Are the expectations of employers and employees dependent on learning and development?

          

Introduction

Employers and employees each have legal rights and responsibilities. Both parties have to do some work in the working environment. Employees have duties in the organisation, and employers should conduct their work to achieve its goals. However, all should be in the legal environment. In addition, employers and employees will each have expectations. This article discusses Employers’ and employees’ Expectations, the Importance of expectations, issues, and examples of global content.

Employees’ Expectations

That employers will treat them reasonably, fairly, and consistently. Employees should create 'security of employment, good working conditions, a healthy and safe work environment' (Armstrong, 2023, p.88). They may also expect a say in their terms and conditions of employment and the way their work is organised' (Armstrong, 2023).

According to Armstrong, Employees' expectations refer to the anticipated outcomes, rewards, and conditions that individuals expect and desire from their employment. Good return for the service that is rendered to the organisation.

Employers’ Expectations

Employees will perform their duties and tasks satisfactorily, following their legal obligations and organisational policies and procedures. The final task is achieving corporate objectives.

If an employee's performance is unsatisfactory, employers have the right to take appropriate action, including disciplinary action (Henderson, 2017). They may also expect that employees will 'do what they are told without costing too much' (Armstrong, 2023, p.455).

Importance of Employers’ & Employees’ Expectations

After identifying these two concepts, the importance of employer and employee expectations.

 

Employers

Employers' needs or expectations may differ from time to time, and when new employees come to the place, employers' expectations are as follows (Weligamage, and Siengthai,  2003).

 

Time Management: the capacity to prioritize work, plan goals, and manage time wisely to fulfil various deadlines.

 

Self-understanding: the capacity to recognise one's qualities and assets.

 

Learning Skills: The ability to learn effectively from various sources, including competencies such as remembering what matters, organising information, and critical thinking.

 

Teamwork Skills: the capacity to function well in a group and comprehend the factors leading to team success.

 

Leadership Skills: The ability to lead, influence, and motivate others.

 

The following are the overall expectations of employers (Weligamage, and Siengthai,  2003).

• Create a good working environment
• Measure employee performances
• reduce unnecessary cost or cost too high
• To achieve the goals and objectives of the organisation   
  

Employees

Competitive Compensation and Benefits-Workers anticipate competitive pay plans that adequately account for their contributions, experience, and skill sets. Along with pay, this also covers perks like health insurance, retirement programs, and incentives depending on performance (Dessler,  2013, pp. 418-442).

Work-Life Balance -Workers anticipate the company will respect and encourage a good work-life balance. This entails offering flexible work schedules, fostering an environment that forbids working excessive overtime, and emphasising the value of individual well-being (Dessler, 2013, pp. 418-442).

Opportunities for Career Advancement: Workers look for opportunities to grow inside the company. A clear path to advancement, access to mentoring programs, and assistance with professional development to advance their knowledge and abilities are all part of this.

Inclusive Work Environment: The company is expected to promote a diverse and inclusive work environment. Workers cherish an environment that values diversity and honors it, guaranteeing everyone from all backgrounds equal opportunity.

Employers’ & Employees’ Expectations and Learning and Development

 

Fulfilling the expectations of both sides is greatly dependent on learning and development. Employers expect L&D efforts to align with strategic goals, deliver measurable returns, and improve workforce performance. Employers create programs to build employee skills and performance to succeed in these steps.

Employees seek career development opportunities, personalised learning paths, and engaging relevant content. Successful integration involves:

• Tailoring training modules to address individual job roles.
• Offering diverse learning formats.
• Incorporating continuous feedback mechanisms. Additionally,

Employees are expected to perform their part to achieve the organisation's objective. Sometimes, employee expectations depend on these performances, like salary based on sales volume. In this condition, the employee needs everything to do his job better. Because the outcome or incentive depends on his performance, it is his expectation. So, salespeople in this category need training or learning to perform well. Finally, employee expectations depend on training and development (Noe, 2020).

 

Damro Issues Related to Employers' & Employees' Expectations

Damro employees expect more benefits than proving value to the organisation or employer. They always expect high wages, remuneration, safety, and welfare. But the outcome of employees is less than they expected. This is a critical issue related to Employers' and employees' Expectations.

In addition, employers always try to cut off relevant things to employees. Employers try to take advantage of giving some negative expectations to their employees. For example, employers try to cut additional costs due to employees not providing benefits such as overtime, different wages, or other uses.

Employers try to maximise their profit by reducing additional staff or employer benefits. This is the typical scenario seen in Damro under both expectation issues. But when it comes to the sales division, this is highly difference because salespeople's expectations depend on their results. To get more results, they need more training or learning and skills to sell and perform, so their expectation may be reduced, and our selected issue arises on this occasion. According to my recommendation, there is no answer to Damro's issue by employer and employee expectations. But Damro's sales force expectation always depends on learning and development (Noe, 2020)

Learning and development are a must for employer and employee expectations; if they meet employee expectations, it is vital to the organisation's objectives and employer expectations.

Global Example for Expectations

After identifying Employers' and employees' Expectations and importance. In the global context, there have been some recent incidents related to Employers' and employees' Expectations—the most suitable example illustrated by a recent incident at the world-famous Twitter Company. Elon Musk recently took over Twitter with considerable investment and fewer people.  

Before Musk took over, Twitter employed around 7,500 people, so about 3,700 were let go. Musk made the adjustments to boost the business's profitability after heavily indulging in debt financing to pay for his $44 billion acquisition ( Sullivan, and Duffy, 2022).

Over 3500 employees' expectations were over, and their safety of the job, remuneration, other benefits, and all things ended with this situation. This was an excellent example of a breakdown of employee expectations. However, employers' expectation has increased.

Elon Musk sometimes reduces employees because of personal matters or an excess of employees. However, he can conduct the company with a minimum amount of employees, which may be his expectations of this organisation. According to Henderson, Elon Musk has the right to take appropriate action or reduce employees' for a good working environment. On this occasion, Elon Musk has done it. According to Armstrong, if it costs too much of excess employment. Owners have the proper right to reduce it. Elon Musk also reduces top management, sometimes it would be personal or subjective.

Finally, this global example suits Employers' and employees' Expectations. One party's expectation is down, and the other party's expectation is positive.

Conclusion and Recommendation for Better Expectations

Employers desire goal attainment and adequate performance in the complex dance of work relationships, while employees need fair treatment, security, and a voice. Employers want a productive workforce that aligns with corporate goals, while employees want competitive pay, work-life balance, professional advancement, and inclusion. Maintaining this equilibrium promotes a positive work environment.

In conclusion, the dynamic interplay of employers' and employees' expectations forms the foundation of a healthy work environment. While employees seek fair treatment, security, and growth opportunities, employers aim for satisfactory performance, cost-effectiveness, and goal achievement. Learning and development emerge as a crucial bridge to meet these expectations. Global examples, such as Elon Musk's restructuring at Twitter, underscore the delicate balance, where one party's expectations may soar while the other's diminish. Navigating these expectations is essential for fostering mutual success and organisational prosperity.

References;

Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S.(2023) Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice: The role of HR (16th ed). London, Kogan Page Publishers.

Henderson, L.(2017) Human Resource Management for MBA and Business Masters, Kogan Page Publishers.

 

Weligamage, S. and Siengthai, S. (2003) Employer needs and graduate skills: the gap between employer expectations and job expectations of Sri Lankan university graduates. In 9th International conference on Sri Lanka Studies. Matara, Sri Lanka [Online]. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susima-Weligamage-2/publication/275344087_Employer_Needs_and_Graduate_Skills_The_Gap_between_Employer_Expectations_and_Job_Expectations_of_Sri_Lankan_University_Graduates/links/55392e590cf226723aba13d2/Employer-Needs-and-Graduate-Skills-The-Gap-between-Employer-Expectations-and-Job-Expectations-of-Sri-Lankan-University-Graduates.pdf. Accessed on 16th November 2023.

 

Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S.(2023) Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice: The Meaning of Employment Relations (16th ed). London, Kogan Page Publishers.

 

Dessler, G. (2013) Human Resource Management (15th ed).Boston, Pearson Education, Inc [Online]. Available at https://zlibrary.to/filedownload/human-resource-management-78. Accessed on 16th November 2023.

 

Noe, R. A. (2020) Employee Training & Development (8th ed). McGraw-Hill Education, New York [Online]. Available at https://zlibrary.to/dl/employee-training-development-2. Accessed on 16th November 2023.

Sullivan, D. and Duffy, C. (2022) Musk's Twitter lays off employees across the company. CNN business [Online]. Available at https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/03/tech/twitter-layoffs/index.html. Accessed on 16th November 2023.