WHAT IS EMPLOYEE WELFARE, TYPES OF WELFARE MEASURES AND HOW DO YOU BUILD AN EMPLOYEE WELFARE SYSTEM?

Employee welfare is an important investment to any company. Organization’s greatest assets are its people. When we look after our people, they’re helping to invest in the success of our company and to safeguard its future.

According to the Armstrong (2004) employee welfare programs rest mainly on the abstract ground of social responsibility on organizations for those who work for them. Organizations need highly performing employees in order to meet their goals to deliver the products and services they specialize in and hence achieve competitive advantage

Employee welfare is a term that encompasses a broad range of benefits and services that an employer may offer to its employees. It can include things like health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and paid time off. Employee welfare can also include things like on-site daycare, fitness centers, and subsidized meals(Quitgenius,2023).

According to the Logasakthi (2013) the employees enjoy not only the satisfaction of their jobs but also various facilities given by the firms. The labours extend their maximum support for the improvement of the company. The personal department takes care of the total human resources in the company. The management provides all the health safety and welfares to the employees that will help to produce better performance in the work and working environment.

Objectives of Employee Welfare;

Employees welfare serves the primary objective of the organization, i.e., it enhances the relationship of the employer and the employees (Anjali,2020).

Some of the other major objectives of it are as follows(Anjali,2020):

Figure 01: Objectives of Employee Welfare (Anjali,2020)

Providing Motivation: Employees working in the organization are precious assets, who need to be motivated from time to time.

Retaining Employees: Companies which knows the value of the talented and experienced employees provides various facilities to their employees.So that the employee will remain in the company for a longer period of time as if an employee will not be satisfied with the organization he/she may switch the organization.

Increases Productivity: Motivated employees always serves better productivity to the organization, which enhances the companies as well his personal career growth day by day.

It is one of the long-term objectives of providing welfare measures to the employees.

Creating Goodwill: Companies tries to create and maintain their goodwill in the market full of completion by providing relevant employee benefits to their employees.

It also helps them to attract talented employees to join their company.

Creates Strong employer-employee bond: Providing employee welfare benefits acts as a give and take relationship amongst the employer and the employees.

If employees need is taken into consideration by the employer, it builds a strong bond amongst them and employee also tries to give his/her best for the development of the organization by showing their involvement in their work and providing relevant results as achievements.

Types of Welfare Measures

According to the Thiruvenkataraj (2018) following are the types and examples of the welfare measures.

1.Statutory Welfare Schemes

The statutory welfare schemes include the following provision;

Drinking water: at all the working places safe hygienic drinking water should be provided.

First appliances: First appliances are to be provided and should be readily assessable so that in case of any minor accident initial medication can be provided to the needed employee.

Canteen facilities: cafeteria or canteens are to be providing hygienic and nutritious food to the employees. Changing rooms: adequate changing rooms are to be provided for workers to change their cloth in the factory area and office premises. Adequate lockers are also provided to the workers to keep their clothes and belongings.

Rest rooms: adequate numbers of rest rooms are provided to the workers with provisions of water supply, wash basins, toilets, bathrooms, etc.

 2. Non Statutory Schemes

Many non statutory welfare schemes may include the following schemes:

Personal health care (Regular medical check-up): some of the companies provide the facility for extensive health check-up.

Flexi-time: the main objective of the flextime policy is to provide opportunity to employees to work with flexible working schedules. Flexible work schedules are initiated by employees and approved by management to meet business commitments while supporting employee personal life needs.

Employee assistance programs: various assistant programs are arranged like external counseling service so that employees or members of their immediate family can get counseling on various matters.

According to the Anjali(2020), below figure explaining the types and examples of the welfare measures;

Figure 02: Measures of Employee Welfare (Anjali,2020)

How do you build an Employee Welfare system?

There is no single blueprint for how to build an Employee Welfare system, as the best approach will vary depending on the specific needs and culture of your organization.

According to the (Quitgenius,2023) following are the key steps for creating a successful Employee Welfare system;

Define your goals and objectives. What do you hope to achieve with your Employee Welfare system? Are you looking to improve employee morale, increase productivity, or reduce staff turnover? Define your goals and objectives upfront, and make sure they are measurable so you can track your progress over time.

Establish a committee or task force to design and implement the system. This committee should include representatives from all levels of the organization, as well as outside experts if necessary.

Create a policy framework. The policy framework should include guidelines for eligibility, benefits, and administration.

Develop a communications strategy. The Employee Welfare system should be communicated to all employees, and the committee should be available to answer any questions or concerns.

Implement the system and track progress. Once the system is in place, it is important to track progress and make necessary adjustments to ensure that it is meeting the goals and objectives set out initially.

Conclusion

Employers' efforts to improve the quality of life for those who work for them are known as "employee welfare."

Every corporation that wants to expand in the future must now consider this element, thus businesses take a variety of actions to give their employees the benefits of employee welfare in order to make them comfortable. In order to improve the quality of life for their employees, every firm must develop an employee welfare system.

References:

Anjali,J.(2020) Employee Welfare. The Investors Book [Online] Available at https://theinvestorsbook.com/employee-welfare.html [Accessed on April 2023]

Armstrong, M. (2013). A handbook of human resource management practice, 9th Ed. London, UK: Cambrian Printers Ltd.

Quitgenius,2023.[Online]Available at https://www.quitgenius.com/hr-glossary/employee-welfare

[Accessed on April 2023]

Logasakthi, K. and Rajagopal, K. (2013) A Study on Employee Health, Safety and Welfare Measures of Chemical Industry in the View of Sleam Region, Tamil Nadu (India). International Journal of Research in Business Management, 1, 1-10.[Online]Available at https://www.scirp.org/%28S%28351jmbntvnsjt1aadkozje%29%29/reference/referencespapers.aspx?referenceid=2950896 [Accessed on April 2023]

https://www.alert-software.com/blog/employee-welfare

Thiruvenkatraj, T.R. and Tamilselvan, B(2018). A STUDY ON EMPLOYEE WELFARE MEASURE. International Journal for Research Trends and Innovation: India, Volume 3, Issue 5 | ISSN: 2456-3315  [Online]Available at https://ijrti.org/papers/IJRTI1805047.pdf [Accessed on April 2023]