Valerie Bolden-Barrett* says a new survey has found that managers showing disrespect to their subordinates is the most likely negative behaviour to drive workers away.
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Managerial disrespect for lower-level workers is a top concern that can make frontline employees think about quitting, even if they like their jobs, according to more than half of 1,000 survey respondents in a new Harris Poll for Yoh, a global talent and outsourcing firm.
Managers who break promises (46 per cent), overwork employees (42 per cent) or have unrealistic expectations of them (42 per cent) are the next top reasons that drive workers to quit.
Poor management can trump good benefits, perks and other workplace advantages.
Other negative managerial behaviour that drives workers to quit include playing favourites, gossiping about other workers, being overly critical, micromanaging workers and not listening when workers voice their opinions.
Women (59 per cent) are more likely than men (48 per cent) to say that disrespect will make them leave their jobs.
And generally, managers who have limited knowledge (30 per cent), offer inadequate performance feedback (24 per cent), can’t effectively help workers develop their skills (23 per cent) or are uninvolved in daily interactions (18 per cent) can cause workers to consider leaving.
The old saying, while shown in new light in the modern workplace, still holds some truth: employees really might quit a bad boss.
HR can make sure managers know what’s important through training that counters poor boss behaviours, such as micromanaging, showing favouritism, giving infrequent feedback, offering excessive criticism, stealing employees’ ideas, overworking subordinates and being overtly disrespectful.
Workplace polls indicate that nothing appears to agitate employees more than micromanaging.
Paying favourites, having unclear goals for workers and bad-mouthing colleagues were also cited as top managerial problems in a survey from The Predictive Index.
Employees have also said that their managers aren’t doing enough to help them develop skills.
A recently released survey from Monster showed that three in four employees have had a toxic boss.
Poor management at such a high rate is an urgent call for better trained managers.
Organisations must give managers the tools they need to lead effectively.
A boss’s task is to manage through motivation with a focus on career development.
Even managers admit that they often lack the training they need to lead; 59 per cent of managers with one to two employees in a West Monroe Partners study said they had no training.
In the current labour market, with more job openings than workers to fill them and a historically low unemployment rate that could dip even lower in 2019, employers can’t risk allowing poorly trained managers or toxic bosses to drive out workers.
* Valerie Bolden-Barrett is a business writer, content specialist and Contributing Editor to HR Dive.
This article first appeared at www.hrdive.com.
