Grievance

What is a Grievance?

A grievance is a formal complaint. It is raised by an employee against a colleague or manager, or even against the employer. Employees usually file grievances for workplace harassment, discrimination, nepotism, concerns regarding team management, or terms of employment. It isn’t a written complaint all the time. Sometimes, as an employee, you can send emails or fill in a feedback form for any problems you have faced.

It is necessary that employers treat grievances with caution and fairness at all points while they work in an organization. This means that you hear your employee’s complaints, provide a transparent procedure, and take the necessary steps to resolve them. Failure to do so will cause low employee morale and eventually lead to a high turnover rate, and sometimes legal consequences. 

There are different types of Employee Grievances. Some of the common grievances include: 

• Workplace Harassment: This includes bullying, discrimination, and micromanagement of the tasks. Not everyone in your team will get along all the time, you’ll see that friction is likely to occur. But it doesn’t mean you should ignore it or dismiss it as a common occurrence all the time. Let your employees know that such behavior is not tolerated while you address the grievances. 
• Compensation For The Work Done: Employees might sometimes feel that their work deserves higher pay than the ones with a similar position as they have more responsibilities. It could also be about the reimbursements and employee requirements for better benefits.
• Workload and employee burnout: When employees end up doing more work than they were initially expected to, they become less productive after some time. This is bound to happen most likely because of taking up the work of a resigning/terminated employee, or staff redundancy. They are often frustrated wondering how this would benefit them in the long run.
• Work conditions and management: Cleanliness and safety are the two most important things your employees will be concerned about while they come to the place of work. Moreover, how well it is managed plays a pivotal role as well.

Also, See: Gratuity