I know the answer is no though… but surely there’s studies out there that show that treating your workers well is better for business?
Just a rant. My work is negotiating our new agreement (covers many front facing employees) and trying to take away a nice financial perk we have. One of my biggest frustrations is that they keep boldface lying and saying how great a deal it is because we get some cash in lieu of the perk. But the maths just doesn’t check out. Why would I sacrifice thousands a year I’m currently guaranteed for a few hundred (at best)?
They’re so big on making it look like we have a good culture. Many impersonal pats on the head. Emails telling us “look after your mental health during Covid!” Etc. And the reason they want to present that way is because our clients adore us – the people facing staff. So if they found out we were being manipulated into a dodgy deal, there would be a risk of significant business damage. If it got to the stage of a strike (or even the threat of one) you’re talking damage that may take years to recover from.
In a wild way I actually think it could be beneficial to tread that path in a “it’s gonna get worse better it gets better” way. I’m tired of these aggressive, manipulative, dismissive business tactics that the HR-rats employ. And I hate thinking this way because in many ways it’s a great job and I enjoy my work. It’s hard to feel like a valued person when you’re being gaslit.