Employee Welfare Activities in Private Sector and Their Impact on Quality of Work Life

Introduction

The private sector undertakings are usually composed of organizations that are privately owned and not a part of the government. These usually include corporations, enterprises, companies or business, regardless of size, ownership and structure. It may cover all sectors of the food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries systems from production to consumption, including associated services like financing, investment, insurance, marketing, education and trade.

Employee welfare implies that welfare is fundamentally an attitude of mind on the part of management, influencing the method by which management activities are an undertaken. Welfare activities help to retain the employees and create positive image about the organisation for longer period of time. It also helps to motivate and improve the morale of the employees. Employees' welfare includes providing healthy working environment, increasing the standard of living of the employees and their families. The welfare measures need not be in monetary terms only but in any kind/forms. Adequate levels of earnings, safe and humane conditions of work and Access to some minimum social security benefits are the major qualitative dimensions of employment which enhance quality of life of employees and their productivity. Employee welfare is the key to smooth employee - employer relationships.

According to the report of the Asian regional conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the term “Employee welfare is understood to include such services facilities and amenities which may be established in or in the incite of undertakings to enable the persons employed whether to perform their own in healthy congenial surroundings and provide them amenities conductive to good health and high morale”. Welfare facilities are in addition to regular wages and other economic benefits available to employees due to legal provisions and collective bargaining. The purpose of employee welfare is to bring about the development of the whole personality of the employees’ to make a better workforce. The social and economic aspects of the life of an employee have a direct influence on the social and economic development of the nation. There is every need to take extra care of the employees by providing both statutory and non-statutory facilities to them.

The welfare activities may also be categorized as Intramural and Extramural facilities. Intra-mural activities consist of facilities provided with in the organisation and include medical facilities, compensation for accidents, provision of canteens, supply of drinking water, provision of safety measures, activities relating to improving conditions of employment, and so on. Whereas the Extra-mural activities cover the services and facilities provided outside the organisations such as housing facilities, recreational facilities, educational benefits for employees and children, and so on. By practicing these welfare activities in the organisations the quality of work life of the employees can be increased and at the same time the satisfaction level towards the management also increased.