Increasing productivity in the workplace has long been a focus for business owners and theorists alike. Prominent studies dating back a century focused on increasing human productivity in the workplace by trying a different approach. Today, that research has led us to the concept we know as human relations management theory.
What is human relations management theory?
The human relations management theory is a researched belief that people desire to be part of a supportive team that facilitates development and growth. Therefore, if employees receive special attention and are encouraged to participate, they perceive their work as having significance and are motivated to be more productive, resulting in high-quality work.
“Human relations management theory is a management approach that recognizes employees as human beings with needs and wants beyond their job tasks,” Cameron Noe, provider engagement director at Humana, told us. “It highlights that employees aren’t just motivated by money and rules in the workplace, but also by recognition, inclusion, informal social norms and structures and a sense of belonging.”
These are some of the human relations management theory basics:
- Individual attention and recognition align with the human relations theory.
- Many management theorists support the motivational theory, which ties into the human relations theory.
- Studies support the importance of human relations in business.
Remember, human relations falls under the umbrella of human resources. Therefore, human resources theory is different from the human relations management theory. If you want to streamline your HR functions, read our
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What is human relations?
As you think about the human relations management theory, it is important to understand what human relations means in practice. Merriam-Webster defines “human relations” as the “study of human problems arising from organizational and interpersonal relations (as in industry).” That definition has translated to a business approach focused on supporting employees in their career development and agency at work — while still running a profitable company.
Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne experiments
In the 1920s, Elton Mayo, an Australian-born psychologist and organizational theorist, began his research on the behavior of people in groups and how it affects individuals in the workplace, known as the Hawthorne studies.
At the time, Taylorism, or the application of science in the workplace to improve productivity, viewed individuals as machines that could work in unethical or unrealistic environments. Mayo, in contrast, popularized the idea of the “social person,” meaning organizations should treat people as individuals, not machines, with individual needs.
The findings of Mayo’s Hawthorne studies revealed that workplace relationships are among the most influential factors in employee productivity. Researchers observed that output increased when employees worked within supportive groups where each person’s contributions had a meaningful impact on overall team results. A notable secondary finding was that the attention workers received from the researchers boosted motivation and performance — a phenomenon now widely recognized as the Hawthorne effect.
“Elton Mayo’s human relations theory emphasizes the social and emotional well-being of employees as critical components of organizational success,” said Pamela Barnhill, chief operating officer of Valley Regional Anesthesia Associates. “This is great for small and medium-sized organizations as its principles are foundational to sustainable businesses.”
What are popular human relations management theories?
Although Elton Mayo pioneered the theory of human relations with the Hawthorne experiments, many other management theories have emerged. For example, Abraham Maslow and Douglas McGregor revealed how the motivational theory ties in with theories of human relations.
Some popular management theories include:
- Elton Mayo’s management theory: This highlights the importance of attention, social interactions and how positive relationships impact employee productivity.
- Frederick Herzberg’s management theory: This highlights the fact that motivators (e.g., recognition, personal growth) and hygiene factors, such as job security and salary, are key to employee satisfaction.
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow suggested that five basic needs (physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization) are motivating factors in an employee’s work values because the employee is motivated to ensure the most important of these individual needs are met.
- Douglas McGregor’s X & Y theory: McGregor’s framework presents two contrasting views of employee motivation: Theory X holds that workers are inherently resistant to effort and require close oversight, while Theory Y holds that employees are self-motivated and perform best when given empowerment and responsibility. McGregor supports motivational beliefs by recognizing that employees contribute more to the organization if they feel invested and valued.
The results of studies regarding human relations in the workplace show that people want to feel a sense of belonging and significance while being treated with value and respect. If you treat an employee with that value and respect, their individual productivity and quality of work will increase to support the organizational team.
What are 5 essential human relations skills?
A human relations-centric approach to management and business requires a special skill set on the part of employers and managers. To effectively carry out a human relations-focused workplace culture, five skills are essential.
1. Communication
Open lines of communication are essential to any workplace, but this is especially vital for leaders practicing human relations management. Effective communication helps ensure that all employees not only are on the same page but also feel motivated and valued in their work. This refers to in-person conversations as well as written communication such as emails and social media.
As a leader, you should be able to adapt your language to various situations, such as by adjusting your word choice and level of formality depending on whether you’re speaking with senior executives or frontline employees. One useful communication technique is mirroring the other person’s approach; people are more likely to respond well to those who feel similar to them. Finding common ground and matching their tone of voice or body language are subtle but effective ways to build rapport with your conversational partner.
A useful communication technique is mirroring the other person’s approach; people are more likely to respond well to those similar to them.
2. Conflict resolution
Managing individuals with differing personality types, worldviews and goals can make universal agreement incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. Therefore, you must be comfortable and well-versed in conflict resolution. You will help your team work together in a civil manner – even if they don’t agree with each other on all points – to ensure the work gets done in a timely manner.
When dissent arises, you must be able to take individual perspectives into account and make each person feel heard and understood. Once you’ve considered all viewpoints, work with every party involved to arrive at a solution that everyone finds comfortable. While it’s impossible to make everyone happy all of the time, strong conflict resolution skills can maintain or restore team harmony in the face of disagreement.
3. Multitasking
Managers face countless tasks, questions and issues to solve on a daily basis. They are responsible for themselves and their team’s success, which means spending time checking in with their team and ensuring things are moving smoothly.
A good leader must be able to manage multiple, often competing, priorities at once without missing deadlines. Equally important is flexibility; as a manager, you must be ready to adapt quickly to policy shifts, organizational changes or evolving workflows that affect how your team operates.
4. Negotiation
Whether there’s an employment offer to navigate, an agreement to establish between stakeholders and the company, or opposing viewpoints to manage, negotiation happens regularly in the workplace. Strong negotiation skills are key to keeping the peace between two parties while reaching an agreement where all parties are satisfied. Effective communication techniques such as active listening, mirroring and adapting your language to your audience can also be valuable assets in any negotiation.
5. Organization
Organization is one of the most important human relations skills as it impacts all other areas of work. You must keep your physical workspace, as well as your workflow process, highly organized. This is especially important when you’re filing paperwork or employee records because everything must be completed correctly and on time. Staying organized is also a key part of time management and an efficient workflow.
As a leader, you must work efficiently and manage your time appropriately, especially when tackling multiple and often time-sensitive priorities, which is possible only when there is an organized process.
Communication, conflict resolution, multitasking, negotiation and organization are all vital to human relations. Leaders who develop these skills are on their way to successfully implementing human relations management practices.
What are the limitations of human relations management theory?
Though human relations management theory presents new ways of supporting employees in the workplace, it has some limitations.
Implementing the theory in large organizations is challenging.
The larger your company, the harder it becomes to treat each employee as a distinct individual. While there are strategies to personalize the employee experience, larger organizations often need to balance that goal against broader workforce considerations. The key here is customization.
“This theory is not one-size-fits-all and needs to be integrated with other complementary approaches,” Noe said. “Leaders also need to adapt this approach to their specific organizational culture and employee needs.”
Measuring human relations actions to determine success can be difficult.
Although the human relations management theory is useful, the Hawthorne studies were conducted in a controlled environment, so measuring success was easier in this situation than evaluating a real workplace. A real-world organization may find it difficult to determine whether implementing this theory into their daily practices has led to any results since so much comes into play when determining a business’s – and its employees’ – success.
While employers can conduct surveys, pulse checks and other measurement strategies, getting a solid and unbiased picture of how the theory has changed workplace culture is still a challenge without accounting for all potential contributing factors. Complementary strategies are essential for filling those gaps.
“This theory works best when combined with data-driven decision-making and robust performance management systems to address both relational and operational aspects of the business,” Noe said.
Though the Hawthorne studies place a heavy emphasis on healthy interpersonal relationships, they aren’t the only motivator for employees to increase productivity; workplace satisfaction is another key factor.
Productivity comes from many different sources.
While it’s important to highlight how humanizing employees can lead to an improvement in productivity, this change can also come from other sources, from the company’s technology to its infrastructure to its leadership. However, the Hawthorne studies focused only on the importance of human interaction and not on the overall work environment, which can affect one’s experience.
Employees who are dissatisfied in their roles — whether because of the work itself, their compensation or the tools they’re required to use — are more likely to experience lower productivity and strained workplace relationships. Those tensions often wouldn’t exist in an environment where employees felt engaged and supported in the nature of their work.
“This theory overlooks more complex systematic issues like operational inefficiencies, such as outdated workflows, because it focuses solely on interpersonal dynamics,” Noe said. “To combat this, organizations need to integrate a human relations management approach with other management approaches, like Lean or Six Sigma to address these inefficiencies.”
Sean Peek and Gail L. Perry contributed to the reporting and writing in this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.
