| There are many challenges and problems in managing labour relations in China.Individual and group labour disputes are on the rise,creating a burden of increased costs for enterprises and,as disputes escalate and sharpen,may even have a devastating impact on the production and operation of the enterprise.Employee grievances,as the beginning of a labour dispute,can be effectively resolved at the internal source of the enterprise,eliminating the need to resort to external channels,reducing costs for both parties and facilitating the building of harmonious labour relations.At present,there is a lack of theoretical research on employee grievances in China,and although Western grievance research is mature,it is not possible to copy Western research as the Chinese and Western scenarios are different.Therefore,this study investigates the formation mechanism of employee grievances in the Chinese context from a micro perspective in the field of labour relations.The study is based on grounded theory research approach using primary interviews and secondary materials collected to conduct an exploratory study,construct a model,and then analyse it using content analysis method word frequency statistics,focusing on situational factors.A three-level coding and analysis was conducted according to an open-ended,spindle,and selective coding path to construct a mechanism for forming employee grievances in the Chinese context,including 10 main categories of grievance content,perception of unfairness,negative arousal emotions,cost-benefit rational measures,individual cultural orientation,individual resource assessment,organisational resource assessment,employee grievance,employee silence,and employee withdrawal.The content of employee grievances includes the violation of rights and benefits,resulting in the perception of unfairness,which leads to negative arousal or rational cost-benefit measures,and finally to employee grievance behaviour.Based on heterogeneous situational factors such as system and culture,the formation of employee grievances in the Chinese context is more complex.There are four formation paths: emotion-driven,cognitive mechanism,emotion-cognitive drive,and unfair perception-grievance behaviour.The three categories of individual resource assessment,individual cultural orientation and organisational resource assessment,with a total of 12 contextualised characteristics,moderate the process of forming employee grievances.In terms of grievance channel choice,employees are mainly led by their direct supervisors,supplemented by functional departments such as human resources and higher-level supervisors,and the party discipline inspection department also assumes a partial role,but rarely appeal to the enterprise trade union.Based on the results of this study,this study makes the following management recommendations,companies should clarify and attach importance to employee grievances and adopt targeted grievance handling strategies to respond positively;improve corporate grievance management mechanisms and open up grievance channels in conjunction with external regulations;and change management concepts to build a positive and open grievance atmosphere,manag employee grievances as a source of labour relationsThis study uncovers the theoretical ’black box’ of employee grievance formation mechanisms in the Chinese context in the light of current localised research orientations,extracts the stories of employee grievance formation mechanisms in the Chinese context,extends the boundaries of employee grievance theories arising in the context of developed Western market economies.And It provides a preliminary model of the grievance formation mechanism in a scenario that is not based on mature collective labour relations and the widespread use of high involvement work systems.The grievance formation model is useful in answering the grievance challenge of how employees’ grievance intentions are transformed into grievance behaviour. |
