Employee insights into perceptions of change within ...Possibly similar to the opinions of Braverman...
Transcript of Employee insights into perceptions of change within ...Possibly similar to the opinions of Braverman...
Employee Insights into Perceptions of UK Organisational Change in 2014
Stream 4: Employee Engagement
Ross Kemble
Anglia Ruskin University
Working Paper: 4974 words
1
Abstract
The conceptual foundations of this paper, given the scarcity of longitudinal research on post -
millennium work practices, emerge from the prior research by (Hassard, McCann and Morris,
2009) in the publication Managing in a Modern Corporation which considers current work
practices. They observed increasing work intensification and change within multinational
financial services companies post 2000 and suggest that work practices are returning to
assembly line work: not only within the factory context, but also within other organisational
contexts. This means that work hours, stress and responsibility all increased. Therefore it
becomes critical to examine whether this trend will continue for employees and what impact
this has on engagement.
UK employees’ lived experience are considered in order to illustrate the importance of
perceptions of the workplace and whether they support concerns for ‘low road’ management
approaches in terms of impact on engagement. Data was gathered from a single company
within The Guardian (2014) list of the top one hundred companies in the UK’s East Anglian
region, in an attempt to gain added meaning that employees hold for the changing work
environment post-2008. A priori themes were used to develop an initial template, since the
benefit of template analysis lies with its potential plasticity. Further sequential analysis of the
interview template between every three meeting sessions allowed for adjustments to the
interview template. This paper reports that the data collected concurs with the observations of
Hassard, McCann and Morris (2009), further problems stemming from control, time frames
and quality appear to raise additional issues. As such, the paper considers the possible impact
upon engagement of the employees and thus the relationship to organisational performance.
Key words: Global Financial Crisis (GFC), Employee Perceptions, Template analysis,
Employee engagement
2
Introduction
Improved employee engagement, as a crucial element leading to greater profit, has been
regarded as a ‘holy grail’ of people management thinking, however engagement appears to
relate to how ‘connected’ employees feel towards their employer (Keeble-Ramsay &
Armitage, 2014). This is where employees feel engaged with their work, direct benefits
within improved customer service and resulting sales have been clearly demonstrated (Smith
et al, 2012). Despite the claims that they can add value to stakeholders, the limited adoption
of alternative ‘high road’ management approaches is disappointing (Hague et al, 2003). The
question of ‘why is there limited uptake’ must be considered when examining this issue, and
the answer may perhaps lie in the western financialisation of firms, leading to a capitalistic
disconnect, which means that any aspirations towards ‘high road’ Strategic Human Resource
Management (SHRM) work practices are undermined by short term / short view ‘low road’
managerial imperatives (Thompson, 2003).
The CIPD (2012) suggests that employee engagement is defined as an employee’s
relationship with an organisation and its brand alignment. But is it merely a refinement of the
much older concept of job satisfaction? Macey and Schneider (2008) seemed to struggle
somewhat with the notion of engagement, suggesting that engagement was layered with
inconsistent interpretations. This has been argued and readdressed by Wollard and Shuck
(2011), who have offered a clear definition of engagement as “An individual employee’s
cognitive, emotional, and behavioural state directed toward desired organizational outcomes”
(p.429). Shuck and Wollard (2010) also suggest that the term of engagement could possibly
be a passing fad among HR (Human Resource) consultants and HR professionals.
The role of employee perceptions has recently received greater attention in terms of its impact
on performance (Cullen, et al, 2014). Examination of employee perceptions might also
3
highlight the difference between what 'management' claims as policy versus what has actually
been viewed from the workforce perspective. Furthermore, has the Global Finical Crisis
(GFC) had an impact on HR management within the UK (see Colley, 2012; Kamp, Lund and
Hvid, 2011; Teague and Roche, 2013) The Work Place Employment Relations Study (WERS,
2011) identified that work intensification has risen from 27% in 2004 to 34% in 2011 in the
UK. The WERS (2011) report further presents that since 2004, pay freezes, recruitment
freezes and redundancies within most sectors have led to ‘more work for less pay’.
This paper seeks to provide initial insights into the changing nature of the UK workplace,
post GFC. It strives to engage with the subjective experience of the managed and examine
any evidence of ‘new managerialism’ (Klikauer, 2013). By considering arguments that
perceptions of ‘high road’ initiatives could facilitate a conceptual change towards an
improved organisational focus, then it may be argued that a move away from any perception
of a post-GFC, short-term focus of a ‘low road’ low cost approach is problematic in people
management terms (Thompson, 2011). By contrast, McClean and Collins (2011) state that
High Commitment HR practices are important within organisations. They suggest that social
exchanges including employees are more likely to be co-operative when the employees that
feel that an organisation values them and invests in them through HR practices.
Over the last 20 years, the UK has aspired to adopt more virtuous high commitment / high
involvement HR-based approaches. These initiatives have potentially been restricted by the
round of post-GFC austerity measures. A post-GFC, low cost or ‘low road’ approach may
have replaced any prior strategies, (Thompson, 2011) such reducing the sustainability of
aspirations, which could have the effect of hindering the UK’s economic recovery.
This study attempts to understand the nature of management behaviour within one company
in the East Anglia region of the UK and aims to extend the current literature of this subject
4
area by giving access in 2014 to the real lived experience of work engagement during the
recent period of austerity. With this being considered, two research questions were attempted
to be answered.
1. What are the perceptions of change in working practices further to the Global Final
Crisis?
2. Are there any differences in the perceptions of the approach of management at
differing levels in the organisation in 2014?
The research fills a methodological gap in the current literature, whilst researching a
somewhat under-researched area. There appears to very little research done on the issues of
management over this period, particularly from the employee’s point of view. The research
explores the critical issues around the way in which employees have been managed and looks
at how this has affected the way the employees have engaged with their work over this time.
Rationale & Background
The rationale for the research stems from the confidence at the start of the century that the
workplace, from the employee perspective, was going to be enhanced by High Performance
Working (HPW). Wood and De Menezes (1998) commented that the innovative current
forms of organisations which are characterised as high commitment, high involvement and
high performance models were central to many management decisions and human relations.
At this time there was considerable optimism that post-2000 would see improved
management behaviour leading to better productivity with Keeble-Allen (2007) suggesting
that 21st century society would demand a highly skilled workforce and that employers would
gain their employees’ commitment through High Performance Working (HPW) systems.
5
What was also apparent over the duration of the Global Finical Crisis (GFC) was the way in
which the UK government reacted to the financial situation and how the coalition
(Conservative and Liberal Democrat) Government chose to respond to the global credit
crunch. Colley (2012) states that austerity measures implemented by the Government did not
only make changes within the industry, but changes were introduced through practice and this
can be supported by the 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS) -
Publications - GOV.UK (2013) with its finding that more work leads to less pay and the
expansion of pay freezes in most employment sectors. Colley (2012) suggests that austerity
does not only make changes within industry, it would seem that many changes have been
introduced through amending work practices or processes (WERS, 2013). It appeared that
some of the most notable areas relate to employee engagement.
WERS (2013) highlighted that even though there are fewer staff members, engagement had
actually risen since 2004, with a notable increase in methods being implemented to increase
engagement and commitment within the workplace. This was an area for further
investigation as to why that might have been the case. With this increase in engagement, it
could be assumed that employees also feel that their views are being translated into their
everyday working life and decision-making processes, but this does not appear to be case in
reality. WERS (2013) goes on to suggest that over half of the participants who took part in
the study were not satisfied with the level of their involvement in the actual decision-making
process within the workplace. So, in essence, the employees are being listened to, but those
specific discussions are not being acted upon and are quintessentially ‘papertalk’. Authors
(CIPD, 2013; Gruman and Saks, 2011; Macey and Schneider, 2008; Shuck and Wollard,
2010) found indications that companies have attempted to establish a robust link between
engagement and profitability with regards to higher productivity, more sales, customer
satisfaction, and employee retention. Furthermore, Anderton & Beven (2014) within The
6
Work Foundation, acknowledge the tensions of currently constrained work which is
characterised by high intensity, low control and low skill organisations and how this might in
turn affect the culture of engagement.
Themes have been drawn from the previous work of Hassard, McCann and Morris (2009)
‘Managing in a Modern Corporation’ in which a monograph was created from previously
published empirical articles and will act as a firm basis on which to revisit the themes of their
studies in the post-2008 environment. The paper builds on the previous research by critically
examining how the world has changed and adapted with regards to the recent Global
Financial Crisis (GFC). By changing the context of the previous studies, the researcher is
looking to examine a different timeframe and it is hoped that the researcher can really begin
to understand the employee’s perceptions of this changing environment and how the
employees are engaging with their work. The reliance on agency staff and temporary working
is also something which was acknowledged and how this may affect the organisation, with
Ward (2001) suggesting a further reliance on agency / temporary workers at the start of the
century.
Hassard, McCann and Morris (2009) has suggested that their previous research pointed out
that one of the key findings regarding the degradation of work related to the amount of work
required to achieve, post 2000, resulting in increased stress and accountability. Possibly
similar to the opinions of Braverman (1974) and Marx (1884) in relation to the changing
nature of work, in essence it could be understood that Hassard, McCann and Morris
(2009)sought to understand the likely important areas of how working life could be
developed. Hassard, McCann and Morris (2009) suggest that there was little evidence of any
likelihood for major organised resistance to an ‘over working’ culture. Moreover, McCann et
al (2010) recognised the ‘dirty secret’ that corporate down-sizing and de-layering, apparent in
7
the modern corporation, does not in reality actually improve productivity and that this must
be understood so that pressures at work can be redressed.
Method
Access to the real ‘lived experience’ of the participants is certainly desirable, but the aim of
repeating themes derived from Hassard, McCann and Morris (2009) demonstrates that work
actually requires a degree of conceptual continuity. The researcher must assume that
concepts extracted from these earlier studies have the same ontic weight in 2014 as they did
in the pre-crisis milieu from where they originated. Bearing this in mind, there appears to be
a need for ontological compromise between a fully constructed reality that is innate to the
context of the current study’s participants, and the requirement that ideas taken from previous
research contexts should remain meaningful.
After collecting themes, pulling them out of the original text by Hassard, McCann and Morris
(2009), the researcher could then start to develop questions around the themes. At this time,
the researcher felt the questions could be developed further through the template analysis. The
initial themes chosen to use were adapted from the (Hassard, McCann and Morris (2009)
monograph and they comprised work intensification, communication, job security, career
management restructuring and GFC. These have then been enhanced by iterative steps in
which the interviews are reviewed and some new themes emerge.
Due to the influences which impact upon the actual nature of a repeat study, it was deemed
necessary to use a developing template to assist the evolution of a qualitative model of repeat
study to pre-empt and to evolve new themes. Symon and Cassell (2012) suggest that template
analysis is more flexible with fewer procedures, allowing the method to be tailored to a
particular project. In contrast, having a more controlled repeat study and using a non-supple
approach would have restricted the power of the present study because of its inability to
8
establish the genuine, fluctuating perceptions of participants when viewing their
interpretations of their lived experiences. Symon and Cassell (2012) identify three main
deciding factors when choosing template analysis: a flexible coding structure, use of a priori
themes which lead to development of the initial template. Thus template analysis was
selected as it had been deemed the most suitable option for the research, owing to the
potential plasticity of the interview template between interview sessions.
The Guardian (2014) top 100 companies in the East Anglia region were contacted by letter to
enquire if they would be interested in participating in the proposed research. It was hoped that
from this initial introduction, a number of companies would be interested and willing to
participate. From this initial exercise, twelve leads were identified and relationships were
built. It was decided that three separate case study companies would be used, each offering an
initial insight, of which one has been used for the focus of this paper. It was presumed that the
characteristics of the population would require around 7-15 participants to be used in each
case, although it is impossible to predict the point at which data exhaustion will occur. Ten
participants were finally proposed by the individual case study companies and it was felt that
information would be collected regardless of exhaustion or not.
Access was an issue with this project. Shenton and Hayter (2004) suggest that one of the key
factors is gaining access and involves both securing entry to the organisations and then
ensuring that the participants, such as employees, can serve as informants. On this basis, ten
participants were selected so not to cause undue disturbance in the place of work. In the
extended data collection (only including one, within the current piece) each of the three case
studies there were at least 5-6 Employees, 3-4 Middle Managers and 1 CEO/Chairman upon
whom to test the final template. In total, thirty employees were interviewed with interview
duration being approximately 25-40 minutes, with ten interviews being used within this
current piece of work.
9
Then the researcher, using semi-structured interviews from the themes which Hassard,
McCann and Morris (2009) established during their studies and employing template analysis
to interrogate the data set, will create questions developed around this initial template which
will be further extended. Within this paper, the researcher looks to analyse one of the
companies, with it being a manufacturing organisation.
Discussion
Themes originally identified by way of Hassard, McCann and Morris (2009)’sprior studies
were progressed into 10 semi-structured interviews. The researcher attempted to capture a
snapshot of the perceptions of workers, expressed as their co-construction of experienced
reality. The summaries reflect discourse collected from participants in 2014 to provide
insights which were gained from their expressed comments as part of semi-structured
interviews. The interviews provide only insights and a wider scale research project would be
required to confirm any of the suggestions presented within this empirical study. It attempts
to capture evidence of the changing nature of organisations towards their work processes in
the post-GFC period. Some excerpts from the interviews are used to demonstrate extractions
of the participants’ discourse on the themes identified:
Work Intensification EmployeesMy workload was exactly the same as before I went away and I have now actually been given additional duties.I’ve got to backtrack and start catching up again. So, I quite often feel as though I’m constantly trying to catch up with some things.The knock on effect has obviously been that some of the work that she used to do, I’ve had to pick up some bits and pieces.You just get on with it and suffer because you don’t want to lose your job.You know something happens, everything you planned goes then gets delayed and you’re finding you are apologising to people internally and externally.More pressure to make sure you meet those targets.I have to do that work up and above my other work.
10
This confirmed the themes from the previous Hassard, McCann and Morris (2009) study, in
conjunction with the current research regarding the individual case company in East Anglia
and the current nature of the workplace. Having picked three areas upon which to focus, there
appears to be an increase of work intensification over all levels, but it is more pronounced
within the shop floor/factory level with employees stating ‘My workload was exactly the
same as before I went away and I have now actually been given additional duties’, ‘I’ve got to
backtrack and start catching up again’ and ‘I quite often feel as though I’m constantly trying
to catch up with some things’. With the statements from employees being supported by
Anderton & Beven (2014) there appears with minimal variety and autonomy in low skill jobs
and this can be regarded as a barrier to job enrichment, high job quality, high performance
and the further development of the engaged culture of work being required. It does appear
that employees have been worried about their jobs especially over the first part of the Global
Financial Crisis (GFC) with Anderton & Beven (2014) suggesting that employees in 2012
were concerned about at least one aspect of unfair treatment at work, from threats to job
quality through to dismissal. This also reflects problems of financialisation which has been
referred to on a number of occasions throughout the data collection with employees making
statements such as ‘I think it just really it focuses your attention on to making sure that we hit
every sale and that’s where the emphasis has gone and it’s the right thing to do, but it has
caused stress in the business, definitely’ and ‘This is not so much to the current climate, but
generally, there has been some reorganisation, budgetary constraints, meaning that this has to
have been new initiative ways of working’. Anderton & Beven (2014) suggest that financial
constraints and employer attitudes, on top of the requirement for maximum production, are
necessary to realize the short term survival of the organisation.
11
Work Intensification Managers (varying levels) Sometimes because another department might be late with their parts for you then it kind of falls on you to catch up.I have to do that work up and above my other work.There’s a lot more expected from everybody and there’s a lot more pressure on every individual… if anyone’s on holiday then basically we do struggle very badly we just haven’t got the extra resource.I find I’m letting people down, not because I want to let them down because I can’t please everybody all the time. I say you feel because your juggling so many balls in the air at the same time, occasionally you know, you don’t catch one and it does hit the groundThey’re extracting more and more from you, but giving you less and less time to do it in, if that.More pressure to make sure to make sure you meet those targets.
The workforce at times also is feeling disengaged with their work especially when managers
state that ‘I find I’m letting people down, not because I want to let them down because I can’t
please everybody all the time’. This point was highlighted by Hassard, McCann and Morris
(2009), with the intensification of work experienced by middle managers and this appears to
be continuing theme. Employee engagement was identified as somewhat limited, owing to
increased work intensification and the greater emphasis on targets. The feeling of a target-
driven workplace and the increased focus on financialisation as the main process appears to
have prompted an employee to state ‘I have to do that work up and above my other work’
thus adding to the intensification of work and returning to Hassard, McCann and Morris
(2009) whose previous study showed how the work force was struggling to engage.
12
Work Intensification Senior Management (President/ Head of HR)This is not so much to the current climate but generally, there has been some reorganisation, budgetary constraints meaning that this has to have been new initiative ways of working.Quite rightly efficiencies have been realised, in others there have been some… mistakes made where workers intensified and it’s had a negative spiral.At any given moment when they have too many plates spinning.Various areas there’s a higher expectation of individual performance now than there was in 2008, I think, and there’s certainly less free time.I certainly find more in Europe… the expectation nowadays is that very much immediate responses to most problems.I like to have a written record of any significant agreements and I find e-mail whilst you do miss the idle chit-chat. These days because you’ve got such a barrage of everyday stuff that needs to be handled by fewer and fewer people.
Senior management has also seen an increase in work intensification, but it appears that there
is an international perspective with regards to their intensification stating ‘I certainly find
more in Europe, the expectation nowadays is that very much immediate responses to most
problems’ with the globalized environment expecting things to be done immediately. There
are perceptions of global competition ranging from the existence cheaper labour rates which
can be sourced from other countries, adding to the current downsizing within those countries.
Senior managers also acknowledge that intensification has affected employees, ‘Quite rightly
efficiencies have been realised, in others there have been some mistakes made where workers
intensified and it’s had a negative spiral’, but how much do they fully understand the effect,
with others stating, ‘These days because you’ve got such a barrage of everyday stuff that
needs to be handled by fewer and fewer people’. If this is understood by senior management,
then continued cuts would only be in order to generate greater profits.
13
Change EmployeesPartly my fault because I’ve come back part time.I was obviously very secure to start with. When I went off on maternity, I wasn’t so.Probably different departments have gone through slight restructures.Over the last couple of years we’ve now got three or four semi-senior heads of department.I hear grumbles because we hear grumbles… the factory is not in the state it used to be in tidiness-wise and cleanliness.They just picked other people and very quickly said you’ve got to leave as of now and paid them off.I think it was better years ago in what they were taking on probably they’ve still got over these last few years, a lot of people have gone or they get rid of them but they do get rid of some good people.It has got worse, yes. Just purely and simply in a way don’t really trust you.Too many chiefs and not enough Indians!
There were a number of themes which emerged from the participants, which was lack of
engagement and quality, which approximately half of the employees picked up on, a point
which did not seem to be acknowledged by the senior management. There were clear and
consistent indications towards the erosion of work practices through work intensification and
constant changes in management stating ‘over the last couple of years we’ve now got three or
four semi-senior heads of department and too many chiefs and not enough Indians!’. There
were few examples of positive effects perceived from the post GFC period. This could mean
that either the perceptions of the workforce have been manipulated by a management focused
on financialisation, resulting in increased demand upon the workforce, or that certain
managers are treating employees better than others. If increasing work intensification
continues through the post GFC era (Liff and Anderson, 2013) as a response to the demands
of the market place in the pursuit of profit, this could lead to the degradation of the workforce
(Cushen, 2013; Cushen and Thompson, 2012; Thompson, 2013) and their subsequent output
levels.
14
Change Managers (varying levels)They took like three months to replace him and in the meantime, the management were trying to do it but not doing a very good job.You’re not getting the service you are expecting.You know, we’ve lost some suppliers along the way and personally, I haven’t lost many suppliers.If they did cut it anymore, then you know, I think we just push everyone who’s left over the edge to be honest with you.So the more they sell, the more they can justify bringing more people into manufacturing to back that up with the product.We were moved as a department over to one under a different director completely.We certainly use agencies for now the… well, we’ve used them for that four year period.Certainly something that has changed and they’ve all had their own theories, their own direction in they’ve taken us.I think it’s just really it focuses your attention on to making sure that we hit every sale and that’s where the emphasis has gone and it’s the right thing to do but it has caused stress in the business, definitely.
There were also a number of references to part-time workers in 2014, and it appeared that the
workplace was in a sense reliant upon agency workers to sustain the business and at times
kept agency workers for over two years, but also they were regarded as expendable and would
be the ‘first to go’. Ward, et al (2001) recorded as far back as 2001 that temporary work
accounted for an increasing amount of new employment within the UK’s labour market and
that temporary agencies represented a significant role for entry into organisations. There
appears to be an impairment of part-time workers which could perhaps further demonstrate
the destruction of any sustainable employment organisation emerging in the post-GFC period
(Buchanan et al, 2013). At the forefront of the economic downturn, the downsizing of the
workforce appears to be an accepted activity by its effect upon performance. It may leave the
organisation short-staffed and has been often undertaken despite recognition that policies for
pay reduction might better resolve financial constraints without affecting organisational
performance (Luan et al 2013). However, within the case company there was a round of pay
reductions at the very beginning of the GFC, but this did not appear to have continued
throughout the time period. On reflection, employee engagement had been affected with
15
regard to the three themes mentioned and had been identified as being a negative influence on
the workplace during 2008-2014.
Change Senior Management (President/ Head of HR)It will undoubtedly damage morale, you know and it’s something that needs to be managed.I do certainly in areas where reorganisations have limited resources.Let’s not get away from it, that’s what it is, affecting people’s lives.As I say it damages morale. There’s no getting away from it and I think if anyone tries to say any different, then they’re not being completely honest.I would have to say that is the case. In many cases, the implementation of certain technologies has resulted in.I think the impact of the recession at the start was that there was less demand for goods and services. So, instead of focusing on perhaps some of the softer sides of HR, like we’ve already mentioned, the talent and the motivation.Fair to say that destabilising people generally causes stress. We tend not to overly restructure the company.Disrupting people’s comfort patterns is generally a beneficial thing.Its changed dramatically for us in that we would have literally have gone out looking for mid-career experience and now we literally don’t. So, I think that position is changing but certainly when the policy came in, we were looked at aghast by a lot of people thinking we were a bit nuts.
There have undoubtedly been areas of change over this period for senior management, but
their impression seems to be somewhat different to that of the employees. ‘Fair to say that
destabilising people generally causes stress. We tend not to overly restructure the company’,
but in terms of the employee perception there has been change, not only in restructuring, but
also in terms of the way the company hires employees and the target demographic for the
employees hired (university graduates) has led to some discontent. Also the point was made
that senior management felt it was a positive choice to take employees out of their comfort
zone, ‘Disrupting people’s comfort patterns is generally a beneficial thing’, which certainly
does not point to engaging the workforce. Waves of change are seen as beneficial by
management, with WERS (2013) proposing that ‘changes to the nature of work, such as the
reorganisation of tasks, increases in workload’. This, coupled with a change of policy in
hiring graduates, could be suggested to have gone some way to destabilising the workforce.
16
Communication Employees
We all almost look a bit silly
Yes, we had to say whoops, sorry Carol hasn’t told us that. Sorry about that. So, definite lack of communication there.
If I had a problem I could go in there and see her. So there was never sort of an issue with that. It’s probably just lack of communication with something.
We don’t know what our new boss is doing or even where he is. He doesn’t say where he’s going or how long he is going.
WERS (2011) recognises that communication has improved over the recent years since 2004,
with suggestions that there has been a growth in the methods used for providing information.
During the aforementioned period of 2004 to 2011, a proportion of employees have felt
increasingly committed and in turn have felt an upturn in engagement. So as a knock-on
effect, it could be assumed that employees feel that their views are being interpreted into the
everyday decision-making process. However, this does not appear to be case, as within the
current context communication appears to be failing with comments such as, ‘We don’t know
what our new boss is doing or even where he is. He doesn’t say where he’s going or how long
he is going’. WERS (2011) also acknowledged that at this time over half of the participants
who took part in study were not satisfied with their level of involvement in the decision
making process within their place of employment and this has been supported by a worsening
perception of not being kept in the ‘loop’. There did appear to be a breakdown of
communication with regards to what senior management were achieving and communicating
it fully with suggestions such as, ‘we all almost look a bit silly and we had to say whoops,
sorry Carol hasn’t told us that. Sorry about that. So, definite lack of communication there’. So
this confirmed the presumption that communication was failing to keep employees informed
within the case study company.
17
Communication Managers (varying levels)
The MD stands up and does a quick sort of an update of how we did this previous quarter.
There’s always e-mails flying around because we’re such a large organisation.
Communication is the best I’ve ever seen it.
Communication from the President of our company down to my managerial level and I communicate with my team on a daily basis.
There was a positive reaction to communication from the middle managers interviewed with
some stating that ‘communication is the best I’ve ever seen it’ and ‘communication from the
President of our company down to my managerial level and I communicate with my team on
a daily basis’. So, in essence, at the managerial level there appears to be a dearth of good
communication and that the middle managers appear to see that as a positive, but the question
has to be asked why in fact does this not appear to permeate down to the level of the
employees. Anderton & Beven (2014) propose that through empowerment and effective
communication of the organisational goals, employees can begin to identify their role and the
contribution they are able to make to the organisation, which can in turn lead to further
ownership, pride and an interest, which can promote further engagement within their work.
However, at the middle management level within the case study company communication,
did not appear to be a coherent theme as it was only mentioned with a positive paradigm.
Communication Senior Management (President/ Head of HR)I’ve yet to find any organisation where communication is perfect. Certainly you’re able to communicate all hours of the day which has its positives and negatives. Whereas if I wanted to send an e-mail, it could be picked up at any moment.Challenges in that you almost get too much of it. Disciplined approach to e-mail where people start to think does everybody need to be copied on a message. If I’m pitching something significant to my boss who’s going to commit the company to a lot of money, I want to look into his eyes.
18
I want to take it forward and I have quarterly employee briefings where I share an awful lot of commercial information with the staff.
What was fascinating to note was the point that senior management acknowledge that ‘I’ve
yet to find any organisation where communication is perfect’ almost an admission of guilt
and a realisation that there is fault with regards to communication. The senior managers have
highlighted that it has become easier to communicate with improvements in technology and
they also mention that it is possible to have too much communication. With regard to the
intensification of communication, the use of email was highlighted as an issue ‘if I wanted to
send an e-mail, it could be picked up at any moment’ and that a disciplined approach to e-
mail was required where people start to consider whether everybody needs to be copied in on
a message and challenging the over-use of email. The interesting point is that employees feel
they could still be better communicated with in order to be made to feel more informed.
Anderton and Bevan (2014) suggest that the development of communication channels differ
between the various levels of staff and this could lead to a more highly engaged workforce.
19
Conclusion
This paper stems from an empirical study of the post Global Financial Crisis period and has
sought to gain insights into the experiences of UK employees and to further their perceptions
of the changing workplace post-2008. When viewing the empirical insights into the post GFC
period, there is recognition of the limitations to the scalability of the study. Links between
the current UK labour market and the perceptions of the recession were observed in Ireland
by Teague and Roche (2013). Their interpretations in Ireland of work processes to stabilise
the economic climate appears to indicate there is a tendency towards work intensification,
which had also been observed by (Hassard, McCann and Morris, 2009).
The purposes for the research was to understand the various influences, which may have
impacted upon the case study company and changed their work practices, post-GFC. The
nature of this change has been insightful when reviewing individual perceptions, across the
workforce as a whole. There appears to be a need for further research into the employer’s
point of view through the GFC and to also understand the potentially ‘low road’ responses
which have been acknowledged. There does appear to be a disparity of what is experienced
on the employee level with that running through the company up to senior management.
Engagement appears to be hampered due to the flux of management and the lack being fully
informed due to a disconnection in communication. Finally there does appear to be a
mismatch between the experience of employees and what managers intend to convey and also
the perceptions of management seem to be somewhat ‘positively tinted’.
20
Limitations
It has been recognised that there remains a gap in empirical material available to further
extend and support the experiences of employees within the UK, post 2008. There is criticism
for failing to pay attention to the employee. The results cannot be generalized and merely
aim to give an insight into the employee perspective of life in the workplace over 2008-2014.
Therefore, given these limitations, this paper recognizes the need for empirical studies and the
author has identified that future research needs to be carried out after this initial discussion.
21
References:
Colley, H., (2012). Not learning in the workplace: austerity and the shattering of illusion in
public service work, Journal of Workplace Learning. Vol. 24, No. 5, 2012 pp. 317-337
Anderton, E. and Bevan, S., 2014. Constrained Work? Job enrichment and employee engagement in low-wage, low-skill jobs. [online] Available at: <http://www.theworkfoundation.com/downloadpublication/report/350_constrained%20work%20final.pdf> [Accessed 30 Mar. 2015].
Anon, 2013. The 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study (WERS) - Publications - GOV.UK. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-2011-workplace-employment-relations-study-wers> [Accessed 23 Oct. 2013].
Colley, H., 2012. Not learning in the workplace: austerity and the shattering of< IT> illusio</IT> in public service work. Journal of Workplace Learning, 24(5), pp.317–337.
Cullen, K.L., Edwards, B.D., Casper, W.C. and Gue, K.R., 2014. Employees’ Adaptability and Perceptions of Change-Related Uncertainty: Implications for Perceived Organizational Support, Job Satisfaction, and Performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29(2), pp.269–280.
Diane Keeble-Ramsay and Andrew Armitage, 2014. HRD challenges when faced by disengaged UK workers. Journal of Workplace Learning, 26(3/4), pp.217–231.
Gruman, J.A. and Saks, A.M., 2011. Performance management and employee engagement. Human Resource Management Review, 21(2), pp.123–136.
Hassard, J., McCann, L. and Morris, J., 2009. Managing in the Modern Corporation: The Intensification of Managerial Work in the USA, UK and Japan. [online] Cambridge University Press Cambridge. Available at: <http://www.lavoisier.fr/livre/notice.asp?id=OA3WRSAKAS3OWJ> [Accessed 17 Mar. 2013].
Kamp, A., Lund, H.L. and Hvid, H.S., 2011. Negotiating time, meaning and identity in boundaryless work. Journal of Workplace Learning, 23(4), pp.229–242.
Keeble-Allen, D., n.d. Using the Past to Improve our Future: Can High Performance Working learn from TQM? Dr Andrew Armitage and. [online] Available at: <http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/0E8E2574-B6E1-4F07-AF35-8C1E10B48DA6/0/DianeKeebleAllen.pdf> [Accessed 6 Oct. 2014].
Macey, W.H. and Schneider, B., 2008. The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1(1), pp.3–30.
McClean, E. and Collins, C.J., 2011. High-commitment HR practices, employee effort, and firm performance: Investigating the effects of HR practices across employee groups within professional services firms. Human Resource Management, 50(3), pp.341–363.
22
Shenton, A.K. and Hayter, S., 2004. Strategies for gaining access to organisations and informants in qualitative studies. Education for Information, 22(3), pp.223–231.
Shuck, B. and Wollard, K., 2010. Employee Engagement and HRD: A Seminal Review of the Foundations. Human Resource Development Review, 9(1), pp.89–110.
Symon, G. and Cassell, C., 2012. Qualitative Organizational Research: Core Methods and Current Challenges. SAGE.
Thompson, P., 2003. Disconnected capitalism: or why employers can’t keep their side of the bargain. Work, employment and society, 17(2), pp.359–378.
Ward, K., Grimshaw, D., Rubery, J. and Beynon, H., 2001. Dilemmas in the management of temporary work agency staff. Human Resource Management Journal, 11(4), pp.3–21.
Wollard, K.K. and Shuck, B., 2011. Antecedents to Employee Engagement A Structured Review of the Literature. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 13(4), pp.429–446.
Wood, S. and De Menezes, L., 1998. High commitment management in the UK: Evidence from the workplace industrial relations survey, and employers’ manpower and skills practices survey. Human Relations, 51(4), pp.485–515.
Hassard, J., McCann, L. and Morris, J., (2009). Managing in the Modern Corporation The Intensification of Managerial Work in the USA, UK and Japan, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Kamp, A., Lund, H.L. and Hvid, H.S., (2011). Negotiating time, meaning and identity in
boundaryless work. Journal of Workplace Learning, 23(4), pp.229–242.
Klikauer, T. (2013), Mangerialism. A Critique of an Ideology. (New York: Palgrave
Macmillan).
King, N., 2014. Template Analysis, [Online] Huddersfield University. Available at:
<http://www.hud.ac.uk/hhs/research/template-analysis/ > [Accessed on 01 JUL. 2014]
Roche, W.K., Teague, P., Coughlan, A., Fahy, M. (2013a), Human Resources in the
Recession: Managing and Representing People at Work in Ireland, University College
Dublin working paper
Saunders, M. and Lewis, P., 2012. Doing research in business and management: an essential guide to planning your project. [online] Available at: <http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/clc/2036357> [Accessed 15 Jul. 2014].
Thompson, P. (2011), ‘The trouble with HRM’, Human Resource Management Journal, 21, 4, 2011, 355–367.
23
24