New report reveals we have much to do to enable employees to enjoy a ‘good day at work’, says Professor Sir Cary Cooper
Last week I was privileged to attend the launch of the 2015 Britain at Work survey, a major report assessing the attitudes of more than 3,000 employees on a host of work-related topics.
Several of the findings struck me as very important for HR professionals. First, although 92 per cent of managers said they feel they have very good ‘people skills’, employees don’t agree: 32 per cent don’t think their manager communicates openly and honestly with them. Another 35 per cent said their manager ‘does a lot of telling but not much listening’ – while 24 per cent feel their manager is not committed to helping develop their career. One third (34 per cent) of respondents said they need more support from their manager than they are given.
In other words, there was a mismatch between managers’ perception of their style and those on the receiving end. I’m reminded of the Samuel Goldwyn quip: “I’m willing to admit that I may not always be right, but I am never wrong.”
Another aspect highlighted by the survey was that, although job satisfaction levels have risen since 2015, one in four employees have suffered a stress-related absence in the past year. If we add in the fact that presenteeism (turning up to work ill, or being unhappy at work and contributing little added-value) is running at twice the rate of absenteeism, we still have a ‘wellbeing problem’.
Despite major campaigns to raise awareness of mental health issues at work – because it is the leading cause of absence – only 45 per cent of employees said their organisation is supportive of mental health problems (the same figure as last year’s survey). As Woody Allen humourously put it: “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work – I want to achieve it by not dying.”
Finally, I was shocked to see that 49 per cent of employees would not recommend their organisation to potential new recruits, a third (31 per cent) said they would be passive endorsers and only 19 per cent would promote their workplace. This is really a damaging statistic for people seeking a ‘good day at work’.
There are many more good statistics in the report, which was produced by Lansons, so it’s worth taking a closer look at the findings. I recommend that you get a copy. For example, 38 per cent think CEOs are overpaid, 24 per cent believe pay is about right and only 8 per cent of employees think CEOs are underpaid. Nearly half (45% per cent) of respondents said they don’t think career opportunities in their organisation are good, and another nearly 50 per cent feel there are few training opportunities available in their business.
UK plc still has quite some way to go in developing its people. As the old Chinese proverb goes: “if you are planning for one year, plant rice. If you are planning for 10 years, plant trees. If you are planning for a hundred years, plant people.”
Cary L Cooper is the 50th anniversary professor of organisational psychology and health at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, and president of the CIPD