UPS:
High Turn-over with Part-Time Workers
Adam Galando, Matt Grove, Amy Kolling
Seton Hill University
Dr. Hayes
August 8, 2010
UPS 2
Back round Information:
United Parcel Service, Inc., a package delivery company, provides transportation,
logistics, and financial services in the United States and internationally. As of December
31, 2009, it operated a fleet of approximately 101,900 package cars, vans, tractors, and
motorcycles, as well as an air fleet of approximately 510 aircraft. "The company, through
a strategic alliance with AliExpress, offers users the benefit of managing their shipping
and tracking processes online. United Parcel Service, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is
headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia."(yahoofinance.com, 2010)
The United Parcel Service is the leader in Courier and Package Services
all over the world. Ranking number 43 on the Forbes Fortune 500 list with over $45
billion in sales ("United parcel service," 2010) displays years of success, loyal customers
and hard working employee’s shows how big of an organization UPS truly is. However,
with distribution centers all over the country, this makes it hard for every employee to be
satisfied and happy at their workplace. Day after day, employees are being mistreated,
abused, under paid, and put into work environments that could be perceived as unsafe. It
is our job to find strategies that will not only get rid of all of these wrong-doings at UPS
but also make the employees happier, motivated, and more satisfied at work. To do this
we must figure out what motivates an employee, and what can be done to make him/her
feel that they have been compensated for their hard work.
A.) Analysis of the Problem: High Turnover Rate of Part-Time UPS Employees
The company of UPS may be the largest company within their industry, but that
doesn't mean that their company doesn't face large problems. A problem that has been
plaguing the company for years has been their inability to keep part time workers. "In
UPS 3
1997, the turnover rate at UPS was 150%. The main problems facing employees at this
time were: lack of full-time opportunities, better job elsewhere, or mistreatment by
management." (Bronfenbrenner, 1997) As for being a current UPS employee (Adam
Galando) I can attest that these three problems still face UPS today. These three
problems will be analyzed further for more clarification.
First, lack of full-time opportunities is a large problem facing the company. On
average a part-time UPS employee averages less than 24 hours a week (Bronfenbrenner,
1997). This means that most part-time employees are working at least 2 jobs. This is
very stressful especially for someone who has a family. "Again, I (Adam Galando) can
state that my past 3 paychecks have average 22.5 hours. I am a single male and I have to
work two jobs to make ends meet." "On average a UPS employee worked 21.5 regular
hours during the work week, while a full-time employee averaged 38.6 regular hours.
Full-timers however, are offered high amounts of overtime. Also, the average full-time
worker makes more than 9 dollars more than the part-time worker." (Bronfenbrenner,
1997) This makes it increasingly difficult for the part-time worker to survive, because
they do not receive the hours or pay needed to pay the bills. Full-time workers at UPS
have no problem getting the hours and pay needed to live a comfortable life, but part time
workers struggle mightily to make ends meet.
Second, often times employees leave UPS because they are able to find a better
job elsewhere. This has a lot to do with lack of full-time work, but working conditions
also affect these decisions. Often, times people are required to lift packages that weigh at
least 150 pounds. (Galando, 2010.) People who are older or do not want to put their body
through the pain will often quit as soon as another job is found. Over, 60,000 UPS
UPS 4
employees are injured annually on the job. "The injury rate at UPS is 15/100, while the
industry average is 8/100."(www.thebigbrownlie.com) This shows that employees sense
that an injury is around the corner and why would they want to work somewhere where
they will get hurt. "People are dissatisfied with: pay, benefits, working conditions, work
schedule." (Bronfenbrenner, 1997) Bronfenbrenner states, "39 percent of part-time
workers were satisfied with their pay. Nineteen percent of employees stated that pay
was a reason for leaving." Galando states, "I will leave UPS when I graduate from
college, because I am unhappy with the pay, job, and the work conditions." UPS has had
a long standing problem will being able to satisfy their part time workers. People
compare the positives and negatives of their jobs and often times UPS is on the negative
side. The problem facing UPS is that their part-time jobs do not give a value add to
employees. UPS part-timer work is often viewed as a stepping stone between jobs.
People work part-time at UPS until they are able to find a more reliable job with better
hours and pay.
Thirdly, mistreatment by management plays a major role in the reason for leaving
the company. "I often view supervisors mistreating people. They make negative
comments, they swear, and we can never do a good enough job. UPS treats their
employees as a number and not a person. Also, it isn't stated but rather understood, that
safety doesn't interfere with production." (Adam Galando) UPS does not recognize the
importance of their part time work force. "57 percent of part-time workers said they were
"not at all satisfied" with their treatment." (Bronfenbrenner, 1997) People just do not
want to work at a place where the management does not show them respect. "Also,
women and people of color often complained more than usual." (Bronfenbrenner, 1997)
UPS 5
This shows that UPS is not familiar with employee labor relations. "I believe a major
problem facing UPS is the management of the company. UPS can turn a profit, but the
workers do not care. We have to respect management and they don't respect us. I have
little respect for any management position at UPS. I've seen what they do to part-time
workers, but also to management alike. They are backstabbers."(Adam Galando, 2010)
UPS needs to find harmony amongst the workforce. Management should not play a
major role in why people are leaving the organization, but with UPS they haven't figured
this out. The lack of unity within UPS is a major reason as to why the turnover is so
high.
UPS has been unable to connect with their part-time workforce, because they are
unable to see the strategic benefit of the part-time workforce. Without the part-time
workforce the company would not operate. The part-time workers have A positions,
because without them package would not be delivered. This is crucial for UPS and their
vision; therefore it is puzzling why they don't embrace their workers. It must be noted
that UPS is involved with the Welfare to Work Program. "UPS’s association with
National Welfare to Work campaign has hired more than 50,000 welfare recipients since
the program began in 1997. Very few of those people remained by years end
respectively. UPS receives incentives for hiring these people into “poverty” jobs
Average weekly salary of the “welfare to work” employees was $104 after taxes per
week. ($8.00 hr X 3.0 hour guarantee X 5 days – 25% with holdings and - $25 in union
dues)."(www.thebigbrownlie.com) I believe this maybe a missing piece in the puzzle.
UPS expects short lives for their employees and see no true value in forming a
relationship, especially if that worker is going to quite. I believe UPS needs to take
UPS 6
advantage of their workers by treating them like they matter. This will increase the
willingness of employees to commit to the company.
Other Relevant UPS Statistics (www.thebigbrownlie.com):
UPS is routinely sued by the EEOC and various other Civil and Human rights
agencies for violations, and discrimination.
Workers at UPS who report unsafe working conditions, unsafe and illegal
equipment, payroll fraud, and corruption are harassed and discharged often
without help from the Hoffa controlled Teamsters union clearly in violation of
Federal law.
UPS pays out over $1 million A DAY in worker compensation claims.
UPS drivers rank in the top 9% of most stressed adults in the nation
This information goes to show the problems that are at UPS. There is not a day
that goes by at UPS when an employee is hurt or injured. People do not want to work
for companies that they can expect to get hurt at. Also, if you couple all the other
issues that have caused dissatisfied workers, UPS needed to change its actions. UPS
needs to focus on Employee/Labor relations, because this could help build loyalty and
trust within the organization. UPS needs teamwork more than ever, because a
company with disgruntled workers will not run efficiently.
B.) Application of Behavior Theories
Since UPS is experiencing a high turnover rate with part-time employee’s these
behavioral theories from the textbook Organizational Behavior and outside sources can
be used to solve some of the problems regarding the high turnover rate.
UPS 7
First is the motivational theory, by definition “motivation refers to the individual
forces that account for direction, level, and persistence of a person’s effort expended at
work. Direction refers to an individual’s choice when presented with a number of
possible alternatives (e.g., whether to pursue quality, quantity, or both in one’s work).
Level refers to the amount of effort a person puts forth (e.g., to put forth a lot or very
little). Persistence refers to the length of time a person sticks with a given action (e.g., to
keep trying or to give up when something proves difficult to attain).” (Hunt, Osborn,
Schermerhorn, 111)
Two types of motivation theories are content and process, content theories profile
needs that may motivate individual behavior and process theories examine the thought
processes that motivate individual behavior.
Another theory that can be applied to the high turnover rate at UPS is the
Hierarchy of Needs Theory. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory identifies five
levels of individual needs. They range from self-actualization to physiological.
The lower order needs are physiological- the most basic of all human needs; need
for biological maintenance; need for food, water, and sustenance. Safety is the need for
security, protection, and stability in the physical and inter-personal events of day-to-day
life. Social is the need for love, affection, sense of belongingness in one’s relationships
with other persons. The higher order needs are esteem which is the need for esteem of
others, respect, prestige, recognition, need for self-esteem, personal sense of competence,
and mastery. Self-Actualization is highest need level: need to fulfill oneself; to grow and
use abilities to fullest and most creative extent.
UPS 8
Some research has indicated the higher-order needs (esteem and self-
actualization) tend to become more important than lower-order needs (psychological,
safety, and social) as individuals move up the corporate ladder.
Below is a Figure 5.1 depicting Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory
Another one of the behavior theories from the text is Herzberg’s two-factor
theory, also known as the motivator-hygiene theory, because the theory identifies two
different factors as primary causes of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction.
Hygiene factors are sources of job dissatisfaction, and they are associated with the job
context or work setting.
Motivator factors are sources of job satisfaction, they include such things as a
sense of achievement, opportunities for personal growth, recognition, and responsibility.
According to figure 5.2 in the textbook, Organizational Behavior, some hygiene
factors in job context affect job dissatisfaction; these are organizational policies, quality
of supervision, working conditions, base wage of salary, relationships with peers,
UPS 9
relationships with subordinates, status, and security. The motivator factors in job content
affect job satisfaction are achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility,
advancement, and growth. (Hunt, Osborn, Schermerhorn, 115) Figure 5.2
Last theory from the book is the Expectancy Theory of Motivation by Victor
Vroom. This theory argues that work motivation is determined by individual beliefs
regarding effort/performance relationships and work outcomes. Expectancy theory states
that Motivation= Expectancy x Instrumentality x Valence, and argues managers should
make each factor positive in order to ensure high levels of motivation.
Expectancy is the probability that work effort will be followed by performance
accomplishment. Instrumentality is the probability that performance will lead to various
work outcomes. Valence is the value to the individual of various work outcomes. As
shown in the Figure 5.3 of the textbook Organizational Behavior.
UPS 10
There are many behavior theories that could be applied to the UPS organization.
There is one theory however, that could change the way people feel about there work
without actually costing the company any money. "Social support often associated with
health behaviors such as physical activity, social support is frequently used in behavioral
and social research. There is, however, considerable variation in how social support is
conceptualized and measured. Social support for physical activity can be instrumental, as
in giving a non-driver giving a ride to an exercise class; informational, as in telling
someone about a walking program in the neighborhood; emotional, as in calling to see
how someone is faring with a new walking program; or appraising, as in providing
feedback and reinforcement in learning a new skill. Sources of support for physical
activity include family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and exercise program
leaders and participants."(Grizzell, 2007) This theory applies to UPS because workers
are engaging in physical labor that takes a toll on their mental state. Social support
would aid in the feelings of the workers at UPS, because workers would be able to
interact with their co-workers.
UPS 11
According to Michael Arnold, author of the book, “A Handbook of Human
Resource Management Practice”, there are 3 components of motivation: Direction,
Effort, and Persistence. Direction entails what a person is trying to do. Effort is the
major factor in the ability to tell how hard a person is working. Lastly, persistence shows
how long a person keeps on trying. Employees at UPS lack a sense of direction. On a
daily basis, the employees clock in, do their job, get yelled at by their supervisors, and
punch out. Very seldom will a supervisor applaud a worker for doing more than what is
expected of him/her. Also, promotions and raises don’t occur frequently at UPS so what
is the employee working hard for? This leads me to my next component of motivation.
Effort by its employees is one of the major reasons why UPS has become the
conglomerate that it is. However, if employees are continuously put into situations where
they have to not only handle the workload, but also handle the stresses that come with the
work environment, employee turnover will continue to skyrocket. At UPS, only the hard
workers will be persistent. The employees who feel that working hard is a natural
occurrence to them, will be the ones who persist day after day, but for how long? If you
continue to unload five trucks in a four hour time span, and still receive the same
treatment, respect, and pay as a coworker who can unload only two trucks in the same
time span, why would you want to keep breaking your back for an organization that
seems as if they don’t care about you? A lack of direction leads to lack of effort which
will make employees less persistent. These are just a few problems that UPS has, and
this is why they have such a high employee turnover rate on a yearly basis. Now the
question is, how can we implement a strategy that will keep our employees happy and
reduce turnover? (Motivation-basic Concepts, 2007)
UPS 12
C.) Suggested Solutions
Here are some of the reasons for choosing these theories to help solve the problem
of high-turnover rate with part-time employees at UPS.
Within the first theory, the motivation theory, the employee’s must have some
good motivation to work and perform well while at work. An employee at UPS has to
want to come to work motivated and have a reason for doing a good job while they are
working. In the second theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, people at any job
must have certain criteria met to want to continue to go into work. Their physiological
needs, safety, and social needs must all be met in order for an employee to want to keep
working as a part-time employee at UPS. Along the lines of higher-order needs UPS
employees’ must know that they are important to the company and should be respected
and recognized for all the great work they do. In the highest need to meet is self-
actualization, this may be met eventually, because if you work at UPS as a part-time
employee you may be asked to become full-time or move up to a supervisor, or
managerial level.
The third theory Herzberg’s two-factor theory links job satisfaction to motivator factors,
such as responsibility or challenge, associated with job content; it links job dissatisfaction
to hygiene factors, such as pay and working conditions, associated with job content. At
UPS, job satisfaction is very important in order to retain employee’s and the cost of
losing already trained part-time employee’s could be cut down by using Herzberg’s
theory, ensuring hygiene factors are being met and motivator factors are being
implemented.
UPS 13
Lastly, the Expectancy theories of motivation, according to this theory people
exert work effort----to achieve----task performance----and realize----work-related
outcomes. If clear and possible rewards for performance are offered employees may
work and perform at a higher level than before. This type of system may also give
employees a reason not to quit because they are being rewarded for their hard work.
UPS could apply the theory of social support by utilizing the workers to work in
teams instead of individuals. Often, when the workers become tired their attitude soon
becomes negative. This has largely to do with the fact that they have no one to interact
with and keep him or her occupied. If UPS could let workers work as teams, then the
workers would be more productive and efficient.
Organizations today are looking for employees who they can teach and train into
becoming long-term, efficient, and productive workers. However, management at the
United Parcel Service tends to lack these qualities and desirable traits. Workers at UPS
value equity when or if it is given to them. However, most of the time the employee
finds themselves getting yelled at or being tossed into unworkable environments while
they are being productive and working hard. How could a company get away with doing
this for such a long period of time? As a manager or executive, you must be involved
enough to know that this is the attitude at the distribution centers that you are in charge
of, and you must use your own ethics and morals to change what you can. Letting
employees be ridiculed and abused on a daily basis is wrong no matter what country you
are in, let alone the United States. According to Adams Equity Theory, people will work
better if they are treated equitably. Adams stated that there are two forms of equity,
Distributive and Procedural. Distributive Equity revolves around fairness when people
UPS 14
feel they are rewarded in accordance with their contribution and in comparison with
others. As already stated, the more productive you are as a worker; you can expect your
superiors to give you a bigger workload. Procedural Equity leads to the perception of
employees about fairness of company procedures. If you ask, the majority of the dock
workers will tell you that equity and fairness doesn’t exist within the workplace. As a
un-loader at UPS, your pay and bonuses should be based on experience, productivity and
accountability. Even though you are considered a part-time employee, your fast-paced
work ethic should pay off for you. This is why I feel that implementing the Distributive
Theory could retain more of the desirable employees that UPS has. By being rewarded in
accordance with their contribution and comparison to other coworkers will allow
employees to set themselves above and beyond their peers, while receiving proper
acknowledgment. Procedural equity is the result of the implementation of the
Distributive Theory. If you continue to use the Distributive Theory, the perception of the
fairness and work procedures that occur at their place of work will change drastically.
Now we are getting compensated for our hard work, receiving the proper
acknowledgement by our superiors, and being treated more justifiably at the work place.
You will see an immediate response to the high employee turnover rate, and you will be
focusing on the employee retention rate instead of the employee turnover rate. Optimism
will become a predominant feeling that all employees will share, and direction, with the
help of communication, will become clearer. A productivity based reward system would
make employees happy which in turn could help in other areas of dissatisfaction within
the organization. (Motivation-basic Concepts, 2007).
UPS 15
Fixing the high-turnover rate at UPS among part-time employees may be a hard arduous
task but choosing a combination of the theories listed above can decrease job
dissatisfaction and the high-turnover rate at UPS. UPS needs to recognize the problems
that are facing part time workers and work to fix those problems. This will not only help
with employee/labor relations, but it will also help with production and productivity.
The UPS part time workers are the people that get the heavy packages in and out of
trucks so that the company can deliver packages on time. I think UPS needs to utilize
their relationship with the workers so that everyone benefits from the relationship.
UPS 16
References:
Bronfenbrenner, K. (1997, June). Worker Turnover and Part-time Employment at UPS. Retrieved
from:http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=re
ports
Freeman, A. (2006). Ups Fact Sheet. Retrieved from
http://pupsinc.homestead.com/big_brown_lie_UPS_FACT_SHEET.htm
Grizzell, J. (2007, January 27). Behavior Change Theories and Models. Retrieved from
http://www.csuomona.edu/~jvgrizzell/best_practices/bctheory.html
Grove, M. (2010, July). [Interview with Adam Galando, employee of UPS].
Motivation-Basic Concepts and Theories. (2007, November). Retrieved from http://
www.themanager.org/Resources/Motivation.htm
Schermerhorn, J.R., Hunt, J.G. & Osborn, R.N. (2008). Organizational Behavior. (10th ed).
Hobenken, NJ: Wiley and Sons, Inc. (111-115).
United Parcel Service. (2010). Retrieved from
http://www.hoovers.com/company/United_Parcel_Service_Inc/cfcxyi-1.html
Yahoo Finance. (2010, January 6). Ups Profile. Retrieved from"
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=UPS+Profile