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Let your employees have a life
By Lauren | June 13, 2010
Returning to my series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about a mistake that employers make all too often, especially when times are hard and unemployment is running rampant. Some companies may find it very, very tempting right now to come down hard on employees who seem to put their work behind their family obligations. After all, employers reason, their staff is lucky to be working at all. They should keep their noses to the grindstone, not be constantly ducking out to go to soccer games or ballet recitals, right?
Not necessarily. For one thing, employers who prevent their workers from taking time away from work to deal with family and medical issues can run afoul of state and federal laws that guarantee employees the right to take family leave. Even if your company falls below the size threshhold for federal law and your state doesn’t have a comparable statute, don’t assume that you can discriminate to your heart’s content. If your company does enough business in another state to create a presence there, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise when an employee sues you in that state for refusing to honor its personnel laws.
But even if that risk didn’t exist, there’s an equally good reason to respect your employees’ family responsibilities. Workers who are routinely denied the right to use their leave to deal with family or medical issues become demoralized, disengaged, and sometimes even hostile. Their productivity plummets, as does the quality of their work. They’re more likely to make mistakes that can get your company sued, and less likely to admit it when you can still do something about it. Perhaps most important, overworked employees who lack a life outside the company lose perspective, and can commit ethical lapses that would never have occurred to them if they had a more balanced outlook.
Letting your employees take time away from work to deal with their personal lives enhances trust, strengthens morale, and can lead to improved productivity and greater respect for the company. Let your employees have a life! They’ll be happier - and much less likely to sue you themselves, or inspire an unhappy customer or contractor to do so.
Topics: Business Ethics, Corporate Governance, Lauren Recommends, Risk Management, business communications, corporate responsibility, ethics |
June 14th, 2010 at 6:08 am
[...] June 14, 2010 In Government Failure, business ethics on June 14, 2010 at 2:08 am Lauren Bloom blogs that employers should allow workers the freedom to deal with family problems such as illness. [...]
June 14th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Absolutely right…a practical approach to business…thanks. Business persons should pay heed to the foregoing advice.
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June 14th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
[...] Let your employees have a life | The Business Ethics Blog [...]
June 15th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Today’s Wall Street Journal has an article that lines up perfectly with your views. The sad statistic - 49% of employers expect their employees to check in while on vacation. My philosophy is this - you need a 10 day unwired vacation. It takes 3 days to unwind, and 3 days before your return to start to rewind, so a 7 day vacation gives you 1 day of real rest. 10 days gives you 4. It takes self discipline, but it’s worth it.