The Labor Market & the employee

Chapter 2: Literature review

 2.1  Introduction

The research would look at the aspects of employee engagement and how work flexibility has a crucial role to play in maintaining employee engagement. The literature review would source relevant scholarly journals to analyze the impact of reduction in labor cost during the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges in sustaining employee flexibility during the pandemic would be explored. Certain organization examples under the retail sector of the UK would be used to analyze the challenges and recommendations would be provided on how the challenges can be mitigated and the employees can be engaged in their workplace. The gaps in literature would be analyzed and a conceptual framework would also be presented.

2.2  Importance of work flexibility in employee engagement

Work flexibility refers to the employees being given a significant amount of freedom where they can choose the location, time and manner in which they work, to help align the organizational goals with individual goals. Work flexibility is a crucial concept in employee engagement because it helps the employees be more resilient, engaged, versatile and acceptable of changes that the organization brings about in its working procedures. Larasati and Hasanti (2019). Opined that, effort and attachment of the employees to their work determine organizational productivity to a significant extent. The researcher also further posits that work life balance, rewards,work environment are crucial factors which enhance employee engagement. Work life balance according to the researchers refers to the instances where the employee is able to balance the demands at work including the demands of emotion, time and attitude. Work life balance enhances employee engagement, loyalty and satisfaction including lesser absenteeism and turnover rates at the organization (Adisaet al. 2021). Organizations such as Unilever, UK, one of the largest consumer goods companies, offer their employees with work flexibility because employee engagement can only be ensured when the employees have their psychological and social needs fulfilled. Work life balance is ensured through work flexibility where the employee can choose their timings and adequately provide time for other social and familial engagements, which comes as a major benefit for working parents. organizations have increasingly discovered that employee productivity and organizational success can be proliferated through flexible

working arrangements, promoting a skilled and motivated employee base who can handle both the work pressure and their family life as well, because higher levels of employee engagement reduced organizational turnover (Sekhar et al. 2018). Providing employees with a flexible working arrangement promotes employees’ willingness to work. According to Maslow’s needs hierarchy, the first need pertains to physiological needs where the individual requires timely payment from the organization for the maintenance of food and shelter which are the basic needs. The second stage pertains to the basic safety needs where the individual wants security for their resources, employment, property, and health.The third category refers to the psychological needs or that of love and belonging, where the individual wants to feel loved and valued. This is where the importance of work flexibility comes in. A flexible working arrangement allows the individual to commit to other engagements which don’t revolve around work. This work-life balance and fulfillment of basic needs leads individuals to seek needs of self-esteem where the individual is regarded for their contributions and efforts. The esteem needs are met by the organization through appreciating the employees, promoting them, or financially compensating them. They can be achieved by the employee only when they are not bogged down by long hours and have a healthy schedule of work. The basic needs, when met, lead the employees to self-actualize where they reach their full potential and prove to be major assets of the organization.

2.3    Exploring the role of sustaining flexibility in employee engagement within the retail sector in the UK during the pandemic

Sustenance of flexibility is a crucial factor that enables employee engagement because it helps the employees in maintaining a work-life balance. The professional world is undergoing rapid changes and the pandemic has led to several employees re-evaluating their working arrangements where they want to explore flexible working options. Employees are viewed as the most valuable assets of an organization (Diraniet al. 2020). Retail employers, who would be tackling shift or rotation systems, and the already streamlined work systems have been facing challenges due to the work flexibility. There are several retail organizations where the decision of flexible working is taken by the store or regional management and doesn’t involve the human resources department in every case. Traditionally, retail working has always been attractive to people who have wanted to work flexibly. Agile working poses challenges however, equally contributes towards employee innovation, engagement, and dedication towards the organization

(Clydeco.com, 2021). In retail sectors such as Unilever, employees when working flexibly have been reported to have more productivity because they are satisfied with their working arrangements. In the retail sector, it is not uncommon for employees to swap their shifts informally and have a roster system or for the staff working from the office to work remotely, which is often prevalent for working mothers or fathers, in the UK. However, this flexibility is more of an informal nature than forma, where the organization allows it to make the working arrangement more plausible for the employees and help them manage their work as well as their personal responsibilities. Organizations that adjust quicker and function better under unpredictable circumstances are categorized as flexible, productive and it happens best-distributed leadership as well as less interdependence (Obrenovicet al. 2020). This is seen mostly in the case of the white-collared employees whereas the blue collared employees have to attend an office or the retail store. Work flexibility enables employee engagement in the UK retail sector which is ever flourishing and is one of the most prospective sectors of work.

2.4.  Post Pandemic scenario of the labor market

The labor market suffered severely due to the worsening impact of the pandemic all across the world. Moreover, it can be also be seen that the labor market was almost suffering from scarcity and was empty because there were severe limitations and regulations in the migration of the laborers. During the pandemic, when there was a global lockdown announced by governments all over the world, the condition of the labor market was experiencing a downfall. The pandemic has almost developed a disruption within the global labor market which although, later experienced a recovery in the post-pandemic phase. Several changes were identified in the post-pandemic scenario within the labor market all over the world.

In the post-pandemic scenario, there was a complete disbalance in the labor market along with the supply chain crisis that was faced by most of the organizations. Despite, the recovery of condition, there was a high demand for the laborers, and yet a small number of laborers who are ready to work. The recovery stage of the labor market experienced a bit of tightness which also affected the services and the performances of the organizations. Further, the low number of labor also developed a rise in the price as well as in the wages of the labor through which there was an emergence of risk of inflation in the post-pandemic era.

Furthermore, after the pandemic, it has been seen that in October 2021, the labor market and the availability of labor was highly below the level of pre-crisis which indicates the fact that the participation level and rate of the labor was significantly low even after the pandemic because of the fear and the panic of the virus (ECB.Europa.EU, 2021). It can also be seen that due to the lack of labor in the market, there was high pressure on increasing the wages. Although, the condition was recovering the recovery was extremely slow.

2.5.  The impact of the lowering labor cost post-pandemic

Along with the slow recovery of the labor market, the condition of the labor mrket was also making signs of recovery, which also resulted in lowering costs and expenses of the labor. Along with the recovery of the condition in the labor market, the labor costs lowered along with the overall costs of the production that is required which introduced a scope or opportunity for the organizations. Moreover, the lowering costs of labor were one of the significant signs of the post-pandemic recovery. After the pandemic, the organization was able to stabilize themselves which can be analyzed by the employments. Especially in the retail sector, many organizations such as Unilever introduced many employment opportunities like online recruitment and many more facilities. Through this way, the retail organizations were able to reduce the cost due to inflation or the challenges they faced during the pandemic.

Through many platforms, the retail organizations introduced and promoted distance working which helped the organizations in the reduction of the costs and the expenses of the labor (Contractor, 2022). Moreover, through the process of cutting labor costs, retail organizations such as Unilever were able to enhance their performances and also was able to stabilize the economic condition of the organization as well as the financial condition. Organizations like Unilever were able to make the process of recruitment more fun by using advanced technologies. Advancement and application of technology were one of the impacts of the lowering costs of the labors in organizations. Further, the organizations were again stable and were able to maintain the financial condition effectively of te organization Through the lowered costs of the labor, the organizations were also able to invest to enhance and improve the supply chain. Further, it can also be seen that the Job retention schemes that were introduced by the government, helped a lot. The schemes such as the Furlough, helped the organizations to bear the cost of the labor which was advantageous for the organizations (Ons.gov.uk, 2020).

2.6.   Challenges that are faced in sustaining the employee flexibility during and after the pandemic

The organizations have experienced and faced several challenges in maintaining and sustaining employee flexibility in the organization. Working amidst the pandemic was quite tough for the employees. The challenges have been raised from the remote working and working from home. Maintaining the flexibility of the employees was tough because they couldn’t be tracked physically and the flexibility can’t be ensured through virtual presence. Further, it can also be seen that there were communication gaps between the organization and its employees.

According to the self-determination theory, it can be seen and analyzed that the employees of an organization can be motivated to be flexible. In this case of remote working, the employees can’t be motivated directly because they are not physically present in the organization. Hence the flexibility can’t be incurred.

However, in the post-pandemic scenario, it can be seen that the organizations such as Unilever promote remote working and in this way, they are unable to ensure employee flexibility. Moreover, it can also be seen and understood that the organizations are still facing difficulties and hardships like a lack of management of the employees (Deloitte.com, 2022). Furthermore, it

has also been seen that the employees are less prioritizing the work and also are putting less effort which needs to be changed.

2.7.     Strategies to overcome the challenges that are faced in sustaining the employee flexibility

In the post-pandemic situation,the employees are the ones who have faced various situations, for this Unilever needs to make proper strategies to overcome the issues. The strategies need to be made by the company properly, so that the employees can get the chances to work properly in the company.

Rewards facility: The company needs to provide the employees with the rewards that the employees can get the courage to work. It helps to perform better, the employees can feel better also. The relation between the employees and the company can be made in a better manner. Rewards and recognition gives employees another level of courage to work (Cote, 2019).

Motivation seminars: As the company is going through a tough time, the employees also faced disruption in their work. For this, the company needs to help the employees on that matter. For this the upline members need to process the motivation seminars for the employees. The employees feel motivated towards the work. Motivation has also a significant and positive effect on career development (Niati et al.2021).

Job retention process: if the company can adopt the retention process in their work process it can be helpful for the employees. The company can ask the employees to reduce the salary which they get in a regular manner, otherwise their job can be secured which they want. It helps to build the trust among the employees and they provide good work to the company as the company wants.

Provides the holidays to the employees: In the tough schedule of work[process, the employees can feel tired and exhausted. For this, the company needs to provide the holidays. It can help them to uplift their mood, they can spend this time with their family members and friends which can be a great initiative by the company. Moreover, the flexibility can be adopted by the employees in a proper manner.

2.8.  The impact of the employees flexibility in the management of an organization

The employees of an organization are the core of the work process, the organization especially the retail sector cannot be run for a long time without proper employees. The employees need to have a flexible attitude and they need to contribute to the work process to their potential as much as possible. After the pandemic happened the retail sectors need more flexible workers in their organization. Various types of flexible work processes can benefitted the employees and the organization properly (Ciarniene and Vienazindiene, 2018). In today’s era, the consumer’s purchasing process and behavior is unpredictable, to satisfy the customer’s company needs to do a lot of hard work like investing more time in producing products or contributing to the promotion process in a more proficient manner. For this, the employees can play a great role, they can contribute their excellence and flexible process in their work process of the organization. It can be said that the organization needs those employees in their working sector who can help the company when the company needs it. As the companies are going through a tough time due to the shortage of employees, the employees can help them to overcome the issues. For example, if the company has a deadline to provide the products to the customers, they can ask for the employees to do extra work and even ask to stay more hours in the office. It can help the employees to maintain the business process. Besides that, if an employee has various skills at a time like the person knows accounts as well as the employees know how to do operations in the organization, then the employees can make a great impact in the business process. In this crisis of the pandemic situation, the flexible employees can cut down the cost of the organization as well. Along with that they can help to generate more revenue in the retail sectors, which is a biggest achievement for the organizations as well.

2.9.  Analysis of the theoretical aspects of management of an organization and employee flexibility

Job retention is an important approach which is maintained by various companies, especially after the pandemic. The reason behind it, the employees can feel more engaged with their work and perform properly. Like this approach, the management of the organizations take many initiatives to maintain the employees, flexibility in the working process. According to Mccllend’sdeveloped Theory X and theory Y, which states that the employees are different from each other and their goals are also different (Renata et al.2018). Theory X defines only those

employees who have apathetic nature as well as they dislike their work, on the other hand theory Y defines that the employees are self-motivated towards the work. However, both of the employees can get courage to work in the company properly. For example, if Unilever paids a good amount of money to the employees then they can get the good courage in the working process. Moreover, that the management of the company needs to get equal support and motivation from the upline members, then the working process can be better. According to Herzberg’s motivation theory, there are two aspects motivator and hygiene factors (Chiat and Panatik, 2019). The motivators are job satisfaction,responsibilities and growth. These processes need to be provided by the human resource teams of Unilever, which helps the employees towards the growth of the employees as well as the company. On the other hand, hygiene factors are low salary, bad working conditions, strict rules and policies, however the company needs to work on that matter. If the company gets into tough situations like the unpredictable situations of a pandemic, then the company needs to discuss the problems with the employees to process the work in a proper way. These small steps help the employees to perform their best and help the company to grow in a rapid manner. The management needs to understand that, when the company is going through tough times, they ask for help from the employees, in the same way when the company gets success they need to give rewards to the employees to perform better.

2.10   Policies and strategies to minimize challenges faced while dealing with flexible retail environment

It is no wonder that during the Covid-19 pandemic the online retail shopping has increased significantly and therefore, according to consumer demand, the trend of the retail sector is seen in terms of flexible working hours in most of the companies. A change therefore has occurred in job demand, employees are now allowed to choose the location and timing of their work aligning with the degree to which particular tasks demand (Van Steenbergenet al. 2018). As the process is being done with minimum interference of colleges and senior management, therefore, there remains a chance of getting loopholes in tasks, delay in delivery of services, technology disruption and communication gap.

In this regard, flexible work policy includes flex time, job sharing, split shift, alternative schedule, 100% remote environment to work and others. Among this, flex time is called adjusted

hours which in turn, support workers to start working and leave the work according to their requirements. On the other hand, job sharing refers to the single position full time which is shared by or splitted between two to three employees. Most importantly, the organization, while providing the facilities for working at home, must adhere to privacy and security. For example, in the arrangement of temporary remote working employees might be threatened from security risks such as poorly configured equipment for networking mixing personal and office devices and others. Also regulatory consent is another concern as a means of strategy to continue remote working for those retailers that executed the policy namely “work from anywhere”. As opined by Rai (2018), engagement is considered as a positive attribute of an employee towards the individual’s organization that also drives the employee to work with another employee and gradually improve performance. In the emerging new normal situation, Unilever has started a flexible program of working which added additional flux to develop the skills set of employees. For example, Unilever has implemented hybrid workplace policies which impacted on diverse working groups in the workplace. However, the U-work policy of the company is providing the flexibility to their employees what they exactly want. It allows the creation of new contracts with employees, which is not a part of the job (Forbes.com, 2021). Alternatively they get a minimum retainer on a monthly basis which represents a portion of their salary from their previous job.

2.11     Developing understanding on the flexibility that is desired to achieve sustaining engagement of employees

The employees and employer together need to develop an understanding regarding the flexibility type which is accepted as well as achievable by all. The environment of pure remote working is a kind of workplace flexibility that might alienate some employees who are prospective and eager to return to the office spaces and on the other hand, it might generate additional burden on the employees who are responsible enough to their work. Another dimension of flexibility is the time of starting and closing the office work, however, different people have different choices and ideas to maintain work-life balance. Therefore, the management needs to understand the choices of employees and set boundaries to what extent the employees can enjoy a flexible work environment. In this regard, a new flexible model needs to be developed by the management which must fit to the organization culture and last beyond the situation of pandemic, however, it needs examination of process, people and infrastructure. The research derived from the pre-

pandemic era demonstrates if the management allows workers to save time for commuting the work either by allowing flexibility in working hours or working from home (Stevenson, 2021).

It has been analysed that women are impacted largely by lack of flexibility and stability in regards to retail jobs. Following this, Unilever has enacted the approach of inclusive sourcing in terms of “Enhancing livelihood”which is an initiative to provide opportunities to women and as well as facilitate inclusive business (Kalkanciet al. 2019). Currently, the flexible job market is robust in nature, it is because the job seekers feel empowered while getting flexible working opportunities. Gen Z and millennials are being drawn in the arrangement of flexible work. It is also found that approximately 39% of the total workforce in retail belong to the age group under 28, hence, the retail companies that offer flexible work opportunities have the chance of attracting a large variety of talented retail young adults (Retaildive.com, 2019).

2.12  Research gap

From the discussion of the literature in the above sections, it has been found that the authors did not discuss the topic in terms of theoretical analysis. Therefore, it is needed to understand whether the policies and strategies to combat the challenges of flexible working qualifies the theoretical attributes. However, in this research the policies and strategies taken by the retail industry in terms of Unilever are to be assessed in terms of theoretical understanding to examine the validity for employee engagement.

2.13  Conceptual framework

Figure 3: Conceptual framework

(Source: Self- Created)

In the above figure, the connection between the variables of the research have been demonstrated. The findings which are derived from the literature review as a whole have been shown in the figure in a visualized form.

2.14  Summary

In this chapter, literature has been taken based on the concepts of flexible environment working, different flexible policies and strategies aligning with the challenges, employee engagement due to the influence of remote working and others. It has been found that in the retail sector, especially in the UK, employees are being benefited by this policy, however, the management needs to keep the process in continuous monitoring to improve the workplace environment. The research gap has been identified which states that the policy and strategies to be outlined must be supported by theories.