Level 5 Business Writing Sample Item

Prompt:

At your office, employees are allowed to skip their morning and/or afternoon breaks to take longer lunch breaks. However, the personnel manager says that employees have been taking too much time on their lunch breaks as a result of this policy. She wants to require all employees to take their morning and afternoon breaks and the standard lunch break. Write a letter to the personnel manager explaining whether or not you are in favor of this proposal and why.

Recently, I received the memo explaining your intent to eliminate policy that allows employees to omit morning or afternoon breaks so they can take longer lunch. In this fast-paced world of international business, I feel that a company must have every advantage in order to succeed. Because the benefits of the current policy allow our company to prosper, I must respectfully disagree with your intentions. First, the current policy fosters good employee morale; secondly, the same amount of work is completed either way; and finally, eliminating the policy would be severely detrimentel to employees' relationships with management.

First, one of the most important aspects of any successful business venture is high employee morale, something that the current policy fosters. The fact that an employee has the option of taking a long lunch with friends or a shorter lunch with time to mingle with coworkers in the morning promotes employee satisfaction. Employees can select whichever option is most suitable to their daily schedules. When a company has satisfied employees who look forward to going to work, the productivity of that company increases.

Second, whether employees take two fifteen-minute breaks or extend their lunch, the amount of work the employees are doing remains constant. Revoking the current policy will not increase productivity. True, some employees may try to abuse the system and stay out for lunch longer, but this would occur even if the scheduled break times were compulsory.

In addition, because our industry is so competitive, each company, in order to grow and progress, must maintain a good relationship between it's employees and management. Implementing this new policy actually challenges this valuable bond by undermining the employees' trust in management. This is because in revoking the policy, it appears the management is attempting to limit workers' privileges and personal choices. The employees will feel as though they are not trusted. At this point, a good relationship between workers and managers will cease to exist.

Implementing the new policy would harm employee morale, would be ineffective in increasing productivity, and would undermine the workers' relationship with management. I respectfully ask you to retain the current policy. By allowing employees the freedom to decide when they take their breaks, you help to foster the continued success of this company.