What is Employee Welfare?
Employee welfare includes the schemes that benefit the employees working in the company. Although it is a costly procedure for the companies yet it is needed as it helps in the overall development of the employees.
Welfare Facilities for Employees:
The success and growth of any organization or business depend upon several factors and timely actions taken. But the most important factor or resource are the employees of the organization who work hard to achieve the goals of the organization. So taking extra care of them is the ethical responsibility of the employer.
Though the employees are paid for the work they perform, but for their enrichment and welfare, it is the employers who must take a few measures. These must not be necessarily monetary gains but few extra facilities for the improvement and comfort of the employees. Now as the organization differs from one another, so does the welfare activities will. Mentioned below are a few common welfare measures for workers,
- Fixed Workhours
- Adequate or sufficient wages
- Avoiding Industrial exhaustion and Rest breaks
- Preventing any kind of accidents
- Taking proper health and safety measures
- Avoiding overcrowding of workspace
- Fire protection
- Proper lighting and ventilation
- Eliminate labour discontent
- Employee complaints should be considered
- Industrial Housing
- Education (employees’ children)
- Transport
- Lunch Rooms and Cafeteria
- Rest Rooms
- Medical Service
- Sport and Games (for a fun and healthy atmosphere)
Financial Assistance:
- Savings Deposits.
- Loan assistance.
- Co-operative Savings
- Mutual Benefit plans.
- Pension scheme
- Provident Fund
- House Ownership programme.
- Group Insurance
- Employer’s Co-operative Stores
Other Important Activities:
- Training of young recruits.
- Work Library
- Work-related books and magazines.
- Yearly outings.
- Annual celebrations
- Sports competition.
- Help and consolation fund for worker families in difficulties.
- Enquiry commission for Conduct related complaints
- Special benefits for women and young employees working
- Accident or Sickness insurance
The advantages and disadvantages of Employee Welfare schemes are as follows:
| Advantages or Benefits of Employee Welfare Measures | Disadvantages of Employee Welfare Measures |
| High efficiency | The welfare schemes become the driving force to work |
| Boost the morale of employees | The Financial burden for the company |
| To build a competitive edge | To maintain a competitive edge in the market |
| To get timely result | Outshines all the old schemes of the company |
| Improved industrial relations | Fear of employees leaving the organization |
| Mental and moral health are also improved | Increases the budget of the company |
| Social benefits | Employees may even leave the organization |
| Invites more employees |
Advantages or Benefits of Employee Welfare Measures:
1. High efficiency:
The employee welfare schemes act as a morale booster. When the employees get an appreciation for what they do, it helps in increasing the work efficiency of the employees. When the work is done lauded by the organization, it proves lucrative to both the company as well as the employees.
If the work done by the employees is not appreciated, the output might not come as expected. So, it is essential to have employee welfare schemes.
2. Boost the morale of employees:
The employees work only when they are motivated to work. If the company wishes to get 100% output, then it is the company which has to put in little efforts to encourage the employees.
No one else would deliver the expected results. So, in order to boost the morale of the employees, it is essential to offer employee welfare measures.
3. To build a competitive edge:
Competition is must if the company wants employees to work well. In order to form a competitive environment in the office, it must provide employees with opportunities. The competitive edge in the work environment can only help in getting the required work from the employees.
So, if a healthy work environment or healthy competition is required within the organization, it is vital to provide employees with welfare schemes.
4. To get timely result:
If the companies want the employees to give the result on time or deliver the work in time, there needs to be some extra effort by the company so as to encourage the employees to give timely work. This can be done only when the employees are encouraged apart from praising their work and given some welfare schemes.
If the extra work is expected from the employees, they should also be given extra benefits by the company. Only then the timely results could be expected by the company.
5. Improved industrial relations:
The employees when benefited, results in good industrial relations too. Not just the work output is good, but also the amiable relations are built by the employees when encouraged through various schemes. So, various employee schemes are essential to make employees work in a better manner in the company.
6. Mental and moral health are also improved:
The employees when given different facilities at work; it improves mental health as well as helping in becoming a good citizen. So, it helps in overall development of the employee. Employee development is equivalent to the development of the company. So, if the companies want themselves to grow, they need to help employees in their growth.
7. Social benefits:
The employees also get various social benefits which are advantageous to the company also. The social benefits increase productivity, production as well as the work efficiency of the employees.
The good work by the employees also helps in increasing of the remuneration. Finally, this helps in increasing the standard of the employees which is appreciated and accepted by everyone, indeed.
8. Invites more employees:
The employee welfare schemes invite more employees within an organization. This is one of the good ways of recruiting employees. If your company has less staff then these schemes are enough to invite more employees within the company.
More the employees, more will be the vacancies filled and the work will be done in proper order. Ultimately, it will benefit the company only. The work will be executed in the proper order so, for this reason it is essential to initiate various employee welfare activities schemes in the company.
9. Urge to do better:
The benefits to the employees urges the other employees to work better. It creates a competitive edge and helps in the growth of the employees. The employees who get such schemes makes the other employees to perform better which creates a competitive environment in the organization.
10. Helps in overall growth of the employee:
The schemes are a motivating factor to the employees and it helps in the overall growth of the employees. Both the common organizational goal and the personal goals are easily achieved by the employees, which benefits not just the company but also the members working in the company.
11. Retains more employees for more time period:
The companies train employees to get good results. But if the employees leave the company early, it affects not just the employees but also the company. So, the company has to get some schemes to retain the employees for a longer time period and that is only possible with the employee welfare programs.
The employees would not even think of leaving the company if they will get the required share of appreciation. So, it is better to give employees the welfare schemes.
12. Employees work harder:
The employees work hard if they are given extra benefits. Benefits are never refused by anyone but appreciated by all. So, the employees work harder when given the great deal to work for. Salaries are the obvious thing to get but when given something extra, the employees work harder.
So, above are some of the advantages of welfare programs. The benefits of employee welfare measures are more, direct to the employees than the company. However, it is important for the company to generate various employee welfare schemes. For every company to retain the employees, it has to bring forward various schemes.
Disadvantages of Employee Welfare Measures:
As every coin has two sides, similarly the employee welfare to has its advantages and disadvantages. Some of the disadvantages of employee welfare are as follows:
1. The welfare schemes become the driving force to work:
Neither the money nor the schemes should be the driving force to work for the employees. The employees must be motivated through the work done by others. A competitive environment should be the driving force for the employees to work. Only then, the expected work can be delivered by the employees.
2. The Financial burden for the company:
The company gets burdened financially as more the employees, more the budget will be required by the company to equally distribute the schemes among the employees working within an organization.
So, in order to equally distribute the schemes among the employees, it is essential for the company to have proper a financial budget in order to provide employees with the required schemes.
3. To maintain a competitive edge in the market:
In order to remain in the market and to keep oneself on the edge, it is essential to keep good employee welfare policy so as to attract maximum skilled employees within the organization.
Every company needs skilled workers to work so that they get better output. In order to do the same, the company will have to have an edge over the welfare schemes too.
4. Outshines all the old schemes of the company:
All the other schemes of the companies get outdated. Other here means the older schemes, does not exist anywhere. When the other competitive companies give the employees great and newly developed schemes, the present schemes seems a big failure due to which the other companies have to get similar beneficial schemes. So, this kind of burden also kills the companies at large.
5. Fear of employees leaving the organization:
If the company fails to provide the employees with great schemes, the employees may choose to leave the organization. So, to prevent the employees from running out, the company needs to bring novel schemes and services for the employees.
6. Increases the budget of the company:
The employee welfare schemes increase the budget of the company which affects the company financially. The inclusion of the new schemes can upset the whole budget of the company which ultimately affects the whole working of the company. This is because it is not necessary that the company will always have extra finances to cope up emergencies. So, the employee welfare facilities are a great disadvantage for the employees themselves.
7. Employees may even leave the organization:
When competitive organizations give better welfare schemes, the employees may choose to reach the organization giving better opportunities. This way the employees may even leave the company and move on to the next. This also forms one of the disadvantages of the company as well as the employees on the whole. So, for this purpose, the company will have to keep great welfare schemes for the employees.
These are some of the disadvantages of having an employee welfare objectives. The schemes, however, help the employees more than the companies. This is because whatever is the scheme bought by the company, has to be funded by the company itself. So, this is the reason why the employee welfare schemes are a great disadvantage too.
