Attitudes & Perception _ Case Study related to Organizational Behavior
Please consider using the Rubric assigned to the Case Study
Consider include in references and use the following Textbook entitled:
” Organizational Behavior, Theory, and Design in Healthcare”.
Authors: Nancy Borkowski and Katherine A. Meese
Sample Answer
Is this Plan Ethical?
The plan is unethical. In a bid to curb any adverse effects that may occur as a result of employee healthcare emergencies, employers have attempted to adopt policies that are geared towards regulating employee health. While these regulations are being put in place to cushion the company, there is little to no concern for the employee’s personal lifestyle choices. The move to force employees to make healthier lifestyle choices is unethical since they are discriminatory and directly infringe on the employee’s right to free will.
Why or why not?
While the decision by employers to screen employees during the hiring and employment process seems reasonable, it may have adverse effects on the people involved. For instance, it could worsen stigma towards a given group of people, for example, obese people. The policies may also come off as discriminatory, mainly if they are only targeted towards a specific group of people (Braendle &Corbin, 2018). In addition, these policies could be creating a bigger problem. By denying people who legitimately need jobs on the grounds of poor health, they deny these individuals the opportunity to have a salaried job which could also affect their ability to acquire health insurance, hence leaving them unable to access healthcare.
Many employees view their personal lifestyle decisions as unrelated to their work since most do not affect their work performance. Using health-related policies to limit their personal lifestyle choices is therefore viewed as a breach of privacy (Borkowski, 2016). Some of these policies, such as the nicotine ban, are also considered a form of unlawful punishment to the employees for using the recreational product of their choice on their own time. While the employers use the law to justify some of the policies, they have been heavily criticized since the policies are mainly rooted in discrimination.
Employers can also regulate their employees’ health-related activities because it is the morally correct thing to do. This can also be caused by the employer having the belief that their intervention in their employees’ lives could positively impact the employees’ future. Thus, to the employers, these regulations are mere acts of kindness (Borkowski, 2016). The employer may also have mixed motives, and they may have the intention of safeguarding their employees’ health while reducing any costs that may arise due to their unhealthy lifestyle. In such scenarios, the employees’ wishes are disregarded and are not taken into consideration.
Can you Think of Alternative Ways to Motivate Employees to Adopt Healthy Habits?
There are a few ethical methods that employers can use to encourage employees to make better lifestyle choices without infringing on their rights and freedoms. For instance, employers can opt not to lower insurance premiums for their employees to encourage them to make better lifestyle choices. Employees who have visible or underlying health problems such as obesity or chronic tobacco use are treated unfairly by insurance companies by being required to pay a higher insurance premium compared to other healthier people (Borkowski, 2016). Keeping the insurance premiums high would encourage employees to take better care of their health.
The company can also organize various wellness programs and offer incentives to encourage employees to participate. For instance, to encourage participation, the employees can be given incentives to enroll in the programs or gifts to reach previously set targets (Roberts, 2014). The programs, however, must be designed to improve health, must be available to all employees, and must reopen annually to allow for new members to enroll. This would be a great way to ensure employees attempt to care for their health and improve bonding among employees in the workplace.
Attitudes & Perception _ Case Study related to Organizational Behavior
Please consider using the Rubric assigned to the Case Study
Consider include in references and use the following Textbook entitled:
” Organizational Behavior, Theory, and Design in Healthcare”.
Authors: Nancy Borkowski and Katherine A. Meese
Sample Answer
Is this Plan Ethical?
The plan is unethical. In a bid to curb any adverse effects that may occur as a result of employee healthcare emergencies, employers have attempted to adopt policies that are geared towards regulating employee health. While these regulations are being put in place to cushion the company, there is little to no concern for the employee’s personal lifestyle choices. The move to force employees to make healthier lifestyle choices is unethical since they are discriminatory and directly infringe on the employee’s right to free will.
Why or why not?
While the decision by employers to screen employees during the hiring and employment process seems reasonable, it may have adverse effects on the people involved. For instance, it could worsen stigma towards a given group of people, for example, obese people. The policies may also come off as discriminatory, mainly if they are only targeted towards a specific group of people (Braendle &Corbin, 2018). In addition, these policies could be creating a bigger problem. By denying people who legitimately need jobs on the grounds of poor health, they deny these individuals the opportunity to have a salaried job which could also affect their ability to acquire health insurance, hence leaving them unable to access healthcare.
Many employees view their personal lifestyle decisions as unrelated to their work since most do not affect their work performance. Using health-related policies to limit their personal lifestyle choices is therefore viewed as a breach of privacy (Borkowski, 2016). Some of these policies, such as the nicotine ban, are also considered a form of unlawful punishment to the employees for using the recreational product of their choice on their own time. While the employers use the law to justify some of the policies, they have been heavily criticized since the policies are mainly rooted in discrimination.
Employers can also regulate their employees’ health-related activities because it is the morally correct thing to do. This can also be caused by the employer having the belief that their intervention in their employees’ lives could positively impact the employees’ future. Thus, to the employers, these regulations are mere acts of kindness (Borkowski, 2016). The employer may also have mixed motives, and they may have the intention of safeguarding their employees’ health while reducing any costs that may arise due to their unhealthy lifestyle. In such scenarios, the employees’ wishes are disregarded and are not taken into consideration.
Can you Think of Alternative Ways to Motivate Employees to Adopt Healthy Habits?
There are a few ethical methods that employers can use to encourage employees to make better lifestyle choices without infringing on their rights and freedoms. For instance, employers can opt not to lower insurance premiums for their employees to encourage them to make better lifestyle choices. Employees who have visible or underlying health problems such as obesity or chronic tobacco use are treated unfairly by insurance companies by being required to pay a higher insurance premium compared to other healthier people (Borkowski, 2016). Keeping the insurance premiums high would encourage employees to take better care of their health.
The company can also organize various wellness programs and offer incentives to encourage employees to participate. For instance, to encourage participation, the employees can be given incentives to enroll in the programs or gifts to reach previously set targets (Roberts, 2014). The programs, however, must be designed to improve health, must be available to all employees, and must reopen annually to allow for new members to enroll. This would be a great way to ensure employees attempt to care for their health and improve bonding among employees in the workplace.
