Talent Turnover and Ethics

performance and the success or failure of a company. Similarly, ethics also can impact how employees and the company are perceived, which can ultimately affect the success of the organization.

Read the scenario and address the checklist items regarding employee training, development, and ethics.

Scenario: The technology company you work for has had difficulties resulting from expert employees leaving the company after only 6 months to a year of employment. This turnover has caused client software projects to not be completed as scheduled. The CEO has turned to you as the HR director to find out what is wrong and to recommend a remedy. You do some initial investigations only to find that the salaried, full-time employees at this level of expertise are working 60 hours a week or more on a regular basis. You are concerned not only for the business implications of this attrition problem but the ethical implications.

Checklist:

Describe the company’s problem in your own words from a business and ethical perspective.

Choosing one of the ethical approaches, describe what ethical approach you would use for the development of these employees and explain why.

Describe the training and development methods you would use to improve employee morale and motivation and to reduce attrition.

ANSWER

Talent Turnover and Ethics

Case Study

Problem Statements

According to the case study, the company has been recording a high number of employees quitting their positions after only six months. Upon my research as the HR director, I found that the full-time employees working on the company’s payslip are forced to work more than 60 hours a week. The first diagnosis is that this is a breach of any company’s employment contract that requires employees to work 48 hours a week. In the current work market, especially in the United States, it has been common to have an employee work up to 50 hours a week. However, making employees work for over 60 hours a week poses a health risk factor and is also ethically wrong for any corporation.

Another problem is that subjecting employees to such long hours highly contributes to the high rate of attrition within the company. A typical human being cannot cope with working 60 hours a week, so cases of burnout will be rare, and many employees will opt to quit. Businesses wise, the higher the attrition rates, the lower the business will perform and incur losses in the long run. Word about the toxic work environment is also likely to spread and make experts shy away from applying for job opportunities within our company.

Ethical Approaches for Employees Development

As the HR director, I would apply the virtue approach for the development of the employees. The virtue ethics approach advocates for certain ideals that make it conducive for human beings to thrive (Skorin-Kapov, 2019). Such ideals include courage, honesty, fairness, integrity, compassion, self-control, among others. According to the problem in the company, making employees work more than 60 hours a week is unfair and ethically wrong. Applying the virtue approach will create a fair and honest environment for employees to thrive (Skorin-Kapov, 2019). For any employees who wish to work for 60 hours, it would be only fair for the company to allow only those who are willing. Additionally, employees should be paid for the extra hours that they week during the week.

The virtue approach answers the question of what kind of person people should be. By the management answering this question, they will advocate for a fair and honest environment for workers to thrive in, therefore promoting their development (Skorin-Kapov, 2019). Employee development will answer be enhanced by employees realizing that things are changing around them, and they are no longer forced to work for long hours every week. If employees feel comfortable while executing their duties, more work will be done faster while observing quality. The software projects will also be completed on time for our respective clients.

Improving Employee Morale

Employee morale is essential in the workplace as it helps employees feel appreciated for their efforts by giving them a sense of belonging and purpose within the organization. The employee development methods I would use to boost employee morale include embracing flexible working hours (Richards, 2017). The human mind can find solutions and enhance creativity if it is given room to relax. Giving employees flexible working hours can properly exhibit their abilities and give better results while at work. Better results that accrue from employees in return boost their morale, as they can witness how their input has helped transform the organization.

Another way of boosting employee morale would be embracing open and transparent communication within the workplace (Richards, 2017).employees can work better when they can air their concerns without any fear. Open communication channels also make the employees feel that they are closer to the management and can present any new ideas or concerns without hesitation. Like in the case study, one of the major problems was the lack of communication channels that enabled them to complain about the long hours. Transparent communication channels will help them express themselves and feel motivated.

References

Richards, R. (2017). Trusting leadership and the relationship to employee morale and job satisfaction (Doctoral dissertation, University of Phoenix).

Skorin-Kapov, J. (2019). Ethical Positions and Decision-Making. In Professional and Business Ethics Through Film (pp. 19-54). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.