It is also expected that organizations will have no choice but to embrace scientific innovation as a basis for shaping the future of their businesses. Governments and agencies will be pressured to adopting tech in the search for sustainability, increase in revenue sources, global competitiveness, and infrastructural development.

Good to note that the #ENDSAR protests in Nigeria have created a new vista for youth involvement in politics and this will also impact the look of work and how the economy will run in the next decade. With their great sense of creativity and reliance on tech, I hereby welcome you to the new world of work and what will count as a future career.

 WHAT ARE THE DETERMINANTS FOR FUTURE WORK?

 What are the factors that will determine future works or jobs that will be in high demand? What should we look out for globally to know that certain skills would be in high demand and what should we do as career-minded people to position ourselves for this great future and remain relevant.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

One of the key determinants of the direction of employment activities in an economy is the knowledge of the result of research and development by government, institution, and business enterprises or private persons. In career planning, besides the individual propensity, we also pay attention to the need of businesses and the direction in which society is headed.

It has been noted that leading economies are deploying investment in the direction of science and technology and digitalization. China, Israel, the USA, South Africa, and some developing Nations are spending so much on ICT, agriculture, and medicine. This knowledge should give an insight into the direction of the jobs that would count for the future.

GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT DIRECTION

It will be noted that in Nigeria, the ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and the present administration of President Mohammadu Buhari has paid much attention to agriculture and infrastructural development especially in areas of food production, support for the agriculture sector, and a modernized railway system in the country. Hindsight will show that opportunity will abound in these two directions with the Central bank of Nigeria pushing commercial banks to invest in these sectors of the economy. With the level of investment seen so far, it shows that experts in modern agricultural practices and engineers will be in high demand.

Early acquisition of knowledge in modern farming practices, agribusiness, and automotive engineering will be advantageous for someone pursuing a career in these fields.

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI)

According to the World Investment Report by UNCTAD, in 2018 foreign direct investment flow into Nigeria was $ 6.4 billion which dropped to $ 3.3 billion in 2019. The total stock of FDI in 2019 was estimated at $ 98.6 billion. The USA, China, UK, and the Netherlands took the lead in FDI flow to the country. The question should be asked in what sectors are these investments made because the answer to this question will tell us where manpower will be much needed. For example, we could see investment in internet security, housing and construction, and healthcare. We now see Nigerians abroad setting up standard healthcare facilities in Nigeria and investing so much into properties for personal and commercial purposes.

CHANGE IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Age, demography, income level, style, and taste are known to influence consumer behavior and the pattern of their purchases decision. In recent times, however, the internet and the digital revolution have been critical factors that affect consumer behavior. For example, the Y Generation (Millennial) is mostly concern with speed, creativity, and convenience of service. To capture this large population investors and businesses will necessarily tailor their investment pattern in such a manner that caters to them. The creative, fashion, and entertainment (music and sport) industry will require individuals with millennial mindsets and creativity to thrive.

GLOBAL INVESTMENT AND PARTNERS CONCERNS

The search for alternative energy sources away from fossil fuel, the need to protect national investment, and concern for global peace are known factors that determine the direction of future employment. For example, the ability to speak and translate mandarin or Putonghua the official language of the Chinese will provide a good job for an individual with an interest in cross-national-trade between Nigeria and China. Likewise are jobs with NGOs and foreign missions with interest in healthcare, protection for the environment, and security.

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Today we live in a fast-paced, high-speed, scientific, and technology propelled world; a world whose future will be shaped by cloud technology, Artificial Intelligence, future 5G starting from 2021 with a promise of a single-digit millisecond latency.

It is interesting to note, that what we prized today as skill and ability will likely become obsolete some few decades away from now except they are ICT and technologically compliant. That some skills, jobs, and work will become totally un-useful to the new enterprise, and customers’ demand should not contemplate doubt to our minds.

In this article, I will take a futuristic look into the future of work as we presently have it, bring out the changes that we are likely going to see and what we should do to fit in into the future requirements of business enterprises, change in customer’s need and the career or job that will play a significant role in the future.

WHAT IS WORK?

Simply define; work is the exertion of energy or effort and the commitment of skills and abilities to achieve a pre-determined purpose. Work has a utilitarian value in the sense that such an effort must be value-based and create an outcome that serves society or meet the needs of others.

Work is the first assignment given to man at creation and serves usefulness both to man, the business interest as well as the society at large. Work in its present state requires over 80 percent of effort or energy, this holds true especially in the developing and third world nations of the world. However, with technology, this is changing and will move in the direction of 85 percent knowledge and 15 percent of energy or physical strength in about a decade and a half from today.

It is worthy of note that if your work requires 80 percent of your energy or physical strength please mark my words that without you embracing technology and investing in self-improvement, tech-enhanced capability such skill will become irrelevant in another 15 years from now. I am not a prophet of doom but a writer and researcher on the side of reality, someone who would rather look at global business trends and the requirements of the future enterprise.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF WORK?

The NeXtGeneration5G, disruptive technological innovations, and digital networks that guarantee ultra-high-speed internet capacity are the forerunner of future work. Opportunities generated by technology will create and reshape work in such a way and manner that will determine the directions of businesses, government, consumer behavior, and job requirements.

Careful consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on businesses around the world which resulted in a lockdown and social distancing has brought about flexible work processes, remote working, tech-enhanced processes that create opportunities such as drone-delivery, which is likely going to impact traditional logistics and cut down on person-to-home delivery. Today, scientific innovation in robotics has made it possible for robots to perform surgery, classes being taught via remote platforms such as GoogleClass, Whiteboard, and Zoom.

The world is now moving in the direction of digitalization, living in smart cities; cities that will be powered by high-tech innovation such as smart transportation without traffic officers, digital courtrooms and session, reliable payment platform, driverless cars, automated production lines, and robot-body-guards.

WHAT CHANGES ARE TO BE EXPECTED IN WORK?

1. Blue-collar or high energy-consuming works will be taken over by robots with a high level of reliability and precision.
2. Manual work will gradually give way to automated platforms such as automated fuel-dispensing, self-serving air-port procedures; digital controlled traffic lights, and automated production management, etc.
3. Lean management, lean production, and automated production lines that minimize downtime, material wastages with emphasis on just-in-time and electronics material planning.
4. Downsizing, right-sizing, collapsed structures and delayering thereby, reducing headcount and manpower requirements for businesses
5. Flexible employment, part-time job, and off-shoring. Organizations will go lean and prefer people that could work from remote locations at a reduced cost.
6. Life-long employment will gradually be phased out except in public sectors, job security will only depend on productivity, it will be knowledge-based, and value creation.
7. Some courses in our universities and colleges will become obsolete and irrelevant to future businesses and societal needs. 

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The human resource department has an enormous task of putting in place policy guidelines concerning the organization’s anti- HIV and AIDS compliance measures. HR must also ensure that occupational health issues are properly highlighted. HR should work in conjunction with retainers’ healthcare providers to ensure compliance especially when it comes to disclosure and other related matters that have to do with the company’s employee.

A professional HR practitioner understands the role of a good working relationship with the employee and their place in organizational health. It will be noted that a professional HR practitioner would create an atmosphere of reconciliation, dispute resolution, and education in the organization and these have solved problems that could have resulted in protracted litigation.

My advice to HR practitioners is to be professional, seeks knowledge and handles every matter not only from the point of law but also with diplomacy, tact, and empathy.

CONCLUSION

It has been estimated that about 1.9 Million Nigerians are living with HIV and people within the age bracket of 15-49 are about 1.5% of this figure means that the Nation’s active population is affected. In the year 2018, it was gathered that we had 53,000 deaths related to AIDS.

However, it would be realized that with access to anti-retroviral drugs, better awareness, and treatment the rate of infection dropped between 2015 and 2017 which gives the impression that the Anti-Discrimination Act plays a positive role in curbing the incident of new infection and AIDS-related death.

It should be of note that HIV  is classified as incurable today just like we have had other diseases in time past which were tagged incurable but were later declassified and completely eliminated. It is in the same spirit that efforts and research works are ongoing to find a permanent cure to HIV, while this is being done people living with the virus must be accommodated, not discriminated against and be treated as human.

It has been proven that countries like Argentina and Demark that have significantly reduced AIDS-related death due to universal free access to treatment and antiretroviral drugs. According to a World Bank study Argentine allocates 80% of total HIV and AIDS spending to care and treatment.

A recent report indicates that Denmark could become the first HIV-free country in the world. It is hoped that one day Nigeria will become HIV-Free.

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UNDERSTANDING THE EMPLOYMENT RIGHT OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV AND AIDS IN NIGERIA

Thank you

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Chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution prescribes some inalienable fundamental rights for citizens. Some of the rights that have implications on employment include the right to personal liberty, the right to private and family life and the right to freedom from discrimination.

However, with specific reference to discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS, it is a special enactment gazetted and signed into law on the 28th of November, 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan, titled “HIV AND AIDS (ANTI-DISCRIMINATION) ACT, 2014.  Part 1, subsection “f” listed one of the objectives of the Act as giving effect to the fundamental human rights of citizens as listed in Chapter  4 of the Constitution.

Part 3 (1) of the HIV AND AIDS (ANTI-DISCRIMINATION) ACT states specifically that “People living with or affected by HIV or AIDS have a right to freedom from discrimination on the basis of their real or perceived HIV status concerning access to and continued employment, employment benefits, comprehensive health services, education, use of public facilities and other social services, provided by the employer, individual, community, government or any other establishment.”

Section 9 (1) of the Act prohibits and makes it an offense to use an HIV test as a pre-condition for employment.

The Act further stated in Section 14 sub-section 5, that real or perceived HIV status shall not be a cause for termination of employment.

From the above citations, it would be seen that Nigerian Law provides protection for people living with HIV and AIDS, in fact, it is an offense to discriminate against them in employment matters, entitlement to benefits and such knowledge real or perceived should not be a basis for the termination of their employment.

WHAT SHOULD AN ORGANIZATION DO WHEN AN EMPLOYEE IS DISCOVERED TO BE HIV POSITIVE?

It is important to state from the start that as an employer or HR practitioner it is not in your place to tag or ask an employee for his or her HIV status it is against the law and punishable with dire consequences. Section 8 (1) made this clear.

However, where an employee chooses to voluntarily disclose his or her HIV status such knowledge or information shall not be disclosed to a third party except with the written consent of the person making the disclosure or when such information is at the instance of the law court.  

Section 4 (1) gives the employer a duty of care at ensuring that he or she protects an employee living with HIV or AIDS from and against any form of discrimination.

In the case of the earlier questions asked by the reader, we should settle the matter by now that discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS is against international and local laws that attract huge fine as well as prison sentences or both.

In the duty of care, section 15 specifically states that “every employer has a duty, as far as it is practicable, to provide a safe workplace and this shall include ensuring that the risk of occupational exposure to HIV is minimized” at the workplace. And, this will include protection of the person living with HIV, protection of fellow employees from contracting HIV and the protection of customers that come in contact with the organization.

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One of the followers of this blog page had asked that I address the right of people living with HIV/AIDS in the workplace. His specific question was that “If an employee is diagnosed to be HIV positive, should his or her employment be determined on the basis of risk to other employees, the psychological effects of such discovery on the employee himself and the effect of such knowledge to the customers?” On probing further, he said his company operates in the hospitality and catering sub-sector and the staff in question works in the kitchen as a Kitchen Assistant. Her duties involve supporting the chefs with menu preparation and sometimes with the cooking. According to him, the employee in most cases works with knives, graters and cooking utensils.

The fear expressed by this reader is understandable especially if we consider the sensitive nature of the job handled by the employee in question. However, without being sentimental I want us to examine the position of law, employment processes and some basic regulations that are needed in the workplace to protect the organization, its employees and the customers at large.

It is important to state here that International laws, conventions, and Acts of parliaments prohibit discrimination against people living with HIV in the workplace. This simply implies that an organization will be acting contrary to law if they denied employment to an applicant on the ground that such a person is HIV positive or sacked an employee on the notion that he or she is HIV positive.

You would realize my deliberate use of the word HIV as against AIDS in the presiding paragraph; this is intentional because of the sensitive nature of this topic and also an attempt not to send a wrong signal to readers and HR practitioners in particular.

The question here is, could an employee be sacked based on the report or proven case of HIV, the answer is no. Could the same be said of a case of an employee with AIDS? We may have to probe further by making a distinction between HIV and AIDS.

HIV AND AIDS, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES OR SIMILARITIES?

WHAT IS HIV?

By simple definition, HIV means “Human Immunodeficiency Virus” HIV is a virus that attacks and has the capacity to damage the human immune system. The immune system helps the body fight off infection; however, untreated HIV could lead to a breakdown in the ability of the body to defend itself against opportunistic infections.

It should be noted that HIV does not kills, however, because of its ability to attack and reduce the capacity of vital body cells such as the “helper T Cells” macrophages and dendritic cells it could degrade the victim’s immune system and progress to AIDS that ultimately create rooms for opportunistic infections that kill if not properly treated and managed.

WHAT IS AIDS?

AIDS or TYPE-3-HIV means Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. And, according to Wikipedia, “AIDS is a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive.” AIDS is seen as an advanced stage of HIV. It should also be noted that not all HIV cases are likely to develop or result in AIDS. However, medical research has shown that an HIV positive person with a CD4 count below 200 per cubic millimeter will be diagnosed with AIDS.

The risk factor to the victim is huge at this stage because of the absence of a cure for AIDS and with damages to the human immune system, opportunistic infections as common as pneumonia, malaria or other common diseases could kill the victim.

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Workplace distraction, workplace interference or attention diversion has been defined as the inability of the worker to remain focused on what is work priority. In fact, it is seen as the “blocking or diminishing” of the reception of important information that should aid work performances.

Having looked at the effects of workplace distractions on the organization and the individual worker, we should now focus on the causes of workplace distraction.

CAREERBUILDER 2016 SURVEY ON CAUSES OF WORKPLACE DISTRACTION

A survey conducted by CareerBuilder on 2000 US hiring and HR Managers in 2016 identified the following causes of workplace distractions:

1. Smart phones – 55%
2. Internet – 41%
3. Gossip – 35%
4. Social media- 37%
5. Co-workers dropping by – 27%

Udemy Findings on the Causes of workplace Distraction 2018

In a similar survey by Udemy in 2018, the following were identified as causes of workplace distractions:

1. Talkative Co-workers – 80%
2. Office Noise – 70%
3. Smart Phone – 69%
4. Meetings – 60%
5. Social Media – 59%

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CAUSES OF WORKPLACE DISTRACTION

The major causes of workplace distraction can be INTERNAL or EXTERNAL in nature. The internal reasons will include interference from and within the organization itself, obstruction from employee’s workspaces and such issues that can encumber effective work performances in and around the organization.

On the other hand, the external reasons bother on issues that are external to the employee immediate environment such as an unscheduled visit by the employee’s acquaintances, the inability of the worker to manage private-personal issues that could cause uneasiness, attention diversion, and stress including family interference with work (FIW).

It will interest you to know that in its 2018 Workplace Distraction Report, Udemy in Depth reveals that a third of millennial and GenZ who responded to its questionnaire say they spend two hours or more checking and interacting with their smartphones during the work hours.This implies that 10 hours of valuable working hours are lost per week to unrelated workplace activity.

It was further discovered that 59% of workplace distraction was caused by social media and when broken down Facebook was seen as the major culprit as shown below.

1. Facebook                 65%
2. Instagram                  9%
3. Snap chat                   7%
4. Twitter                        7%

In the Journal of Vocational Behaviour, Volume 81, Issue 2, October 2012, Pages 227 – 235, it was revealed that family interference with employee work is positively related to an increased in workplace cognitive failure, a condition defined as errors made at work that “ indicate lapses in memory” and failure to recall work procedures.

Having pointed out the key factors that cause’s workplace distraction, it is therefore necessary to look at the solutions and some manageable measures that can be taken to reduce the negative effects of workplace distraction on the workers and the organization as a whole.

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HOW TO MANAGE WORKPLACE DISTRACTION / ATTENTION DIVERSION

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Different tasks and job functions demand a varying degree of concentration and attention, to achieve organizational goals and individuals’ performance objectives, employees must be properly focused and avoid unnecessary distraction that could take their focus off the pie. Distraction, as we know, is a thief of time and a negative consequence of workers’ inability to have the mastery of self and their workspaces.

Researches on employee performances have attributed task-performance-errors; “failure to recall work procedure, lapses in memory, dislike for the job, inability in meeting deadlines, negative emotion resulting from stress and the feelings of incompetence to workplace distraction. In fact, according to a survey by Udemy, 3 out of 4 workers admitted that they felt distracted when on the job. In the survey for Business in 2018, Udemy found that about 58% respondents said they were affected by distraction at the workplace while 20% of participants said their career advancement and inability to attain their full potentials could be attributed to workplace distraction.

The seriousness attached to workplace interference will be better appreciated when monetized and viewed from the perspective of attendance consequences for the organization and the psychological loss of worth to the serious employee who feels that his or her inability to deliver on time and properly meet deadlines was due to factors outside his or her control.

Just imagine a pilot who got distracted while flying a plane, or a surgeon in the middle of a surgical operation who was unintentionally disrupted and his procedure interrupted with.  

WHAT IS WORKPLACE DISTRACTION?

For the purpose of this article, workplace distraction will be defined as “The suspension of one stream of work prior to completion, with the intent of returning to and completing the original stream of work” Boehm-Davis, Deborah A. Remington and Roger (2009).

THE EFFECTS OF WORKPLACE DISTRACTION

Time according to a popular maxim is money hence any time wasted on the job should be considered a loss of valuable organization’s resources and the result that could have been attained if such time was put to judicious uses.

Unnecessary interference in work processes could breed negative consequences especially as these distractions are seen as a disruption in the workers’ ability to remain focused on the job and be committed to assigned tasks. The following are some of the likely effects of workplace distractions.

Failure to deliver on assigned task

Organizational processes are customer oriented, customers’ needs are time-bound hence the work process should be structured to meet these needs in a timely manner. To achieve this, work is divided into various tasks and performed by an individual, or a group of workers, when a team member is distracted this will ultimately affect the team’s ability to deliver on an assigned task. Performance delay due to distraction could lead to loss of the customer, goodwill and organizational reputation.

Marking the time syndrome

Teamwork is a key factor to achieving organizational success, however, if not properly monitored you could have a team member who pretends to be working but was only engaged in office loitering without any meaningful contribution to teamwork. Such individuals are distracters that should be managed otherwise they will hinder others and slow down the work process.

Performance Error

Performance is seen as the level of involvement by the worker that produces an output adjudged as good or poor. Individuals’ Performances are subject to many factors such as the level of skills, past experiences, rate of engagement and dedication. When the required skill set is available it is expected that work outputs should turn out well. However, workplace interference can be an encumbrance to achieving a great result. Performance error and error in output would alter the final product.

Waste of Organization’s Resources

When resources are re-assigned to correcting performance errors or when such products or services are rejected by the end-users; the financial or resource implication could be massive and sometimes causes the organizational a colossal lost.

Workplace distraction could breed attention diversion and when this happen organizations’ resources which ought to be used profitably will end up being to wasteful use.

Transferred Aggression

Anger, frustration, and disappointment could arise as a result of the inability of a worker to live up to expectation and meet set target, consequently this could result unto poor score during performance appraisal or warning and sometimes outright sack which can get so much of the worker to the extent of transferring such anger to colleagues and the organization as a whole.

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CAUSES OF WORKPLACE DISTRACTION

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It is no longer news that President Muhammad Buhari signed into law on January 23, 2019 the “Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018” which forbids all forms of discrimination (Access to company’s facilities, transportation and employment etc) against persons living with disabilities and imposes a fine of N 100,000 or a term of six months imprisonment on individuals and a whopping sum of N 1,000,000 on corporate bodies that violates any section of the new law.

The key objective of the Act is to ensure the full integration of persons with disabilities into society and guarantees their education, healthcare, economic wellbeing, and civic right and social inclusiveness. This follows on the heels of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of (Disabled) No.159 of 1983 signed by Nigeria on July 14, 2010 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol on May 28, 2007 and October 27, 2008 respectively.

WHO IS A PERSON WITH DISABILITIES?

The Act defines a person with disabilities to means

1. A person who has received preliminary certificate of disability to have condition which is expected to continue permanently or for a considerable length of time which can reasonably be expected to limit the person’s hearing, thinking, ambulating, descending, lifting, grasping, rising, and includes any related functions or any limitation due to weakness or significantly decreased endurance so that he cannot perform his everyday routine, living and working without significantly increased hardship and vulnerability to everyday obstacles and hazards.
2. A person with long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (PROHIBITION) ACT, 2018

Part 1 (1), (2) and (3) Prohibits discriminatory or differential treatments against persons with disabilities by any “person or institution in any manner or circumstances whatsoever.” It further provides for penalty for violation and grants the right to any disabled person whose right had been violated to institute a civil action against any “such person committing the offence or causing the injury, without prejudice to any conviction or acquittal.”

Part 111. This section of the Act states that a person with disabilities shall have the right to access the physical environment and buildings on an equal basis with others. It provides that a public building shall be constructed with all necessary accessibility aids and all necessary facilities that shall make it accessible for persons with disabilities.

Instructive to note here is the definition of a public building which the law sees as “a building owned or used by government or government agency or a building available for the use of members of the public.” By implication, this will include private business buildings that serve members of the public including private residential buildings made available for residential purposes. The Act expatiates further when it sees accommodation in the context of housing to mean “residential or business accommodation.”

TRANSITIONAL PERIOD FOR COMPLIANCE

The Act provides for public buildings and structures to be modified within a five year period to accommodate the requirements that meet the demand for accessibility to persons with a disability without a penalty. It also provides that public building should henceforth get an approval such as building plan that satisfies the building code and accessibility to persons with disabilities condition.

BARRIER TO ACCESSIBILITY AND PENALTY FOR DEFAULT

Section 8 subsection 1 of the Act states as follows “ Subject to section 7, in the event of evidence of state of inaccessibility or barrier to access of a person with disability to the environment that he or she has a right or duty to access, he may, without prejudice to his or her right to seek redress in court, notify the relevant authority in charge of the environment of the existence of the state of inaccessibility or barrier to accessibility of the environment, and it shall be the duty of the relevant authority in charge to take immediate and necessary steps to remove the barrier and make the environment accessible to the person with disability.”

Note that Section 8, subsection 2 (a) and (b) imposes damages of N 10,000 on corporate bodies and N 5,000 on individuals for failure to comply once such notice of barrier existence is brought to the relevant authority notice for each day that such barrier exists.

Part IV – Road Transportation (Goods, services and Facilities). This section makes it an unlawful act for a provider of goods and services or related services to discriminate against persons with disabilities. Subsection 10 (2) (4) made it clearer with reference to such services as staff bus, designated parking lots for PLWD and safety measures when it states inter alia that “ Every public vehicle should have a functional audible and visual display of their destination within 5 years from the commencement of this Act.”

Part vii – This section provides for the right to first consideration in Queues and during emergencies for person with disabilities.

EMPLOYMENT: EQUAL RIGHT TO WORK FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Section 27 (1) Provides for the right to equal opportunity in employment related matters and made it unlawful to discriminate against with living with disabilities. Subsection 2, of Section 27 imposes minimum nominal damages of N 250,000 on any person upon conviction that discriminate against PLWD in employment based on their disability payable to the affected person with disability. And, where the violator is a company, the Act states thus “ the company shall be liable to nominal damages of a minimum of N 500,000 payable to the affected person with disability; and

1. Any principal officer of the company involved in the violation shall be liable to N 50,000 damages payable to the affected person with disability.

It should be noted also, that section 28, states that “All employers of labour in public organization shall as much as possible have person with disabilities constituting at least 5 % of their employment.”

ACCOMMODATION. This can be extended to staff accommodation, here it is expected that when such facility is provided for by organization to their employees, the Act states that persons with disabilities “shall be given first consideration.”

CONCLUSION.

It is instructive to note that individuals and corporate organizations especially HR professionals should pay due diligence to the requirements of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 so as to avoid the pitfalls that could plunge their organizations into litigations and attendance losses thereof. With over 19 million people living with disabilities in Nigeria the need for such legislation is of paramount importance, therefore, its implementation must be supported by all.

With the window of 5 years provided by the Act for organizations and individuals to put in place required facilities that are needed for implementation, we advise therefore that issues such as accessibility facilities, accommodation, public transportation where it is provided by individual or organizations, recruitment and employment documentation should be addressed and designed to meet with these requirements of the Act.

Though it appears that the Act gives wide latitude and advantage to people with disabilities when it provides in Part XIV under Miscellaneous Provisions in Section 56 (1) that “To be entitled to the damages especially provided in this Act, It shall be sufficient for a plaintiff claimant as the case may be, in a court proceeding to prove the violation of the relevant section of this Act without specific proof of damages”

It went further to states in subsection 2 that “Nothing in this Act shall prevent a court from accessing and awarding general and specific damages in addition to the normal damages provided for in this Act.”

To ensure compliance, it becomes necessary that individuals and corporate organization should, therefore, reappraise their internal processes, facilities, and procedure to ensure total compliance with the Act. It’s sufficed to say that full compliance requires a joint action which will take into account structural design (building and facilities), transportation management and Human resources management processes, documentation and procedures.

This writer (askkayodemicah@gmail.com) will be willing to render consultative service to any organization that requires such services to achieve full implementation and meet the requirements of the new law. We also prove training for the company’s personnel and individuals.

Thank you

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Workers rights to receive and be paid a national minimum wage have legal backing; it is a prescription of national laws. The instrument that established minimum wage made it clear that it is an offence for employers who fail to pay the minimum wage to employees except if the employer or employee fails within the exemption list as contained in section 2 subsection 1 a, b, c, d and e respectively.

It is important to note however that until the new bill is signed into law by the President it remains unenforceable. Once it is signed by the President it becomes a law, organizations are therefore bound to comply with the law.

A look at the amended bill by the House of Representative would further give credence to this, under Employer’s obligations in respect of minimum wage, it states

“… if the employer fails to (pay the minimum wage) do so, he is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N 75,000 and in the case of continuing office to a fine not exceeding N 10,000 for each day during which the offence continues”.

CAN INDIVIDUAL’S CONTRACT WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A MINIMUM WAGE?

Once the minimum wage bill is signed into law it automatically nullifies every other agreement or individual’s contract that pegged an employee’s wage below the minimum wage. Any contractual arrangement or agreement will become void and a nullity.

To justify the point made here, let’s look at the definition of Minimum wage given by the International Labour Organization: General Survey Concerning the minimum wage fixing convention 1970 (No. 131, and the Minimum wage fixing Recommendation 1970 (No. 135) which defines minimum wage as:

“… The minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or an individual contract.”

CAN AN EMPLOYER PAY ABOVE THE NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE?

Yes, an employer can pay entry level staff an amount higher than the national minimum wage. The doctrine of ability to pay should play out here. Also, value or worth of employee’s productivity could be a factor to consider.

In the words of Dr Chris Ngigi, Minister of Labour (2019), “The minimum wage figure does not preclude from being paid higher by the employer, depending on the employer’s financial capability”.

Unlike the Ordinance of Labourers (1349) and the Statute of Labourers (1351) which set a wage ceiling, selfishly decreed by King Edward 111, modern minimum wage laws give the employers the latitude to pay above the minimum wage but not below.

CONCLUSION

This article has pointed attention to workers right to earn a minimum wage, it pays attention to the requirements of the 2019 National Minimum Wage Act (Amended), it critically examines the qualifications and exemptions granted by the law.

It is hoped that it will be view as a guide and as an avenue for enlightenment.

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The fight against economic slavery, income inequality and the need to lift a good percentage of workers out of the poverty line had been in the forefront of the organized labour struggle and leading organizations such as the League of Nation which last organized the International Convention against slavery in 1926 and later supported by the convening of the Global Minimum Wage Convention championed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1928 and other subsequent conventions. While it was practically impossible to have a Global Minimum Wage, countries of the world through legal instruments, collective bargaining, Treaties, and Conventions have adopted and embraced the idea of a national minimum wage.

Going by conventions and practices, we noticed that the national wage system is divided into two which have become very popular. The first is the PROGRESSIVE MINIMUM WAGE and the second is THE LIVING WAGE SYSTEM calculated based on the median income in countries and was first presented in 1919.

However, the Progressive minimum wage seems to enjoy currency in most countries of the world and Nigeria in particular. The progressive minimum wage allows for the government using a TRIPARTITE arrangement to arrive at a SINGLE Minimum wage for an agreed time frame (National Minimum Wage (Bill) Act 2019) recognizes five (5) years review duration.

WHAT IS A MINIMUM WAGE?

A national minimum wage is the mandatory and statutory minimum entry-level wage paid by employers of labour in a country (both public and private sector employers), exclusive of all deductions except when such deductions are required by law, agreed by the workers and approved by the regulatory bodies in charge of labour and employment matters, in the case of Nigeria the Minister of Labour and Productivity.

It is instructive to note that there cannot be more than one figure or a single national minimum wage, hence the proposal by the National Council of State of Nigeria (January 2019) for N 27,000 and the statement by the Minister of Labour Dr. Chris Ngigi, which states, that “ However, the Federal Government, based on the principle of ability to pay, augmented their own N 27,000 without putting workers through a protracted negotiation to N 30, 000 which means that the lowest paid worker in the Federal Public Service GL, Step 1 would earn N 30,000 minimum wage” is an abnormality and an estrangement to the principle of a national minimum wage.

Whilst the concept of the ability to pay is a key criterion in wage determination, the standard practice is to have a harmonized wage position in the course of its determination and once there is an agreement, signed into law by the President, employers of labour who falls within the recommended criteria are obligated to pay.

WHO IS ENTITLED TO A MINIMUM WAGE?

Section 2 (1) of the National Minimum Wage Act granted some exemptions which clearly identifies those categories of employees who cannot get or qualified for a minimum wage. The sections states as follows:

• The provisions of subsection 1 of section 1 shall not apply to:

1. An establishment in which less than 25 workers are employed
2. An establishment in which workers are employed on a part-time basis
3. An establishment at which workers are paid on commission or on a piece rate basis
4. Workers in seasonal employment such as agriculture
5. Any person employed in a vessel or aircraft to which the laws regulating merchant shipping or civil aviation apply.

From the above, it means that if you are in paid employment and does not fail into any of the classifications above you are entitled to a minimum wage whether you are employed by the government or a private organization.

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Work and life are complementary in nature, work creates values and values are paid for, the reward for one’s labour create financial stability, sense of independence and enables you to live a good life. Having said this, the relationship between work and life should not be at the expense of personal wellbeing, hence, the line between work life and personal life. Besides this, however, is life after-work which is a condition of retirement, redundancy, compulsory or voluntary exit from work? It should be noted here, that, life after-work is dependent on how well work life and personal life are spent.

What to do, to maintain a work and Life balance will include the following

• HAVE A PERSONAL SENSE OF WORTH AND WORK VALUE

Success on the job is determined by many of factors, however, the greatest of such is the sense of worth that the individual places on himself and the understanding that he or she is contributing positively to the organization and society at large. Such intrinsic motivation will bring about better performances and brings joy to the worker. It has the potential of reducing stress and act as an impetus for superior work performances. Regularly evaluate your work and place a value on it in terms of its overall contribution to the organization.

• SET DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY AND YEARLY TARGET FOR YOURSELF

Performance appraisal is built around the worker’s day to day task and the presumption that performances need to be measured and evaluated. A Standard appraisal system is benchmarked on a proper job description, set target and KPI.  In order for a worker to meet this key performance standard, he or she needs proper planning and personal assessment of the work schedule and performances delivered on a regular basis. Without setting a target and evaluating performance level you may not see a deviation, and shortfall performance. When tasks are planned for the pressure associated with incomplete works is reduced, and more rooms are available to attend to personal life.

• PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR HEALTH

Health is wealth so the saying goes, but beyond this health is life. To stay alive we must pay attention to our spiritual, physical, emotional health. A regular medical checkup at least once a year is necessary. Health challenges quickly identified can be better attended to before it degenerates to a more complex health issue.

• CREATE TIME FOR YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

There will always be life after work hence paying attention while in employment to family, loved ones and friends is a requirement for enjoying a better relationship with them after work life. Never get too busy to forget your family, it is unwise.

• TAKE A LEAVE/VACATION IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT

I have written extensively on annual leave and the position of the law, to a reasonable extent choking oneself with workload without taking some time off is dangerous both to you and the organization. The human body system as pointed out in an earlier article requires adequate rest and rejuvenation.

• SAY NO WHEN THE JOB DEMAND IS NEGATIVELY AFFECTING YOUR WELLBEING

Juggling multiple task and functions might be okay at a certain age; however, understanding the working of your body system is something you must not toy with. Sometimes the body says no, but when you put it under undue pressure the system might break down as seen in incidences of fatigue and burn out.

• EAT WELL, EXERCISE REGULARLY AND TAKE ADEQUATE REST

Healthy food, regular exercises and adequate rest keep the human body system at an optimum level of performance. Dieticians advised that breakfast should be observed and taken as the most important meal for human, coupled with exercise such as walking, moving the body parts and good rest will keep you going well.

• MAKE A PLAN FOR LIFE AFTER WORK

Exiting work life is a reality that a worker will face, be it compulsory or involuntary exit, at a point, there will be a separation from employment. Ironically experience has shown that the fear of exiting employment create panic in some workers and some who left with inadequate planning are sometimes faced with financial challenges. It is the opinion of this writer that every organization should put in place a post-employment advisory department to help plan their employee’s exit and after work life. As an employee, you must also plan ahead by simply deciding on what you will retire into or possibly if you lose your job today what are the backup plans. It is normal to make such a projection.

Conclusion

Human development as seen today is the result of the creative and innovative mind of man and the refinement of the work process and procedures. To sustain the progress made as well as improve on it we need to constantly reinvent the work process, make it more accommodating for a human especially in considering the worker’s health and wellbeing. To achieve this man must remain healthy, the workplace must be made more conducive and the atmosphere for productivity should be improved upon. Work life, personal life, and life after work must be of critical consideration in the planning for tomorrow’s workplace and improved organizational performance.

Merry Christmas and wishing all my readers a prosperous 2019. God bless you.

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Medical researches show that the human body is a combination of interrelated and interdependent systems, the body works like a machine to give purpose to life. It has been proven also that the human body even in a state of semi-unconsciousness works 24/7 though at a different degree. However, the body needs rest, rejuvenation, re-oiling and adequate care. Like other machines, it is important to note that the human body can break down if not properly taken care of.

The human anatomy is made up of cells, tissues, and organs which form the human body systems. These systems are the respiratory, digestive, circulatory, skeletal, immune, excretory, muscular, nervous, and endocrine system. The working of the human system must be properly cared for as failure or breakdown in the system could impair the overall working of the human body, subsequently, this would affect the organization’s performances even in a highly automated work environment that requires human supervision.

In HR it is a recognized practice that after a period of work engagement the worker should take a rest either in term of break in-between an 8 hours work or an off duty-day after a continuous work process of 8 days. This is further expanded to include an annual leave vacation after the worker has been in employment for a period of one year. The reason, for this, is to give the body rest, allow the human system a proper reinvigoration and recovery.

Stress, boredom, tiredness, weakness, high blood pressure are known issues that are associated with work, these problems when they go beyond a manageable stage they could become hazardous and sometimes detrimental to the wellbeing of the worker. These factors can impair performances and worker productivity. It could result in loss of man-hour, an increase in workers’ turnover, the high cost of medical related expense, negative impacts on physical/emotional health and sometimes loss of life.

It is the opinion of this writer that in as much as work is an integral part of life, life can, however, become meaningful only in a healthy state, while pursuing the cause of the organization attention must equally be paid to personal wellbeing.

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HOW TO MAINTAIN A WORK-LIFE BALANCE

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Organizational wellbeing is the totality of the organization’s health and the wellness of its workforce in relation to their individual well-being, performances, and psychosocial environment. Without a safe and healthy workforce, we cannot have a progressive and prospering organization. Therefore, maintaining equilibrium between work and life is a necessary condition for a productive workforce and a progressive organization.

Work and life are inherently interwoven, the human ability to engage in work that generates values enables man to live a life that is satisfactory and good. With the same token, organizational productivity is hinged on the ability of man to continuously engage in productive work. This meaning to the notion, that a healthy workforce is a healthy organization.

According to the Organizational Health Diagnostic and Development Corporation, Organizational health is defined as “ an organizational ability to function effectively, to cope adequately, to change appropriately, and to grow from within” The definition above laid credence to that fact that a healthy organization behaves the same way a living being does.

However, because of the risk factors that are associated with work and life, the organization must through deliberate policies help its workforce to maintain a balance between work and life otherwise life itself will become “short and brutish”, the workers’ health jeopardized and organizational wellbeing put in peril.

Interestingly too, it has been proven that in Nigeria and in most developing countries an average worker spent about two third of their active wake time at work, coupled with the rudimentary transportation system and other stress induces challenges workers’ health are most impacted and organizational wellbeing thrown off the balance.

THE INCURSION OF WORK LIFE INTO PERSONAL LIFE

Increasingly, the line between work life and personal life is becoming thinner and difficult to separate, assignments and uncompleted task are sometimes taken home and the organizations at the same time makes effort to accommodate some elements of the family at work – flextime, child-friendly work environment, provision for maternity/paternity leave and family paid vacation. Flexible work pattern allows the worker to work from home, relates task via the company’s dedicated internet platforms and processes.

As good as modern work innovations might sound there is the need to draw a line between work life and personal life, however, since we may find it difficult to entirely separate the two, one is required to be sensitive enough to know when such intrusion is becoming an unnecessary invasion.

DRAWING THE LINE BETWEEN WORK LIFE AND PERSONAL LIFE.

Work life is the amount of time that a worker spends in an employer’s undertaking or at work while personal life is the amount of time that a person spends outside a paid employment and the time which he or she dedicates to attending to personal issues such as family, spirituality, friends, community services, loved ones, and other personal interests. The distinction is that work life is paid for by your employer (s) when calculated in terms of productivity. On the other hand, personal life is self-evaluated and appraised by its owner but not paid for by a third party.

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THE DANGER OF NOT SEPARATING WORK LIFE FROM PERSONAL LIFE

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THE CRIMINAL LAW OF LAGOS STATE 2011

It is, however, important to states that the Lagos State Government has classified Sexual Harassment as an offence within its jurisdiction. If you live and work in Lagos, note that sexual harassment is an offence.
Chapter 25, Section 262 of the Criminal Law of Lagos States 2011 states in subsection (1) that:
Any person who sexually harassed another is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.
Subsection 2 of Section 262, defines Sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favours, and other visual, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which when submitted to or rejected-

1. Implicitly or explicitly affects a persons employment or unreasonably interferes with the persons work or educational performance;

2. Implicitly or explicitly suggests that submission to or rejection of the conduct will be a factor in academic or employment decisions; or

3. Creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive learning or working environment.
Section 264 of the law addresses the issue of consent when it states in subsection (1) that
For the purpose of this chapter, a person consents if he agrees by choice and has the freedom and capacity to make and communicate that choice

NATIONAL DIMENSION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AS AN OFFENCE UNDER THE NIGERIAN LAW

By implication, The National Industrial Court of Nigeria, in a recent review of its procedure, implicitly and explicitly states that the court can be approached on issue bothering on sexual harassment at workplace.
For instance, a look at order 14 of the Civil Procedure rules, 2017 provides that an action in which an employee claims sexual harassment at workplace should spell out whether the act is any of the following
1. Physical conduct of a sexual nature
2. A verbal form of sexual harassment
3. A non-verbal form of sexual harassment
4. Quid pro quo harassment where an owner, employer, superior, member of management or co-employee undertakes or attempts to influence or influences the process of employment, training, discipline, dismissal, salary increments, or other benefits of an employee or job applicant in exchange for a sexual favour.
Because workplace sexual harassment is a global menace and a scourge various countries have passed laws and legislation to either criminalized it or tackle it as an unacceptable social nuisance.

United States of American
As far back as in 1964, Title V11 of the United States Civil Rights Act expressly condemns discrimination and sexual harassment likewise is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) and the Equality Act 2010 directed against the act of unwelcome sexual advances at a workplace.

Germany
The German General Equal Treatment Act, stresses that a repeated offender of sexual harassment should be terminated from employment having carried out a proper investigation.

Latin America Countries
In Brazil, Mexico and other Latin American countries sexual harassment is viewed seriously. For example, a law was enacted in Mexico 2012 that places fines and levies ranging from $ 1000 to $ 20,000 on employers who tolerate the act of sexual harassment in their organizations.

AFRICAN COUNTRIES
Excepts for few countries in Africa where sexual harassment is treated as a criminal act most of the countries still dont handle it with the seriousness that it deserves. The African perception of the role of women in general and to a large extent our cultural and religious leaning are major obstacles working against the criminalization of sexual harassment at an offence at the workplace.

Continue to:-
EFFECTS OF WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT

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Overtime must be regulated and treated within the ambit of the law. A carelessly managed overtime work could lead to negative consequences for the organization as well as the individual workers. Some of the effects of a badly managed overtime system are:

1. Increased overhead cost and payout
The benefits of overtime work and payout should be weighed against its cost if the job could be pushed to normal working hours it would be in the best interest of the organization. Overtime pay is an additional expense that should necessarily be met by a corresponding revenue generation or productivity increase.

2. Idleness during the normal work period
Except there is a checklist or an automated system to check workers commitment at their official time, a phony employee might decide to waste time on frivolities during the official work hours only to request for overtime at the expense of the organization.

3. Fatigue and breakdown
One attendance consequences of unregulated overtime are the excess burden and stress that is placed on the staff. Rest is a necessary requirement for healthy living and when this is compromised it could lead to fatigue, shoddy performances and in some cases breakdown of the employee.

4. The rise in medical needs and bills
Following on the heels of the above point is the negative impact on medical related illnesses, absenteeism, and rise in medical calls and bills by the staff and organization. This on its own will ultimately override the benefits of overtime; hence it should be properly regulated.

LEGAL BASIS FOR OVERTIME PAYMENT

Section 13, subsection (2) of the Nigerian labor Act justifies the legality of overtime work as cited in the preceding paragraphs. Also, it should be noted that overtime work is regulated by law in order to prevent employers from forcing workers to work long hours without their consent and without compensating them adequately for such commitment.

EXEMPTION TO OVERTIME

Although not expressly stated in the Act, however, it is standard practice all over the world to exempt some categories of workers from being paid overtime allowance. This does not mean that they cannot work long hours beyond their official scheduled, such extra is seen as part of their work by reason of their position and remuneration.
This rule applies to those in managerial positions, such as managers and supervisors or anyone who direct two or more full-time workers and whose earning is above a certain benchmark.
In fact, in some countries, this will include anyone who has a determining say in the hiring and firing of a junior worker.

OVERTIME WORK PROCEDURE AND CHECKLIST

In the absence of a direct supervisor that compromises on his or her responsibility and deliberately tries to please a subordinate by granting extended work hours so that such staff could earn additional pay, it is recommended that important checklist should be in place before overtime work is granted.
Firstly, it must be asked, can this task be completed within the normal work hours? If yes, then it should be done within the stipulated time frame. If no, we should ask, can it be deferred to the next working day? If it can, then it should wait until the next day.
Secondly, before overtime work is clocked in; it must have the express approval and permission of a supervisor or staff immediate boss.
Thirdly, a specific timeline must be set for the completion of the task that has been extended to ensure that the task does not drag unnecessarily.
Lastly, a threshold must be established to determine those who are not entitled to overtime benefits and for those who are, a benchmark for the maximum overtime that can be done per month should be documented.

Continue to: COMPUTATION OF OVERTIME AND MODE OF PAYMENT

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Eric (Not real name) had recently gotten a dream job after five years of unemployment, he painted a beautiful picture of the organization and the supportive role of his female head of department who gave all the necessary support and ensured that the job was truly a dream come true.
Eric described his boss as the best boss ever, very supportive and encouraging yet strict and committed to the organization. She never entertains shoddiness nor takes anything below 100% as a good job. Eric being a relatively young man gave his all and got a recommendation for a pay rise after five months on the job.
According to Eric, my boss is someone that operates an open door policy and gives you the opportunity to approach her on anything including personal issues that you needed advice on. She is just naturally a nice person.
Recently, Eric became uncomfortable with his boss and sort for an independent advise from me, he said, some few months back, my boss called me towards the close of work to go and buy an ointment from a nearby drug store. Quoting Eric, When I returned with the ointment my boss rested her head on the desk and asked me to help massage her back.
Cutting a long matter short, this has become a regular occurrence that I am not comfortable with.
When asked, if he had personally complained to her, he said, I fear to lose my job and the indignity of being out there on the street without a job and the inability to meet up with other personal and family responsibilities made it difficult for me.

WAS THE BORDERLINE CROSSED?

Obviously, Eric does not work in a gymnasium or a spa, he was employed as an Audit Assistant, hence, the demand by his boss for him to massage her back partially dressed is an act of workplace sexual harassment, therefore, the borderline has been crossed.

BUT THEY ARE BOTH ADULTS, SO WHAT ABOUT IT?
Both are adults, it is, however, obvious that Erics boss had taken advantage of her position to sexually harassed Eric to submission.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT, A GLOBAL MENACE

The above scenario is what a lot of people are living with at workplace, unconscious of the negative impact of such act on productivity and by extension the nations Gross Domestic Product, human dignity, workers psychological well being and their right to demand remedy and protection.
The primary objective of this article is to x-ray workplace sexual harassment, look at the position of the Nigerian Labour Act and come up with some solutions to this ubiquitous problem that is grossly unreported and culturally cover-up in most workplaces.

WHAT IS WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT?

To avoid ambiguity, I will adopt a number of definitions and highlights key points to bring home a commonly understood definition of sexual harassment.
Sexual harassment means the unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or the conduct based on sex affecting the dignity of man and woman at work. This can include unwelcome physical, verbal and nonverbal conduct. Thus, a range of behaviour may be considered to constitute sexual harassment. It is unacceptable if such conduct is unwanted, unreasonable and offensive to the recipient; if a persons rejection of, or submission to, such conduct on the part of the employers or workers ( including superiors or colleagues) is used explicitly or implicitly as a basis for a decision which affects that persons access to vocational training or employment, continued employment, promotion, salary or any other employment decisions, and /or such conduct creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating working environment. European Commission Committee on the Protection of the dignity of women and men at workplace
According to Article 26, of the Italian Code of Equal Opportunities, sexual harassment is defined as Unwanted conduct of a sexual nature expressed in any way which violates, or is intended to violate the dignity of an employee or which creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive working environment.

CONTINUE TO: –
WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE FACE OF THE NIGERIAN LAW

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Also in a recent survey conducted by Harris International on behalf of CareerBuilder from November 1 to November 30, 2012, among 4,216 workers the followings discoveries were made:

1. 39 percent of respondents said they have dated a co-worker
2. 17 percent said they have dated co-worker at least twice
3. 3 out of 10 workers who had office romances married their co-workers
4. 29 percent reported having dated someone above them in their companys hierarchy
5. 16 percent admitted having dated their boss
6. 38 percent of women reported having dated their boss compared to 21 percent of men.

The above statistics show that workplace romances are real, it happens, however, absolute caution must be taken when engaging in such relationships, in fact, if it can be avoided it is better to look elsewhere for romance other than a workplace. Having said this, note must be taken of the rules and regulations, customs and practices of the organization to see if your organization is favorably disposed to such relationship or not. This is important because some organizations have an unwritten code that disallowed workplace relationships even when they display a public toga of a flexible and an accommodating workplace.

WHAT IS WORKPLACE RELATIONSHIP OR OFFICE ROMANCE?

Workplace relationship or romance is the feeling of affection that happens between two co-workers in the same organization or corporate space having the character of a hidden or an outward expression of deep emotion or gesture of excitement and possibly loves.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORKPLACE RELATIONSHIP AND ROMANCE

• It a type of relationships that exist between two people employed by the same organization

• It is promoted mostly by proximity, closeness and time spent together at a workplace or on the same project or task.

• It may result in an uncommon partnership, a feeling of togetherness and sometimes conscious or unconscious outward expression of feeling for each other

• Such relationships could lead to love, marriage or a broken relationship

• It is not limited to the unmarried, it can happen between married employee and unmarried employee or between married and married persons or what has been described as adulterous workplace relationship

• It is intentional as both parties are conscious of their decision

• It may occur at different hierarchies in the organization, for example between executive members or senior staff, between a boss and a subordinate, or between peers

• It might not necessarily be supported or disallowed by the organization; hence, it could be open or hidden.

Continue reading: ADVANTAGES OF WORKPLACE RELATIONSHIPS AND ROMANCE

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For some reasons the victims of workplace sexual harassment are mostly subordinate staff, a larger percentage of reported cases of sexual harassments are committed by bosses against those under them on whom they have some level of control. The question here is how I can stop your randy boss from sexually harassing you.

• Be sensitive and know when your bosses actions, words and behaviour are becoming sexual in nature. Most of the victims of sexual harassment would tell you that their harassers usually adopt two methods, namely, benevolent act of goodwill and through intimidation in which the victim is made to believe that he or she owns his or her employment to the boss. Study your boss well and decide right from the onset to stop advances that are unhealthy, do not tolerate such action or statement, raise your objection in a polite manner almost immediately that it is noticed.

• Intelligent Exposure. It has been noticed that sexual harassers would like to keep things under wrap when they realized that other colleagues or staff in the organizations are aware they tend to desist. When your boss is making unwelcome passes at you, bring it to the knowledge of your colleagues and ensure that you always hang around a trusted colleague in the office. Avoid being alone with your boss.

• Intentional and planned confrontation. Sometimes it is important to confront your harasser and let him or her know that you are not comfortable with the attention that is giving to you and that such behaviour is affecting your job and ability to remain focused.

• Turn your computer monitor outward if unwelcome messages are sent via email or social media platform. You can deliberately leave your system on for others to see. The thought that other people would read your message will scare your randy boss.

• If all this fails, lodge a formal complaint with HR and follow up on this by escalating the issue to a higher authority.

• However, if it is the company CEO that is making the overture at you, you can approach right advocacy group and possible resign from the job. But before doing that, lodge formal complaint and if you can file a lawsuit, you will be helping other people and letting your boss know that it is not right.

CONCLUSION

The implications of workplace sexual harassment are enormous, its effects the dignity of the workers, it negatively impacts productivity and promotes vices such as the objectification of the opposite sex for personal and selfish pleasure. It also promotes and the act of retaliation in which the victims are denied their entitlements and other benefits.
Beyond the problems, efforts have been made to define sexual harassment and place it within the context of national laws and at the sometimes proffer solutions on how it can be prevented by the organization as well as the workers.
I want to believe that this will help stimulates further discussions and sensitize both the employer and employees to the implications for sexual harassment at workplace.
Thank you for being part of this.

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However, when you consider the legal implications and effects of accusation of negligent that could result from sexual harassment cases, sexual violence and impairment on productivity then it becomes important that proper attention be paid to workplace romances as an important aspect of organizational duty to manage and regulate instead of leaving it to individuals discretion and sense of judgment.
Since HR is entrusted with the responsibility of workforce management, it, therefore, suffice to say that policies and code of conduct be put in place aimed at managing such occurrences. However, care must be taken in drafting such policies so as not to impinge on the workers right and an accusation of discrimination.

POLICY CONTROL. It has been noted that organizations are becoming stricter in controlling workplace romances, in fact, it is prohibited in some industries such as banking, insurance, and financial institutions, for example, the bank does not expect two staff of the same branch who are married to remain in the same location, in some instance, one of the parties might be transferred to a different department that does not have any relationship with the partner or may outrightly be advised to resign from the employment of the bank.

TRAINING AND ENLIGHTENMENT. An Organization should undertake intentional training as part of staff onboarding strategy to educate the workers on the position of the organization on workplace romance and its implications.

DISCLOSURE. It is recommended that workers should be encouraged to display their relationship status before it comes to other workers knowledge. Such disclosure will enable HR to give proper advice and counsel in line with the companys policy.

DISCIPLINE. It must be ensured that violation of laid policies is dealt with in accordance with the prescription of the organization with favoritism or bias. It should be demonstrated that violation of companys rules on romance will be implemented to the latter irrespective of who is concerned. This will send the right signal to those who are likely contemplating committing the same act.

NO PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION AT WORKPLACE. Whether there is a written or an unwritten policy, it is reasonable to understand that a workplace is a social setting primarily established for corporate purposes. It is expected that those objects must be promoted and nothing should be done to distract people from the pursuit of such objectives. It a popular saying that Couple in a workplace are co-workers and not partners

CONCLUSION

Workplace romance is one of the realities of the 21st-century organization; it is with us and has come to stay. This writer has painstakingly considered the advantages and disadvantages of such relationships both from the angle of the individuals and the organization. However, because the workplace is strictly for work it is recommended that policy guidelines are put in place by organization depending on their orientation on the issue. However, in the best interest of both the love birds and the organization it is better to look for love elsewhere or better still one of those in such a relationship could resign while the other remains.

Read full article from: RELATIONSHIP AND ROMANCE AT WORKPLACE

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It is important to note that the responsibility for preventing sexual harassment in workplace rest majorly with the employer whose duties is to provide a work environment devoid of discrimination and all form of unhealthy practices including sexual harassment.
It is an acceptable statement that prevention is better and less expensive than cure; hence, the main plan of the organization is to put in place a preventive mechanism that dissuades sexual harassment and ensure that when noticed or reported it is handled with all seriousness.

Measures to be taken at preventing sexual harassment by the organization:

• Written and properly communicated policy statement against sexual harassment. The companys handbook should address a section to sexual harassment by defining what it is and the fact that it will not be tolerated when noticed or reported and found to be truthful.

• Training and workshop on the effects of sexual harassment should form part of employee induction program and continuous education. It is important for the workers to know that sexual harassment is an offence punishable by the law of the land.

• Strategic Preventive plan must be in place to nip act of sexual harassment in the bud before it escalates to sexual crime and molestation.

• Complaints management. Members of the organization should be encouraged in making complaints either anonymously or in person and when such is done it should be investigated and appropriate sanction meted out to the culprit and also communicated to the complainant.

• Protection of sexual harassment victims from an act of retaliation and official victimization. Victims must not be made to suffer retaliation in terms of denial of promotion, salary increase or other benefits especially if the harasser is in a position to approve such benefits for the victim.

• The institution of Love Contracts clause. It has been championed in some quarters that the organization should be flexible enough to permit open relationship between working adults as a basis for preventing sexual harassment and at the sometime protect the organization from the consequences of action of two consenting adult who must have signed a consensual agreement forms stating that they both voluntarily enter into such relationship and that it was not forceful and an act of harassment.

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LEGITIMATE WAYS OF STOPPING YOUR RANDY BOSS FROM SEXUALLY HARASSING YOU

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The post HOW ORGANIZATION CAN CONTROL AND MANAGE SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN WORKPLACE appeared first on Kayode Ibukunoluwa-Micah's Blog.