Dear Mates,
I have recently joined as an HR in an IT Manufacturing firm. It was recently found that some of the employees in the night shift have a tendency to sleep at their workstations. We met with those employees individually and counseled them about the code of conduct of the organization. We also sent them warnings via email.
We were in the process of giving them a formal documented warning letter, but somehow it got delayed. In the meanwhile, it was found that some of the employees continued to sleep on the floor between their working hours.
Now, as an HR, what should I do? Should I give them a formal documented warning letter (warnings were already sent via email), or can I take other strict actions like termination?
Please guide with your valuable suggestions.
Thanks & Regards,
Abhishek 5524
From India, New Delhi
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I have recently joined as an HR in an IT Manufacturing firm. It was recently found that some of the employees in the night shift have a tendency to sleep at their workstations. We met with those employees individually and counseled them about the code of conduct of the organization. We also sent them warnings via email.
We were in the process of giving them a formal documented warning letter, but somehow it got delayed. In the meanwhile, it was found that some of the employees continued to sleep on the floor between their working hours.
Now, as an HR, what should I do? Should I give them a formal documented warning letter (warnings were already sent via email), or can I take other strict actions like termination?
Please guide with your valuable suggestions.
Thanks & Regards,
Abhishek 5524
From India, New Delhi
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First of all, you shall understand the human physical capabilities. Secondly, you shall analyze whether the employee is new to night shifts or not, and if they have any bodily imbalances. Fourth, encourage them to have hot beverages like coffee, tea, or snacks if interested, and request them to take breaks between work hours to enhance their ability to work.
Inform them amicably that you are not opposing any kind of behavior as it is a very normal human tendency that everyone experiences. However, also make them realize that they should do justice to the job for which they are paid. Work is important for us and not just normal behavior.
So far as it does not affect the morale, ask them to use the restroom or another area for refreshment to avoid affecting the moods of other employees. Deal with the situation very diplomatically to help maintain employee relations and the mindset of employees towards their work.
From India, Bangalore
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203Inform them amicably that you are not opposing any kind of behavior as it is a very normal human tendency that everyone experiences. However, also make them realize that they should do justice to the job for which they are paid. Work is important for us and not just normal behavior.
So far as it does not affect the morale, ask them to use the restroom or another area for refreshment to avoid affecting the moods of other employees. Deal with the situation very diplomatically to help maintain employee relations and the mindset of employees towards their work.
From India, Bangalore
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May also have entertaining programs every night for refreshment purposes for 10 to 20 min to make the work environment active, and disturbs the sleep.........
From India, Bangalore
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From India, Bangalore
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Hi,
I appreciate the suggestion from BSSV. In the IT industry, machine is man; hence, we cannot treat them as machines and whip or impose punishments. Continuous working in night shifts may create biological imbalance as well. Though it is wrong to sleep during working hours, employees might even know that and sleep at night, particularly between 12 am to 4 am as the human body needs.
Sometimes, if we HR do not address this issue on time, it may result in adverse effects on the production front. Hence, arrange to give them a midnight 10-minute break at least once every two hours, a small break for tea, snacks as suggested.
Keeping in mind the business goals and organization interests, to some extent we need to communicate and address their issues during the night shift. Also, if possible, you can plan staggered week-offs introducing rotation of the C shift once every 3 days as long weekdays. This may help to control night shift turmoil. We have done this in our company, which helped in overcoming night sleeping issues.
From India, Hyderabad
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I appreciate the suggestion from BSSV. In the IT industry, machine is man; hence, we cannot treat them as machines and whip or impose punishments. Continuous working in night shifts may create biological imbalance as well. Though it is wrong to sleep during working hours, employees might even know that and sleep at night, particularly between 12 am to 4 am as the human body needs.
Sometimes, if we HR do not address this issue on time, it may result in adverse effects on the production front. Hence, arrange to give them a midnight 10-minute break at least once every two hours, a small break for tea, snacks as suggested.
Keeping in mind the business goals and organization interests, to some extent we need to communicate and address their issues during the night shift. Also, if possible, you can plan staggered week-offs introducing rotation of the C shift once every 3 days as long weekdays. This may help to control night shift turmoil. We have done this in our company, which helped in overcoming night sleeping issues.
From India, Hyderabad
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Hi,
I very much agree with the suggestions given by BBSV and Lakshmi87. I understand human tendency and nature. I have tried many times through various counseling sessions, but it now seems that they are taking undue advantage of it.
Please guide me on further course of action.
Abhishek5524
From India, New Delhi
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I very much agree with the suggestions given by BBSV and Lakshmi87. I understand human tendency and nature. I have tried many times through various counseling sessions, but it now seems that they are taking undue advantage of it.
Please guide me on further course of action.
Abhishek5524
From India, New Delhi
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Your further course of action is to request them for the reasons for low performance or distractions in performance/work so that you may send the report to your superior who is demanding it from you. Since you do not want to give your superior anything wrong about your employees.
But it appears that you lack patience when you are dealing with the emotions of third persons. You shall hold your patience and try to analyze the situations and then come to a decision accepted by the majority or the right one. You should act like you are their assistant who assists them in solving their issues, not like a person ordering something. If not, it jumps on to his punitive actions taking advantage of the position.
When you have tried through the counseling sessions, you must have received feedback as to what exactly they are facing. Try to work on improving those. What was the necessity to request here? First of all, they are sacrificing their lifetime, upsetting their health and comforts. Above that, if you want to make the workplace stressful, it never fetches anything indeed. Take some time, think, and try to encourage the employees and give them time and space. Clear them that work is important and the decorum of the place, and nothing more than that would be expected.
(Do not become friends with them so they may take advantage of you. Be supportive and try to have boundaries not exceeding the work-life. Try not to entertain personally.)
From India, Bangalore
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But it appears that you lack patience when you are dealing with the emotions of third persons. You shall hold your patience and try to analyze the situations and then come to a decision accepted by the majority or the right one. You should act like you are their assistant who assists them in solving their issues, not like a person ordering something. If not, it jumps on to his punitive actions taking advantage of the position.
When you have tried through the counseling sessions, you must have received feedback as to what exactly they are facing. Try to work on improving those. What was the necessity to request here? First of all, they are sacrificing their lifetime, upsetting their health and comforts. Above that, if you want to make the workplace stressful, it never fetches anything indeed. Take some time, think, and try to encourage the employees and give them time and space. Clear them that work is important and the decorum of the place, and nothing more than that would be expected.
(Do not become friends with them so they may take advantage of you. Be supportive and try to have boundaries not exceeding the work-life. Try not to entertain personally.)
From India, Bangalore
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I work in the IT industry, and I have seen that one thing that works in such cases is setting up target utilization that the employee is expected to achieve for the day/week and tracking such performance by the HR. In case of low utilization, you may set up time with the employee to discuss the underlying issues. Another approach that may work is having a counselor or team leaders who are responsible for the team's utilization. This also encourages a sense of responsibility and healthy teamwork.
Regards,
Nidhi
From India, Hyderabad
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Regards,
Nidhi
From India, Hyderabad
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I appreciate the views of BSSV. In addition to that, I would like to say if you get an opportunity to watch live proceedings of Parliament, you will find that many of our Honorable Members of Parliament will be sleeping in the Parliament.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Dear Sir,
The employee should get proper sleep when he is off duty so that these incidents don't happen. According to the judgment of Bharat Forge v. Nakate, sleeping while on duty is a serious misconduct warranting dismissal. Therefore, to have a deterrent impact, you can issue a warning letter to the concerned employee.
From India, Pune
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The employee should get proper sleep when he is off duty so that these incidents don't happen. According to the judgment of Bharat Forge v. Nakate, sleeping while on duty is a serious misconduct warranting dismissal. Therefore, to have a deterrent impact, you can issue a warning letter to the concerned employee.
From India, Pune
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Hi Abhishek,
As you know, working regular night shifts can lead to health problems. It is essential to maintain a healthy and friendly environment with workers. I suggest encouraging them to take regular short breaks and provide facilities based on the employees' demands within the company norms. This approach will make them feel valued and encourage them to be fair not only in terms of salary but also in supporting the company's needs.
Regards,
Santhosh
From India, Bangalore
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As you know, working regular night shifts can lead to health problems. It is essential to maintain a healthy and friendly environment with workers. I suggest encouraging them to take regular short breaks and provide facilities based on the employees' demands within the company norms. This approach will make them feel valued and encourage them to be fair not only in terms of salary but also in supporting the company's needs.
Regards,
Santhosh
From India, Bangalore
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