Work practices are essentially the way that you are expected to engage in your work as outlined by your employer. Each employer will have certain expectations for you as an employee and how you conduct 'work' and this will vary across different workplaces. It is your job as an employee to ensure that you understand these practices and do you best to adhere to them.

Work practices are implemented and maintained in accordance with industry standards and worplace policy, guidlines and procedures to ensure the safety and welbeing of both employers and employees. These policies should be reviewed on a regular basis to make sure that they are appropriate to a specfic workplace. Consulation should occur and all parties involved should be respresented so that all aspects of the worlpace are considered and covered by the policies.

Work practices are implemented and maintained in accordance with industry standards and workplace policy, guidelines and procedures and are often in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of employers and employees alike. 

If good work practices are not maintained then there are implications for employers, employees and clients, as well as the workplace itself and the industry as a whole. 

For example, if bullying and harrassment is something that is accepted in a particular industry as 'part of the job' this would result in poor mental health of individual, which would effect their day to day productivity. This could have a flow on effect for clients and customers and also result in potential legal ramifications in the future for the employer. If this is a practice accepted across various worplaces in a particular industry then it has implications for the industry as a whole.

DISCUSSION

• Read the article '15 Poor Working Conditions That Affect Employee Productivity' (right).

• Choose one condition and discuss with the class how you would feel if you experienced this condition. Would it affect your day to day work? What could you do to improve the situation?

Within the entertainment industry you will be expected to conduct many and varied tasks which may be routine such as dealing with customers or maintining a venue; rostered such as ushering for a particular show; and non-routine task which may include things that pop up unexpectedly such as filling in accident reports or taking on job that would normally be done by someone who is away. What ever the taks may be, ensure that you understand fully what is expected of you and remember to ask questions if you are unsure.

Work through pages 64-69 to discover some ways of ensuring that you know what you job entails and what to do if you don't completely understand.

Complete the section of the workbook on adhearing to deadlines and scheduling work activities (pages 80-97). This section will also talk about ways to reduce our impact on the environment.

Everyone is responsible for quality improvment in the industry. As an employee you can contribute to this quality improvement in many ways including:

• Sharing ideas 

• Professional learning

• Upskilling

• Contributing to quality imporvement reviews and meetings

• Making suggestions to improve conditions

• Seeking and implementing feedback

• Conducting and analysing customer surveys and complaints

By contributing to quality improvement you are not only ensuring quality for a customer but you are contributing to a more productive and enjoyable workplace and developing your own skills and well being.

Sharing ideas and information is an essential work practice within the entertainment industry. Read through this section of the workbook (pages 62-69) and complete the activities.

A lot of time is spent planning in the entertainment industry so that varous people and equipment can come together to create one event. Timing is crucial for a production's flow and it only takes one aspect to go over time for there to be an overflow effect through to many aspects of the production. Saying this, the entertainment industry is also an industry plagues with time variations due to a number of things, including human error, unexpected interruptions, technical issues and even weather so you must be able to cope with these unexpected variations and ensure that back-up plans are available for when things go wrong. 

Discussion

Discuss with the class unexpected things that could occur in the entertainment industry that could interrupt a production schedule.

Workplace policy and procedures requires strict record-keeping and reporting of employee work practices and evaluations.

Discuss typical lines of communication and reporting within the entertainment workplace, including:

■   indirect dialogue with supervisors

■   formal meetings

■   written evaluation reports.

Confidentiality and privacy of the recording process are required through legislation. Confidentiality is key legal consideration in entertainment as it keeps your project a secret until you are ready to have them shared with the public. If someone else steals your ideas before you have had a chance to release them, it allows them to generate revenue off your ideas. 

Ultimately, this will make your idea worth less as someone has already done it before you, resulting in losses for you. 

Read through the article (right) to find out more about non-disclosure and the importance of confidentiality.