When you’re starting out in the business world, you should think about your role as an employee. You will be the worker in a business and a key part of ensuring that it operates effectively. You will have responsibilities as an employee as a business. You need to make sure that you complete your job effectively, always offering a quality service to customers and clients. If you do this, you will be held in high praise by your employee. You might even find that a promotion is in the cards for your future. This is your role in the business, but it’s important to remember that your employee also has a role. Their role is to ensure that you are safe and secure in your job. They need to ensure your emotional well-being is taken care of and that you are, on the most basic level, happy. That doesn’t mean that they need to offer you extra incentives. It does, on the other hand, mean that they need to provide you with basic comforts.
For instance, a simple example would be office furniture. If you are working in an IT job, it might be important for your employer to provide you with a chair that offers great back support. Otherwise, you could develop RSI. RSI is bad news for you and the business owner. In your case, it means that you could be in constant pain for the rest of your life with no hope of a cure. It will make work more difficult and mean that eventually, you might even have to find a different job. For you employer, it’s going to affect productivity levels. An employee with RSI is not going to be able to work as effectively in the office. They will struggle to complete even the most basic task under a set period of time.
This is just one of the examples on how the situation in the office can be mutually beneficial for employees and business owners. Let’s look at some of the other things you can expect from your employer and what they will presume you will provide in return.
Office Safety
Is your business environment safe? It should be, and there should be no issues in the office that could cause you harm or put you in danger. For instance, you could trip over loose wires across the floor and get a serious injury. If this does happen, you could be entitled to claim for damages. Particularly, if the injury causes has affected your ability to work. This is why it is the responsibility of the business owner to ensure that issues like this are not present in the office. Leads and wires should be secured to the walls or stored under desks. If they are not, then, an employer will be leaving a hazard not dealt with.
You might have seen the idea floating around your business that there is no such thing as an accident. Instead, everything can and should be prevented by an employee. If something goes wrong, it’s the fault of the employee, not the business owner. This philosophy is an attractive way of thinking for business owners. But, it probably won’t hold up in court. There are very few accidents that an employer couldn’t have prevented themselves with a little forward thinking.
However, you might also find that it’s your responsibility to watch out for hazards and deal with them if and when you see them. Many employers are now investing in training for employees to improve office safety levels. That said, the general responsibility you have for office safety is to not try and fake a claim or cause an accident.
Emotional Issues
Do you ever find yourself getting emotional at work? Lots of people do because the office can be a stressful place. You might feel like you are finding it difficult to work to a deadline. Or perhaps,you think your boss is being too hard on you. Any problem like this can make work a difficult environment, event for the best employees.
Your boss should be providing a form of support for emotional issues in the office. Usually, this will come from an HR team offering services such as Crisis Intervention stress management. With a service like this, a team of workers can be monitored, and any problem can be dealt with quickly and effectively. If you don’t think you have a support system like this in your new business, you may want to speak to your boss. While they are not legally obligated to provide this type of support, not doing so can still lead to trouble for them. Make it clear that you do not feel as though your emotional needs are being met in the business.
If you do find that you have a serious emotional distress issue caused by your work, you need to be able to talk to someone. If you can’t a legal option could be the only solution that’s worth considering. However, you should always start by seeking out the appropriate channels in your business and follow the chain of command.
Respect
Any business owner will tell you that they want the respect of their employees. But this isn’t something that should be given freely. Your business employer needs to earn your respect with good practices. If they have treated you terribly and only used you as an ends to the means, they don’t deserve your support. Respect is a two way street and an employer should show they appreciate your part in the office.
It would be silly to suggest a business should be run like a family or even feel like one. The employer needs to make tough decisions every year such as who to fire and who to keep on. Who gets a raise and who is expected to keep slogging forward on their current salary. This makes it difficult for them to form a connection with any of their employees. You certainly won’t be inviting them out for drinks any time soon. But, they can still treat you right and ensure that you feel valued as part of their team and they should.
As you can see then the relationship between the employer and the employee is a tricky one. But if you hold up your side of the deal they should hold up theirs.
Have you encountered issues in the workplace? Let us know below
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