How HRM can effectively address people - centric challenges in the modern workplace.

 Introduction

Shift From Traditional HRM To People-Centric HRM

People-centric HRM is an advanced step into human resource management that gives priority to employee well-being, engagement, & growth combined with achieving the company objectives. It treats employees as one of the valuable assets and promotes an encouraging working environment. Traditional HRM was highly hierarchical, process-driven, & most concerned with operational efficiency. In contrast, people-centric HRM takes on an entirely human face. The employee is not seen only as a worker but a partner working toward organizational success, it recognizes that employee satisfaction & personal development contribute directly to increased productivity and expansion of the business.

Thesis Statement outlining the main challenges and approach

The contemporary workplace faces several challenges: the best balance of remote or hybrid work models, work-life balance and employee well-being, and digital transformation of the employee experience. While remote and hybrid work brings flexibility in their ways, they also build disparities in collaboration, communication, and work engagement. Ensuring a sustainable work-life balance is critical for employee satisfaction and productivity, but proactive policies and wellness initiatives are required. Organizations must leverage digital transformation to move forward in employee experience in light of technological barriers and adaptation challenges. It requires a strategic approach that integrates flexible work policies, programs of well-being, and innovative digital tools to build a resilient and engaged workforce within the changing contours of organizations.

Challenge 01: Challenge of Remote work vs. hybrid work

Remote work and Hybrid work are two work arrangement methods. Those were very popular in recent years. Both arrangements give freedom to employees to make decisions about their work location and work schedules. As well as both work arrangements moved to modern workplaces.

Remote work can be defined as Work from home, Work from another working space, Work from another country, and work from anywhere. Away from the traditional workplace. Remote work allows the employees to complete their work at home.

Hybrid work is mixed with remote work and traditional workplace. We can explain hybrid work arrangements by an example. Example: An employee who works two days a week from home and another three days from his/her office place.

Both Remote and Hybrid work have some challenges. We can divide those challenges as an employee and as an organization. Challenges of remote work and hybrid work as an employee are loneliness, work stress, disturbance when working from home from family, misunderstandings when communicating with

each other, and technical matters. As an organization high cost of supplying the infrastructure of technology, the complexity of measuring the performance of employees, and matters of communication.

 Analysis using relevant HRM Theory

• ·       Goal setting theory: Goal setting theory develops the performances of employees. It provides regular updates on progress and feedback from employees. HR managers can use this theory to create SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals.
• ·       SDT Theory (Self Determination Theory): SDT Theory is important to concern human behavior.
• ·       Work-Life Balance Theory: This theory is used to explain the balance of workers’ personal life and working life. Work-life balance improves the mental and physical health life of employees, reduces work stress, increases productivity of employees, and develops job satisfaction.

Proposed HRM Strategies to address the challenge

• ·       Developing virtual training platforms for fluent Communication and Combination between employees: In the organization, they should provide a virtual work environment. As an example, Microsoft Teams and Zoom are used for keeping connectivity between work teams.
• ·       Improving health and safety protection for employees: Creating mental health programs to reduce work stress of employee, adding some breaks during working time, expanding the workspace for employees to work comfortably, and positioning the speed internet connection.
• ·       Creating software for measuring the employee’s productivity: The workplace should place suitable software for counting how many hours they worked, their punctuality, and their work progress.
• ·       Establish and update the work policies: The organization should establish, evaluate, and update the HR policies for Remote and Hybrid work.

Outcomes of using HR strategies:

For Employees	For Organization
Increasing job fulfillment and work commitment	Rising profitability and organizational growth
Reducing work stress	Increasing the value of the company
Highly focusing on work	Bending attention to create innovations because of the comfortable infrastructures that gave by the company to the employees
Increasing employee efficiency and effectiveness

 Challenge 2: Working-life balance and employee well-being

Work-life balance is a significant factor in the productivity of an organization because all people are healthy and in balance. On the other hand, the balance of work and life offers good health-physically and mentally-to an individual.

 Employee Affective Well-Being - Democratic society should improve the wellbeing of the employees through good attention and appropriate resources that shall enable them to live actively, better health, and a healthy workplace culture. All employees are encouraged to lodge their grievances, and seek help when necessary.

 Work-life Balance - One is able to enjoy all these aspects of life as long as the pursuit of these balances does not hamper the person's well being. This is where work-life balance comes in.

Analysis using relevant HRM theory

• ·       Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow's theory suggests that employees have various levels of needs, ranging from physiological to self-actualization. Employees require a healthy work environment (physiological need) and Work-life balance policies help meet physiological needs can be considered as the application of this theory.

• ·       Job demands resource

This model classifies job aspects into, Job demand – workload, deadline, stress, Job resource - supportive leadership, and flexible work schedule. Application for the theory is, that HR should provide stress management programs, mental health support, and flexible work policies that balance demand and resources

• ·       Self-determination theory

This theory suggests that autonomy, competence, and relatedness are the drivers of motivation and well-being. Training and career development enhance competence and a Collaborative work environment enhances relatedness which in turn enhances well-being.

 

Proposed HRM strategies to address the challenges

·       Flexible Work Arrangements

Offering working hour flexibility and options for remote work facilitates the incorporation of personal responsibilities.

·       Programs to maintain mental health and well-being

Health facilities and programs in the organization to maintain mental health can retain the well-being of employees.

·       Paid time off and vacation policies

Encouraging employees to take breaks and time off during their vacation days improves their overall work-life balance.

·       Creating a supportive organizational culture

Outcomes of using HR strategies:

For employees	For organization
Better mental and physical health	Higher employees’ retention
Higher job satisfaction	Better performance
Higher productivity	Stronger employer brand
Better personal relationship	Lower absence

 

Challenge 03: Digital transformation of employee experience

Digital transformation of employee experience in people-centered HRM is a challenging process. It is difficult to strike the right balance between technology and human contact. Human resource operations including recruitment, performance evaluation, and employee engagement are more likely to be efficient when using digital tools. However, they have the potential to make workplaces feel less personal. For that reason, employees may avoid changes because they are unfamiliar with new processes or are afraid of being replaced.

Analysis using relevant HRM theory

• ·       Job characteristic theory: when implementing new digital tools, consider the core job characteristics like skill variety task, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback to ensure the work remains.
• ·       Equity theory: Ensure that employees perceive the work lead and benefits associated with digital transformation as fair across the organization to avoid, potentially leading to decreased motivation and engagement.
• ·       Personal job fit theory: This highlights the potential issue that arises when an employee experiences skills and personality. Workstyle misalignments, lack of training, psychological impacts, and skill gaps are mainly considered under this theory.

 Proposed HRM Strategies to address the challenge:

• ·       Arranging user-friendly interfaces: Arranging user-friendly online portals that can be navigated and understood easily so that employees can access, update, and manage their interactions and adopt tech changes.
• ·       Investing in digital adoption platform: Providing digital adopting platforms such as Whatfix, Walkme, Userlane, Stonely, etc to have proper onboarding, training, and support to employees.
• ·       Implementing a change management plan: A well-defined change management plan is essential for successfully integrating new technologies and helping employees adapt to changes.

Outcomes of using HR strategies:

For employees	For organization
Improving employee knowledge and skills	Reducing the Human Resource cost
Enabling employees to perform tasks easily without manual processes	Better decision-making with accurate data and information
Enables employees to do their jobs efficiently and easily	Improving the alignment between HR and business goals
Improving employee engagement	Increasing efficiency in HR processes

 

Summary of key points

We have discussed how the organization has encountered challenges in digital transformation regarding employee experiences, work-life balance, and well-being, along with remote work versus hybrid work.

Employee welfare policies, including mental health support and wellness programs, can generate better work productivity and thus keep the work atmosphere positive.

A final challenge is the balance of remote or hybrid work. While working from home gives flexibility, hybrid working allows employees to enjoy both the benefits of working remotely and working in the office, enabling a flexible yet connected work culture. Addressing these areas through HRM helps in keeping productivity and satisfaction among the lot.

Reflection on the Future of people-centric HRM

The future of HRM is people-centered thinking, demonstrating the holistic approach: of putting employee well-being, growth, and engagement first. As organizations continue to head toward new technologies, HRM will be driven by data and create personalized experiences that help improve employee performance while forecasting workforce needs for the future. Flexibility, diversity, and inclusion hold great importance in creating an atmosphere where employees will feel valued and supported.   Such would be the case where person-centered HRM will focus on continuous learning, mental health, and work-life balance for ultimate long-term success, meeting organizational goals with individual aspirations and culminating in a more motivated, productive, and loyal workforce.

References

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