protections for many of our most vulnerable workers, such as domestic workers and migrant
farm workers on small farms. Organisational effectiveness and employee satisfaction depend
greatly on corporate culture, where discrimination is treated as an intolerant approach. Employee
relations are crucial for the employer to proficiently serve the customer with essential products
and services. The organisation’s internal management actively takes care of employees to
generalize the company policy to all employees (Frege and Kelly, 2020). It articulates the health
and well-being of individual employees. It offers an opportunity to quickly address the complaint
in the organisation, avoiding micromanagement and sharing the benefit of doubts for more
engagement and participation of employees in the organisational framework of people
management.

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Conclusion

In a concluding remark, it needs to be clearly stated that employment relations in the modern
business world play an extremely vital role in maintaining a strong workforce which helps
maximise an organisation’s productivity and performance. Organizations can achieve ideal levels
of efficiency while also achieving their hierarchical objectives by focusing on the various
problems and issues related to employment relations in the United States, such as workplace
discrimination, trust issues, job satisfaction and employee recognition. Finally, managing the
problems and confronting the challenges associated with employment relations will also provide
better ways to retain skilled employees for better growth and development of companies in the
future.

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