Overriding an initiative to increase productivity in industry has often being assigned to deteriorating work culture in manufacturing and service industries both in private and public sector. The state of West Bengal is the worst victim of such criticism. It is normally put forward that this state lacks work culture and therefore is lagging behind in comparison to fast developing states of our country. The tragic part in me essence of this criticism is that lack of this work culture is attributed only to the workers for their lack of discipline, lack of motivation and lack of desire to achieve the target. Currently, mis has become a burning issue to suggest and decide as to how the work culture can be revived or brought back. Such debates ostensibly presume that there was once one work culture in our state. Secondly, for some reasons, the work culture has vanished and finally it can be restored or revived.

It would not be trite here to have a look as to what exactly culture and specifically work culture means. Culture has been defined as the total social heritage of mankind; more specifically, all that a given people has created artifact and taboo, technical system and social institutions, employment of work and mode of worship. Work culture, therefore, signifies total social heritage of mankind relating to work.

Theoretically, lack of work culture at work premises indicates attitude of me workers not to exert and not to produce to the best of their ability and to ignore interest of the organization. In fine, this is me attitude of alienation of workers.

The central problem of modem business and industry is how to create a work environment and an organizational climate that will attribute to the employee’s fulfilment, motivation and self-actualization. In recent times, the progressive sophistication and automation, an excessive specialization and division in work in industry have obviously created a great amount of apathy, non-fulfilment and indifference among me employees. In short, employee’s alienation has become a serious and mounting problem. Employee’s alienation results in reduced productivity, efficiency and output. It also increases social cost to human input through several manifestation of such employees’ alienation. On the one hand, it may be expressed by passive withdrawal, turnover, absenteeism, and tardiness. On the other hand, it is also expressed by active attacks, sabotage, pilferage, assaults, gherao, violence and other disruption of work routines. People feel alienated when their jobs cease to provide any sort of creative job satisfaction and when their jobs are being choked into several pieces and there is no more meaningful and purposeful work content in their jobs. In addition, me employees’ dissatisfaction is culminated by the genuine employees’ attitude and aspiration, rising educational levels and also rising expectation. Mere sharing the results of productivity and profit is no more a positive factor to the employee. We as human being like to carryout a more meaningful and creative type of work mat would provide opportunity for self-actualization and get fulfilment. People want to be involved and they want to have a say that effect mem through their works and their lives. Above au, the workers now are more interested in the quality of work life.

Abraham Maslow, in his motivation theory divides all human needs into five categories :
1. Physiological Need – Need for food, shelter and relief from pain.
2. Safety and Security – Need for freedom from threat. (Theae two needs are designed as lower level needs.)
3. Belongings – Need for affection, interaction and love.
4. Esteem Need – Needs for status and recognition.
5. Self-actualization – Need to fulfill oneself by maximizing the use of abilities, skills and potentiality. (These are known as higher level needs.)

According to Maslow, unless the lower level needs are satisfied, people does not thrive for higher level needs and once the needs of lower level are satisfied, further satisfaction of the lower level needs do not motivate a man to work.

In contrast to the motivational concept of Maslow, Herzberg classified the needs into two broad categories. According to Herzberg, the lower level needs even though fulfilled is not motivator but unfulfilled lower level needs which are extrinsic in nature are me demotivator. Thus, getting monthly salaries or wages or bonus and other allowances will not motivate a man. But if there is lack or matching increase in the salary, wage, allowance ctc with the increased cost of living it will demotivate a man. The motivators are the fulfilment of the higher level needs which are intrinsic in nature.

However, while motivation is individualistic in nature and applicable for me leaders, employee’s morale, the Espirit De Corps or summation of the attitude of all employees making up a group towards various aspects of their work, the job, the company, the working condition, fellow-workers, supervisors and so on is the crux of oiganizational success. The employees’ attitude towards some of these aspects may be positive, towards some negative. If the total of all positive attitudes exceeds the total of all negative attitudes, the morale of me group can be said to be higher, otherwise, it is low.

Therefore, work culture depends on the motivation of me leaders i.e. attitude of the management at the same time, attitude or the morale of the workers which is also indirectly dependent on the attitude of the management and the trade union leaders. It is unwise to bracket the workers and make only them responsible for lack of work culture. The management has to create a situation wherein the workers can feel positive about –

a) Pride in general attitude towards company.
b) General attitude towards supervision.
c) Satisfaction with the job standards.
d) Style of supervision.
e) Workload and work pressure.
f) Attitude towards co-workers.
g) Satisfaction with salary, wage and other fringe benefits.
h) Attitude towards formal communication system in the company.
i) Intrinsic job satisfaction.
j) Satisfaction with the progress and chances for progress.
k) Quality of work life (QWL) as a whole.

Morale building is not a simple process or set of easy clear-cut steps. There are numerous complex and contradictory cause of variation in people’s attitude even mat evolves pleasant feeling in one employee may have chance the opposite effect on the other. Thus any morale building programme must take into effect that techniques which may have in general positive effect.

To improve the morale of the workers and restore work culture it needs a concerted effort of both the management and the workers to work shoulder to shoulder. In Japan, recent system of Kazen i.e. continuous development and progress through continuous suggestion from the line staff is being seriously considered by the management and me same generating positive results wherein the workers have a feeling that they are the part rather very important part of the organization to reckon with. In fine, we can follow me following suggestion to improve the work culture in oiganization, be it industry or service organization.

1. Management’s Responsibility :

a) Ensure proper job placement.
b) Ensure Job training and development.
c) Job rotation.
d) Introduce personnel counseling.
e) Ensure workers’ right of safety.
f) Ensure proper retirement plan.
g) Improve physical facilities.
h) Introduce alienated workers’ participation in management.
i) Introduce stable salary and wage administration policy.
j) Enforce code of conduct strictly without preference or weakness.
k) Avoid unnecessaiy rigidity in approach and attitude.
1) Open yourself to criticism and suggestion.
m) Take interest in workers’ family welfare activities.
n) Take interest in peripheral development.
o) Take interest in co-ourrioular and cxtra-ourrioular activities.
p) Imbibe me satisfaction of having quatity of work life (QWL).

2. Workers’ Role to Play :

a) Beproudoftheoiganizatton.
b) Accept and discharge the role of workers.
c) Avoid criticism and partisan attitude.
d) Inculcate sharing and earring with co-workers.
e) Follow the role of discipline and code of conduct.
f) Be rational to assess a particular situation.
g) Try to play a win-win game.

3. Expectation from the Trade Unions :

a) Be rational in your approach and demand.
b) Do not indulge in false promises to workers.
c) Induce the workers to follow the code of conduct.
d) Induce the management to enforce the code of conduct without preference.
e) Bargain on reasonable betterment and welfare of workers.
f) Allow workers to take part in management.
g) Introduce counseling for the workers as well as the management as impartial independent agency.
h) Go as in between the workers and management.
i) Extend reasonable support to the management for survival of an industry or organization.

In the previous paragraphs the problem of alienation and lack of work culture has been discussed in detail. More discussion on the issue obviously will not serve any purpose unless it can be practised in reality. A concerted attitude from all concern and of the Government can onty eradicate ttie problem. m our country, the state of West Bengal can once again come in the map of industrially rich states of India.
Coming together is a beginning ; keeping together is progress working together is success. Always remember, hating employees is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat.