For big businesses with thousands of workers, employee manuals fill a number of valuable roles. First, they provide the standardization needed to ensure that rules and policies extend to everybody equally. Second, they help protect employers against potential damages claims for things such as wrongful termination and discrimination. Third, they provide an important psychological function in an age when many people view their jobs as little more than a means to a paycheck.

As fewer and fewer companies grow increasingly powerful on the global stage, corporations that are a part of this oligarchy employ greater numbers of workers. Consequently, offices in which one hand scarcely knows what the other one is doing have become commonplace. Human resources, accounting, finance, sales, and assembly are all focused on their own concerns and fail to see themselves as part of the big picture.

It's no wonder then that so many employees have trouble explaining their roles in a big corporation, which is where worker manuals come in. A good handbook can ensure that every member of a corporation's staff understands his or her job expectations. Similarly, it guarantees that workers know what their employers can do for them. Employee manuals spell out in no uncertain terms their policies on raises, medical and dental benefits, vacation time, and so forth.

What's Good for the Goose

Employee manuals are also terrific resources in the event of legal disputes. In the planning stages of any company, before the first employee is ever hired, it's easy to envision the workplace as a sort of utopia in which problems never arise and all workers are honest, motivated, and well intentioned. At this stage, thoughts of litigation and ongoing legal negotiations are the furthest thing from the CEO's mind.

When trouble finally arises, it may take any number of surprising forms. It may be that a rejected employee feels he or she wasn't hired for reasons pertaining to race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation, even if it's eminently clear that he or she simply lacked the right credentials. Here, an employee manual that explicitly spells out the non-discrimination policy can be strong evidence against this claim.

Such a policy, expressly stated, can also prove handy in the event that one worker feels unfairly penalized for misconduct. If he or she claims ignorance about a rule that's clearly been violated, employers can point to the agreement that said employee signed prior to beginning work at the office. Needless to say, this contract should clearly state that the employee has read and understood all the terms and specifications contained in the company's employee manual and has agreed to abide by them.

Existential Crises

Too often, bosses lament their workers' lack of motivation. Employees continue to turn in lackluster performances, complain of unfair company policies, or moan about their own uselessness in their roles. An employee manual that states its company's mission or philosophy is one bulwark against this. By bringing in some historical perspective (maybe the company was the first to produce widgets on the east coast or the first to use a specific technology), a handbook can give workers a sense of meaning and place. Instead of producing more widgets, employees can start to see themselves as upholders of a storied corporate tradition.

No employee manual will single-handedly define its workers' reason for being. That job is up to them. Moreover, it's up to you as the hiring manager to separate the wheat from the chaff and only take those candidates who seem the most highly motivated. Nevertheless, employee manuals can address vital psychological needs for employees such as feeling part of a common and worthy cause.