According to the CMI, "perhaps more worryingly, 38% of employees report that their boss thinks he or she is good at what they do, suggesting that a 'competence-confidence gap' is undermining UK workplaces."
The survey results imply management and leadership failure is undermining employees' workplace attitudes and experiences. Further, almost four in ten employees (39%) feel their boss' behaviour increases stress levels, just over a third (34%) complain that their boss negatively affects enjoyment of their job and one in ten blame their boss for declining health.
The results are in line with the CMI's latest Economic Outlook survey, which revealed that 70% of managers reported a drop in morale over the past six months.
The CMI' s results echo recent findings from SHL about the motivation levels within the UK workforce. For example, we found 44% of employees felt unmotivated in their job, yet the importance of having a good manager for staff motivation was also highlighted.
The research indicates that providing more robust support for line managers themselves may be the key to unlocking their motivational capabilities within the organisation. Managers are often expected to bear the responsibility of providing their employees with support during difficult times, yet over a third (37%) of managers who went through a redundancy or restructuring process did not feel equipped to deal with it. When asked what advice would have helped the process, over two thirds said they were concerned about motivating their remaining staff (67%) while more than half (52%) would have appreciated more peer group support from their colleagues.
The good news for UK plc, however, is that these high levels of dissatisfaction are by no means an inevitable consequence of the recession and good line managers can have a significant impact on employees' morale. 77% of those surveyed who thought their managers dealt very well with the economic crisis, felt valued, reinforcing the importance of managers having the skills, training and tools in place to support staff. In contrast, of employees who thought their manager coped very poorly during the recession, 85% said they do not feel valued, 83% are demotivated and over half are actively searching for a new job.
According to the SHL study, the issue of motivation is being overlooked by many organisations as only half of those interviewed (53%) said they felt valued in their job. This coupled with the CMI's findings should raise the red flag for employers.
While an organisation has little control over the macro effects of the economy, it can control how its managers cope with difficult times. A manager that feels equipped to deal with stressful situations and knows how to reward and encourage demotivated employees has a better chance of keeping the workforce engaged. Organisations need to provide managers and employees with the skills, training and tools to ensure everyone is motivated and engaged. This is critical if the public and private sector is to reduce the threat of 'ghost turnover' in the UK, where demotivated employees have already decided they want to leave, but bide their time until they can find another job (and of course the best talent will get job offers first)! With the economy finely balanced we cannot risk 'ghost turnover.'
These results are of course concerning. However, it is important to ask why managers are lacking in competency and confidence. What happened during the recruitment and succession planning processes? Companies need to examine their processes for recruiting and promoting staff into management positions. Good succession planning involves identifying and nurturing talent, which ensures a company has the right management in place to inspire and motivate staff - it's all about 'People Intelligence' i.e. knowing what your employees can do and have the potential to achieve. Without this knowledge, a company risks creating an environment of unfulfilled employees, which in turn affects business performance.
Sean Howard, VP business solutions at talent management consultants SHL
