In the United Kingdom, managers in general work the longest hours in the European Union. Although the scorecard might read that they are getting an ‘A’ for effort, the problem is often that engagement with their staff and with customers might be a different account. It is borne out in the report by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), ‘Creating an Engaged Workforce,’ where the issues of productivity are to be addressed for people are willing to put in the hours but are not working smarter so that their efforts would be evidenced in improved output.
In research released on 3 February 2011 (the January Employment Index), it was revealed that three-quarters of employees were unhappy in their jobs and a quarter had experienced workplace bullying. The majority of respondents (73 per cent) were unhappy in their current role. The survey found that 40 per cent of respondents had suffered from severe stress due to work pressure.’
In a further survey by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), in the ‘Spring economic outlook survey’ in May 2011, it was asserted that morale in the workplace had worsened and that managers could be blamed for the situation. Of the respondents, 70 per cent of the managers admitted that moral within their organisations had worsened over the previous six months. In addition, 45 per cent of managers stated that the number of workers feeling involved and valued in their organisations had also decreased over that time span.
Commenting on the survey, Ruth Spellman, the CEO at the CMI, stated; ‘The phrase ‘people are our most important asset’ has become a corporate mantra, but CMI’s latest figures indicate managers aren’t doing enough to make their staff feel valued.’ She continued with reference to the recession: ‘The rules have changed and many of the old certainties no longer exist. Our members tell us that such an atmosphere leaves them feeling lost and in the dark. They need guidance on how to behave and practical help with the seemingly endless stream of challenges presented to them and the opportunity to find out how their peers in other sectors and organisations are coping.
‘At a time when budgets are squeezed to the limit, there is a tendency for organisations to cut back on management training and development. This is both short-sighted and counter-productive. Now, more than ever, organisations should be building managerial capacity and making sure their people are well equipped enough to drive and manage change, and exploit new opportunities.’
Ian Buckingham has argued that engaged employees are:
· Receptive and open
· Involved and involving
· Proactive, go the extra mile, innovate
· Energised
· Achievers, they get results
· Advocates
In current research, it is suggested that achieving results is the most important indicator of successful relationships within an organisation, being involved and involving is next whilst being an innovator is last by a measureable distance.
The wellbeing of the staff is not only beneficial to the employees but to the organisation. In 2010, an analysis of FTSE 100 employers by Business in the Community (BITC) in conjunction with Ipsos Mori, found that that the companies that had taken active steps to improve health and wellbeing at work had enhanced their financial performance by 10 per cent in 2009, compared with firms that had not undertaken such measures. BITC had, in collaboration with business leaders and Human Resources directors, identified four key areas to promote employee health and wellbeing in its Workwell Model:
· Better physical and psychological health – create an environment that promotes healthy behaviours
· Better work – create a happy and engaging work environment
· Better relationships – provide communications and social connections
· Better specialist support – provide interventions to manage health and wellbeing
The amazing thing is that managers do not adopt one single strategy – they do not have access to Conventional wisdom but (as Gallup has indicated) they play to their own strengths. The one constant was that talented employees need great managers. There are common indicators (listed below) which can be incorporated into an individual’s leadership style, but the important matter is that a leader has to be able to get his members of staff to be emblazoned with the vision.
The importance of the employer-employee relationship is so important that it is emphasised numerous times in the New Testament (e.g. Ephesians 4: 5 and 9; 1 Peter 2: 18), together with references in the Old Testament (e.g. Malachi 1: 6).
We should respect our employees as people that God has placed over us and live at peace with them as far as possible (Romans 12: 18).It is a two-way relationship where we have been placed by God to fulfil those obligations He has laid on us, so both parties should seek to improve the role that each will perform. In all things, we (both employer and employee) should work as if God was our only employer and seek to please Him in all our tasks.
Indicators (Gallup)
Item 1: Knowing what’s expected
Expectations are the milestones we use to measure our progress and, within the workplace, these milestones mark the pathways that guide us toward achievement. If expectations are not clear, we are hesitant, indecisive, and unsure of ourselves.
Item 2: Materials and Equipment
We have all been in the frustrating position facing an expectation without having the tools necessary to achieve it. For employees, the importance of having the materials and equipment they need to do their jobs right is one of the twelve key discoveries from the multiyear research effort by the Gallup organisation.
Item 3: Doing What I Do Best
Full human potential is realised only when people are in a position to use their talents and strengths. Great performance is found when an individual’s natural talents fit his or her role. Matching the right person with the right job is probably the most significant challenge organisations and managers face today.
Item 4: Recognition or Praise
Praise and recognition are essential building blocks of a great workplace. We all possess the need to be recognised as individuals, and to feel a sense of accomplishment. This is nothing complicated about recognition, but it is one of the items that consistently receive the lowest ratings from employees.
Item 5: My Supervisor Cares about Me
Gallup’s research indicates that employees don’t leave companies, they leave managers and supervisors. The impact that a supervisor has in today’s workplace can be either very valuable or very costly to the organisation and the people who work there.
Item 6: Someone encourages my development
The innate yearning to learn and grow is natural to human beings. Our jobs allow us to encounter new situations and find new ways to overcome challenges every day. Why, then, do we have a tendency to stall or stagnate?
Item 7: My opinions seem to count
All employees want to feel that they are making significant contributions to their workplaces. The ways organisations hear and process employees’ ideas will shape, to a large degree, whether or not they feel valued for their contributions.
Item 8: My company’s mission or purpose
A deeply felt sense of purpose in life leads to excellence. Human beings want to belong to something of significance and meaning. They want to know they are making a difference, contributing to an important endeavour. The best workplaces give their employees a sense of purpose, help them feel they belong, and enable them to make a difference.
Item 9: Doing quality work
Highly productive employees state that there is a vast difference between being assigned to a team and actually identifying with that team. It’s a common experience – our manager assigns us to a workgroup and our name is added to the roster. Just because our names are added, however, doesn’t mean that we psychologically join the team, especially if we are afraid the other members don’t share our commitment to producing quality work.
Item 10: I have a best friend at work
Human being s are social, and work is a social institution. Long-term relationships are often formed at work – networking relationships, friendships, even marriages. In the best workplaces, employers recognise that people want to forge quality relationships with their co-workers, and that company loyalty can be built from such friendships.
Item 11: Talk to me about my progress
We have all faced the infamous job performance review. Typically, the first two minutes are focussed on what managers like about us and our work, and the remaining 58 minutes are spent on ‘areas of opportunity’(the areas in which we’re weak and should improve).
Item 12: opportunities to learn and grow
The need to learn and grow is a natural instinct for human beings. We can learn and grow by finding more efficient ways to do our jobs. Where there is growth, there is innovation, and this is a breeding ground for more positive and refreshing perspectives toward ourselves and others.
Sources
Ian Buckingham, ‘We need to be appreciative rather than critical of UK managers,’ People Management (CIPD), 10 June 2010
Barry Conchie, ‘Building Great Workplaces – how the best managers do it,’ Gallup Management Journal (http://gmj.gallup.com)
John Eccleston, ‘Managers to blame for worsening workplace morale, says CMI,’ Personnel Today, 24 May 2011
John Eccleston, ‘Survey finds employee satisfaction at a low,’ Personnel Today, 3 February 2011
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