CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

At the beginning of any established business contract is the employment relationship which connects the employees and employers to sell labour, where both party have standard interest they pursue in the establishment of the employment relationship (Budd & Bhave, 2008). In the situation of employment relationship both the employer and the employee exchange their worth to produce an after value for the benefit of the organization and the customers (Gaile & Sumilo, 2016).

The external environment context of employment relationship identifies two actors to this relationship; the organization and the individual, where the organization is the employer of labour who presets the organization of work for defined goals to secure the sustainability of the organization, while the individuals are the employees who provide the competence required to execute given task. This is as a result of employer and employee not been static they change, develop and establish interaction within their environment and workplace (Gaile & Sumilo, 2016).

Employer-employee relationship existed in Nigeria before the colonial era in light of the rural economy, culture and conventions which were the reasons for arrangement of work and reward (Ubeku, 1993). In this situation the employer took the place as head of the family, while the employees are members of the close family or more distant family (Yesufu, 1982). The head of the family who is referred to as the employer was at liberty to determine the reward system, recruitment process, employee promotion which was not really based on legitimacy or position, he was also obliged to make provision for food, shelter, security for all employees (relatives) and determine when they would get married and to whom (Iwuji, 1968).

The development of employer-employee relationship is essential for the satisfactory execution of any firm and for the employees to become occupied in the organization (Tansel & Gazioglu, 2012). This interactive relationship concentrates on the nature of relationships that organizations have with their employees, not just in line with contribution to hierarchical execution and accomplishment of organizational objectives, but serving to re-build and ensure authoritative notoriety and image in a turbulent environment (Kim & Rhee, 2011; Men, 2011). Kim and Rhee (2011) recommended that if employees have encountered great long-term relationship with their management they are probably going to consider organizational issues as their own, and are probably going to forward and share steady information as answers for their organization amid the managerial turbulence.

The nature and consequences of employment relationships in recent years has brought about intense changes in the competitive environment, where business owners that wish to contend at a higher level must comprehend the human side of their organization and business process (Xesha, Iwu, Slabbert & Nduna, 2014). According to Jansen, Curseu and Vermeulen (2013), employees must be social architects who can work on a parallel level in the organization, constantly enhancing the business procedure and cultivating an environment favorable for development, hazard-taking, self-coordinated teamwork, responsibility, quality and self-change. It has been observed that without solid employer-employee relationships, it gets to be distinctly difficult to be effective as a business owner (Ford, Gadde, Hakansson, & Snehota, 2003; Accuff & Wood, 2004; Donaldson & O’Toole, 2007; Browne & Keeley, 2009; Selmier & Travis, 2013). They express their opinion that business owners need long haul employer and employee relationships that will bring them through testing and troublesome circumstances.

Jackson (2009) affirms that the reality about business relationships are that, they are just as complex in any other relationship. They require lots of effort to maintain and must be mutually beneficial to all the parties involved. He emphasized that in any business relationship, the business owner must be willing to give, share and support, not simply just take or get. Finance might be the front line tool to get people to work at their best but good relationships form the foundation for increased productivity (Xesha, Iwu, Slabbert & Nduna, 2014).

There are various reasons that have been identified to foster a good employer-employee relationship. According to Burns (2012), employees who are inspired to work as a result of employer-employee relationship produce better and more output. Such employees strive to become better in an organization because employees who have good relationship with their employer are usually driven by the identified competency of such employee. The ultimate result of a positive employer-employee relationship leads to employee’s job satisfaction.

Job satisfaction is seen as a peoples’ subjective valuation of the diverse parts of their job, it is the feeling and thoughts of workers about their work and place of work (Locke, 1976). Croham (1989) says that job satisfaction is a behavioral pattern of contentment, derivation of pleasure and having a positive effect felt on one’s job.  A Higher job utility result in improvements of the target angles at the work place either because of increased outcomes or disappointing aspects of the job been minimized while satisfying perspectives are given more prominent significance. An employee who is satisfied with his job would perform his duties well and be committed to his job, and subsequently to his organization. Thus, employers should know the factors that can affect their employees’ job satisfaction level since it would affect the performance of the organization as well (Locke, 1976).

Levy-Garboua, Montmarquette and Simonnet (2007) demonstrate that job satisfaction is an indicator of quits and non-attendance in like manner wages because people leave low-satisfaction jobs for high-satisfaction jobs. Daft and Marcic (2010) depict job satisfaction as an extra pointer of good relationships between the employer and the employees; therefore fulfilled workers more often than not have great relationships with their employer. The study of Jeon and Choi (2012) called attention to the fact that employees who are content with their jobs are most likely to fulfill customer’s satisfaction and oversee good relationships with them and enhance their performance and productivity.

Managers and administrators have realized that having capable staff is a competitive advantage, effective and productive workforce makes an organization not only survive but flourish (kumar & Arora, 2012). Due to this understanding, retention of satisfied employees as key potentials in an organization which represents the total of the inherent abilities, acquired knowledge, capabilities and skills give employees the guarantee and security that they have access to their jobs and in turn they develop a level of increased job satisfaction which leads to higher organizational performance (Eberendu & Kenneth-okere, 2015). Employer-employee relationship defines the level of job satisfaction an employee should have towards his work and workplace.