Most of the readings from Wednesday's class focused on paying employees a "fair" or "living wage." Why do you think this is such a popular topic today? And what other moral or ethical issues should be discussed now?
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The theoretical income level called “Living Wage” or “Fair Wage” is the optimal amount of compensation that an employee should get for him/her to adequately support his/her individual and family food, shelter, health, and other basic needs and necessities. Living wages that are fair ensure that families have a reasonable standard living level and can sustain their present living conditions while also getting opportunities for future growth and prosperity. An economist view is that for an income to be fair, only 30% or less of it should be spent towards housing.
The campaign for decent living/fair wages has gained a surge/momentum in recent years as employees are now better understanding the economic benefits of it towards meeting their holistic needs. Employers also get advantages out of fair employee wages. Some of the business benefits of fair wages include better employee morale, lower turnover rate, higher staff retention rate, and higher productivity. It has been found that companies that pay their employees fairly suffer less from disciplinary and absenteeism problems, and do not require extensive measures for monitoring their employees. Therefore, there is not only an ethical dimension to the cause. The companies that pay their workers fairly are also held in high repute by the customers and enjoy market popularity. The modern workforce is more educated than ever before and people also understand the significance of education, health, and other important aspects that may go beyond their physiological needs. An increase in migration and population has resulted in employers using cost control measures in the form of lower pays, which has resulted in deficits that have made the campaign necessary. Therefore, employees are now more enthusiastic towards optimal wages that can:
a.help them remain healthy.
b.take care of their families better.
c. provide for professional growth, as the money can also be invested in learning and training.
c.get their children educated so that they have a bright future.
Governments also understand and are aware of the benefits of standard/optimal/fair wages and have regulations, statutes, acts and policies in place (including the Minimum Wage Act) to ensure that employees do not have to compromise on their health, education and other important lifestyle aspects and goals. Optimal pay wages also ensure that income disparity does not exaggerate and the economic advantages and monetary benefits of economic development are availed by a maximum number of people in the society and country. Therefore, apart from economic benefits and an ethical approach, businesses may also be mandatorily required to provide minimum/fair wages to their employees. New technologies including the internet and growth of social networking websites have made it easy for employees and individuals to share information about the pay scales, compensation, privileges, and rewards they receive. People are now being increasingly aware of the salaries and wages their counterparts are getting in other regions and countries of the globe. An increase in awareness and interaction channels is, therefore, also bringing more light on the topic and fueling the surge of the fair-wage campaign.
Other Ethical And Moral Issues That Need A Discussion
The business and operational environment has changed gradually and so have the cultural and social elements of the business environment. Some of the important ethical and moral issues that the businesses are facing in the modern business environment, and which need an evaluation and discussion for improvement are given below.
Accounting
Accounting scandals (such as in Enron) had been common in the past few decades. The problem is even more common in companies that are traded publicly. While the governments have taken certain steps (like the implementation of financial regulation acts including Sarbanes-Oxley Act), spending towards lavish holidays and phenomenal bonuses are common in the corporate world. The company officials and employees (especially those occupying the highest levels in hierarchy) need to be introspective and should check their ethics towards using public/company money in these unethical ways. Companies should aim at a better/equal distribution of gains. When not controlled early, greed will become uncontrollable, and the scandals will continue to follow.
Privacy And Social Media
Discussions should also be held in areas like electronic surveillance. Employees also need the protection of privacy, apart from compensation and other benefits. An employer should not go beyond the permissible and legal boundaries while conducting surveillance on employees. There is a lot of ambiguity about the policies and approaches of business organizations towards social media as well. Few of the businesses take time towards defining these policies and making the employees aware of them. Subsequently, there may be bias in managerial decision making. For instance, some employees may get away for certain acts while others get punishment for posting something against the firm on social media. Such bias goes against the interest of the companies as well as employees, and a discussion will help to make good use of the platform.
Discrimination And Harassment
While Section 7 of the Civil Rights Act (1964) prohibits all kinds of discriminatory activities, many employees are still not noticing the changing demographics and employee concerns. According to the laws that prohibit discrimination, an employer cannot discriminate against an employee based on age, gender, national origin, religion, race, and other aspects. But even after the implementation of laws, certain discrimination cases have witnessed an increase lately. One of these is the Families Responsibilities Discrimination (FRD). Employees are found to suffer from adverse employer actions concerning their caregiving responsibilities towards their families. The demographic studies show that the size of older aged people and seniors is increasing. Therefore, employees may require to give greater leverage in leaves/benefits relating to caregiving responsibilities of their employees that they have to undertake in their families. Discussion on these topics will ensure that policies are updated following the new environmental and demographic conditions.
Health/Safety
According to a recent report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), around 6300 employees die each day because of work-related medical conditions and/or due to occupational accidents. The majority of firms are chasing profits only with little concerns about employee health and safety. These unreasonable goals put tremendous pressure on employees who eventually succumb. A discussion on the topic of health and safety will probe the issue ethically as well. The employer should go beyond what is evident, legally required or mandatory for them to ensure the health and safety of employees. For instance, organizational policies should also promote better work-life balance so that better worker health is achieved. Other conditions including job insecurity, low autonomy, high demand and behavioral risks (including cigarette smoking), among others have been a cause of poor worker health. The issues should be discussed, probed and evaluated so that desired outcomes can be achieved.
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