Draft Interdisciplinary Research Proposal
- Research Problem Statement:
Many unemployment cases are awarded to former employees when the reason they are released was due to attendance. As an organization are we ensuring our employees needs are met to ensure they are able to bring their best self to work each and every day to prevent continued attrition?
- Justification:
I have worked in a business with almost 100% attrition year over year for the past 10 years. While in a leadership it makes you wonder what are we doing to prevent this? Are we doing everything we can before letting an employee go? Have we looked at the root cause of the issue as opposed to the surface problem alone? All of these questions cannot be answer by one discipline alone there is Economics, Psychology, Sociology, and many more I am sure. But having someone look past the surface issue of “attendance” for example and digging into the causes of this issue would open up a world of opportunity for employers to assist their employees to ensure they are provided the best opportunity to perform at their highest levels and to be committed to their jobs.
- Relevant Academic Disciplines:
The most valuable disciplines for my research would be coming from the social sciences: Economics, Psychology, Sociology, and then Communications and Education. Starting with Economics this discipline could provide the research to show the value driving this campaign would bring to any organization(cost/saving of keeping an employee instead of constantly hiring and training new). Psychology and Sociology would have the task of digging into this causes and effects this constant turnover is having and the benefits of stopping the cycle would have. Communications and education would provide the insights of how to present this and lead the public view charge of implementing this and how best to put it out there to the employee with training, resources, etc.
- Connection to Disciplines:
Leadership Development, LDSP 3000, Principles of Management, MGMT 3610, and Organizational Communication, COMM 3240 are the three that come to mind the most because they have been more recent but they each have brought to light many issues we face in the workplace. Are we supposed to just manage people or lead them? Are we controlling their paths with the communications we are putting across? Are we bringing the most value to the business we support by having this high turnover or could we be adding greater value by developing a loyal employee?
- Connection to Experiences:
My experiences in the workplace resonate with this issue more than any course I have taken. I have worked for the same company since I graduated high school, starting in their call centers and working my way up. I have seen first-hand the constant turnover and the effects it has not that employee and the others around them but also on those families losing an income source. It can be devastating.
