A new study of over 7000 working-age adults has revealed that nearly half of all workers are unhappy in their job and oftentimes, managers are to blame.
According to the survey, conducted by Gallup, half of all employees in the US have quit their jobs at some point in their career to get away from their boss.
It was also revealed that managers are also often unhappy; just 35% of managers said that they were engaged at work, while 14% admitted to actively switching off at work. Fifty-one per cent said that they were disengaged.
“I'm continually surprised at these numbers – they're a lot lower than they need to be,” said Jim Harter, Gallup's chief scientist of workplace management and well-being.
“When managers aren't engaged, it affects their employees, which in turn affects productivity, whether people stay or leave, how often they're absent, and then ultimately productivity.”
He added that considering how much time is spent in the workplace, the results could suggest that work could take a toll on wellbeing.
Chairman and CEO of Gallup, Jim Clifton, echoed the importance of choosing the right manager for your business in his introduction to the report.
“The single biggest decision you make in your job — bigger than all of the rest — is who you name manager. When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision. Not compensation, not benefits — nothing.”
Clifton summarised the research conducted by Gallup, saying that disengaged employees and bad management can have a wide-ranging effect on the state of your business.
“Here’s what you need to know: Gallup research has found that the top 25% of teams — the best managed — versus the bottom 25% in any workplace — the worst managed — have nearly 50% fewer accidents and have 41% fewer quality defects.
“What’s more, teams in the top 25% versus the bottom 25% incur far less in healthcare costs.
“So having too few engaged employees means our workplaces are less safe, employees have more quality defects, and disengagement — which results from terrible managers — is driving up the country’s healthcare costs.”
