Should companies treat their employees with respect and treat each one of them with dignity?
All companies should treat their employees with respect and treat each one of them with dignity. Every employee is an asset of a company and without them no company can function properly. Every person in this world has their rights that should be respected and not trampled upon. Employees are human beings with feelings and this should be instilled in the minds of all company owners or their managers or agents. No one is given the right to discriminate against people who are born with disabilities or who for some reason, has gone through a difficult experience in their lives which resulted to any physical deformity.
People who, for some reason, have any special characteristic should not be discriminated against. When a person applies for a job, the potential employer should look beyond the physical appearance of any person with disability. He should instead look objectively and analyze whether that person has the skill or capability to perform the required task. The potential employer should thoroughly evaluate the employee to see whether or not, despite his apparent weakness, he is still able to deliver or perform the job just like any normal person.
Once the person with disability gets hired, he should be treated fairly by the employer. The employer should provide for some facilities to accommodate the employee. An example of which is when the employee is handicapped, the employer should provide a passage for the employee like a ramp or elevator for easy access to the employee. The employer should also provide for a comfort room which is to be used by handicapped people which should be larger than the normal cubicle to enable them to move freely with their wheelchair.
The employer may also provide a work friendly environment to handicapped employees by providing them with a special chair or a comfortable work area where the employee can move around without his freedom being restricted. Employees who suffer from a drug abuse problem may still find a job that would enable them to overcome their drug dependence. If the employee is otherwise qualified by the job, the employer may overlook this drug addiction, and instead find ways to help the latter move on from such weakness.
The employer may provide for an environment that would foster camaraderie, training, workshops, seminars and the like to distract the employee’s attention from drug dependence and to shift his focus. This would serve as a distraction for the employee who would soon get healed from his dependency. The simulation may demonstrate this scenario by creating a situation which involves an employer hiring an employee who is handicapped. Both parties may work out a case wherein the employee would try to internalize his role and look at the possible office situations which would help them improve their relationship and to better his work performance.
The factors of personality, attitude toward work, and future upward mobility may play a big or little role in a potential working environment depending on the kind of workplace or job the employee is applying for. Personality is very important when the job description calls for the characteristic of being sociable as in a marketing job. But, personality may be of little importance to a person employed in a work place where there is no face to face interaction with a client or customer. An employee is the representative of the company, whether such employee is an officer, manager or staff.
It would be advantageous for any company to have employees who are outgoing and sociable, however this would only apply for those jobs whose employees are required to be on the frontline. Thus, as to this factor of personality, it would really depend on what the company is for it to be considered as an important criterion for hiring. As to the attitude toward work, I am of the opinion that this is important and should be considered when hiring an employee. The attitude of a person towards his work would reflect a great deal about his personality.
The person should show that he loves his work and would take it seriously, otherwise, the company might be in the losing end and suffer in the long run. The employer should weigh the scenario, for example, when there are two applicants for a job, one without any disability but his attitude towards his work is such that he merely views it as a means to an end and another who has some disabilities but whose attitude towards work is such that he views it with enthusiasm, with zeal and with passion, then the employer should hire the second applicant.
A person who shows a positive attitude towards his work would help fuel the company to success and great heights. The factor of future upward mobility would have to be qualifies. For example, a work which would require physical strength such as construction, carrying of heavy baggage, running around or other strenuous physical activities, would necessarily require an employee who would be able to perform the job, thus should be mobile. However, a work which requires analysis or computer work and is which would not entail any physical mobility would not need an employee who is equipped with upward mobility.
An employee should be hired based on his skills and qualifications and not based on his personal appearance. The simulation would be able to demonstrate the importance of those factors by creating an environment that would consider the job description and co-relate these with the applicants. Each scenario should be viewed differently by considering the different needs of each job and determine the applicable skill required for a potential employee. The employer should be able to decide whether or not a certain factor is needed for the delivery of the desired result.
Title VII can override the employment contract between an employer and employee. It is the rule that contracts between parties should not be contrary to any existing law. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides in essence that no person should be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. In general, there should be equal work opportunity for every person regardless of any disability or otherwise. A person who has some disability should be hired if he is qualified for the job.
Further, once he is hired he should receive the same amount of pay and benefits as any normal employee since the employer should look beyond the disability and give equal work opportunities to both of them. There should be no diminution of salary or benefits for the reason that the employee has some disability. An employee should not compromise his rights for the reason that he is in desperate need of a job and the employer should not use his bargaining power as a person who is in authority of giving the job.
An agreement which provides for benefits, wages or others that are below the minimum wage or contrary to any law is null and void and is of no force and effect. The law is above any written contract since the former must always be in consonance with the latter. The simulation would demonstrate this by portraying a situation which depicts an environment where the employer and the employee would agree on terms that are for the advantage and benefit of both but is not contrary to law.
