Can the Original Use of an Employee Handbook Inform Present Day and Future Employee Relations?

Abstract

ABSTRACT This review analyzed the original intention of employee handbooks and the evolution of handbooks over multiple decades to determine if there was valuable learning for today's postindustrial organizations. Four different employee relationship themes emerged from the review and are considered from an evidence‐based research perspective. Actual handbook observations, either in text or numerical summary, are shared for perspective. The review findings offer firms considerations for current‐day approaches to demonstrate employer commitments and organizational support for employees. The review identified four themes that aligned with organization support theory. Perceived organizational support has been shown to create positive employee outcomes for organizations. Demonstration of the themes, expectation setting via culture and values, psychological contracting via future opportunity sharing, inviting employee voice via decision making and problem resolution processes, and practicing organizational justice via consistency to policies, all offer the possibility for enhanced perceptions of organization support by employees. Positive outcomes of greater employee retention, presenteeism, and productivity in organizations can be realized by firms that can learn from the themes found in the review and adjust to capture the opportunity.

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