Week 4

What we're covering:

• punctuality
• schedules

Punctuality

Showing up for work on time and being conscientious about your attendance, signals you are someone who is committed to your job and responsibilities. Many employers value dependability and reliability over technical abilities and qualifications. 
Being punctual allows you to:

• Demonstrate your professionalism and leadership potential.
• Perform your assigned job tasks within the allotted time.
• Improve work relationships by sharing the load and helping the team effort.
• Create a positive image of you and your employer.
• Practice time-management skills. 
• Reduce stress.

Work Schedule

A work schedule is essential for any tradesperson in order to:

• Provide Structure - Having a set number of hours to complete designated tasks encourages people to complete their work effectively and within the allotted time. Workers stay on-task when meeting deadlines becomes a priority. 
• Monitor productivity – reviewing what has been accomplished during a shift helps confirm targets are being met and identify whether inefficient workflow and low work quality are an issue.
• Identify labour requirements – certain projects may require overtime, down-time, shifts work etc. 
• Designate break times – Breaks are necessary (and a legal requirement) in order to rest and refuel. Errors through fatigue can result in costly repairs and serious injuries.

A work schedule enables electricians carrying out repairs at private residences to keep appointments and arrive on time. Since they will often visit more than one worksite in a day, they must be good at estimating how long a job will take to avoid arriving late for the next job.  

Electricians working at a construction site, the schedule is useful to budget sufficient time to finish electrical projects without delaying the construction work as a whole. Construction projects work on a tight schedule with every delay in the project costing the client time and money. Additionally, electricians who work with a team must remain conscious of how their timeliness affects others. If one member of the team lags behind, parts of the project may not be able to move forward.
The following Gantt Chart shows the progression of a building project. Electrical work is scheduled for weeks 12-14 and 16-17. If this does not occur at the scheduled time, the entire project is pushed back at considerable cost and inconvenience.

Exercise 29

Self-directed Learning

Work on your assessments for this module.

What we're covering:

• workplace expectations
• workplace policies

More and more employers are choosing to:

In other words, their hiring decision is based on “who you are” first and “what you know” second. The preference is to employ people with a (good) attitude — traits like enthusiasm, humility, work ethic, integrity, initiative, passion — because these kinds of personality traits are virtually impossible to learn. Usually, you either have them or you don't. Experience, skills and qualifications, on the other hand, can be taught. 
 
It is helpful to understand what the rules are that cover your workplace when you are setting out. You must clearly understand what is expected of you at work and how you will contribute to the success of the organisation. Clear workplace policies and procedures mean everyone knows how things are meant to be done.  

Visit the Employment New Zealand website to find out more about starting out in the workforce.

Sometimes things go wrong in the workplace, and it is important to understand your rights and responsibilities. When you and your employer enter into an employment relationship there are a number of must do’s including: 

• Doing things in a way that shows good faith. 
• Doing things for good reason.
• Using a fair process.

Good faith means acting in a way that is honest and does not mislead each other. It entails clear and accurate communication between employees and their managers, with any concerns raised in a genuine and honest way. 

Good reason is about making sure that there is a good (genuine) reason for taking an action against an employee, such as: misconduct; disestablishment of the job;  failure to meet the expectations of the job; a fundamental breakdown in the employment relationship, etc.

Fair Process must be followed if any action is taken against an employee, according to the requirements of the Employment Relations Act 2000 and natural justice. Concerns must be fully investigated and properly raised with the employee. The employee must be given reasonable opportunity to tell their side of the story, seek independent advice and representation at any disciplinary meetings. Employees must be treated without bias and all options must be considered before a final decision is made.

Exercise 30

Read through the following examples and decide whether fair or unfair treatment is apparent. 

1. Ben invites the boss to his house often for lunch. The boss gives Ben a pay-increase even when Ben does not do his job properly.  
2. Lisa and Arlo have a dispute and the case is under arbitration. When Lisa hears that the arbitrator appointed is her uncle Jeremiah, she calls him and asks him not to declare the relationship and to help her win the dispute.
3. When Jim is praised for work that Rongo has done, he tells his boss honestly that Rongo deserved the praise. 
4. Chen realises that his son, Lee, who is also his employee is slacking off because he thinks he can get away with it. Chen calls Lee into his office and reprimands him and gives him a verbal warning. When Lee doesn’t take him seriously, he is issued with a warning letter.  
5. Sanjay collects bits of junk from houses he is renovating and sells them for a profit without informing the owner or the building contractor.

If you said that examples 3 and 4 showed the principles of fair, right and just dealings, you would be correct. 

The principles can be summarised as follows:

• Being fair, right and just involves having common rules. Underlying the feeling of fairness has to be some trust and transparency.  
• There must be trust and transparency.  
• People are treated on an equal footing.  
• Give others an equal chance to be heard, whether it’s allowing them to share great ideas or to air grievances.  
• Give others credit where credit is due. 
• Care for the well-being of others. 

This is considered so important in business, there is a law called the Fair-Trading Act 1986 which sets out how customers are to be treated by businesses. 

EWRB Disciplinary Process

Because there sometimes needs to be some way of dealing with those that do not uphold standards, the Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) exists.  If you are a registered electrical worker and a complaint is made about your work or conduct, you will receive a letter informing you of this from the registrar of the Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB). This letter will ask you to respond to the complaint. 
An investigation will be held. If the complaint is not valid or serious, the outcome may be that no further action needs to be taken. 
Otherwise, the board will hold a disciplinary hearing. At the hearing, the Board will listen to evidence from relevant parties and make a decision. 
If you are found not guilty, the matter ends there. If you are found guilty, the board may impose penalties, including suspension or removal of registration, orders to cease electrical work or orders to undergo remedial training. You may also be censured or fined.

Exercise 31

Self-directed Learning

Complete all of your assessments. Congratulations on reaching the end of Module 2!

This worksheet contains a list of words taken from Module 2. To help improve your understanding, research their meanings or find the definitions in the workbook.  There is space to write the definitions. You could also look up how to say the word – most online dictionaries will demonstrate this.