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What are the benefits of grievance handling in industry?
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A systematic procedure should be evolved and followed to settle the grievances. Such a procedure may be known as 'Grievance handling procedure. The benefits of such a procedure may be summed up as follows:
(i) Most grievances seriously disturb the employees. This may affect their morale, productivity and their willingness to co-operate with the organisation. If an explosive situation develops, this can be promptly attended to if a grievance handling procedure is ahead in existence.
(ii) It is not possible that all the complaints of the employees would be settled by first-line supervisors, for these supervisors may not have had a proper training for the purpose, and they may lack authority. Moreover, there may be personality conflicts and other causes as well.
(iii) It serves as a check on the arbitrary actions of the management because supervisors know that employees are likely to see to it that their protest does not reach the higher management.
(iv) It serves as an outlet for employee grieves, discontent and frustrations. It acts like a pressure valve on a steam boiler. The employees are entitled to legislative, executive and judicial protection and they get this protection from the grievance redressal procedure, which also acts as a means of upward communication.
(v) The top management becomes increasingly aware of employee problems, expectations and ^ frustrations. It becomes sensitive to their needs, and cares for their well-being. This is why the management, while formulating plans that might affect the employees — for example, plant expansion or modification, the installation of labour-saving devices, etc. — should take into consideration the impact that such plans might have on the employees.
(vi) The management has complete authority to operate the business as it sees fit—subject, of course, to its legal and moral obligations and the contacts it has entered into with its workers or their representative trade union. But if the trade union or the employees do not like the way the management functions, they can submit their grievance in accordance with the procedure laid down for that purpose. According to T.O. Armstrong a well-designed and a proper procedure provides:
1. A channel or avenue by which any aggrieved employee may present his grievance.
2. A procedure to handle every grievance systematically.
3. A method to relieve the worker from his dissatisfaction with his job and working conditions.
4. A means to ensure that there is some measure of promptness in the handling of the grievance.
