A fifth of UK workers ‘are frustrated’

A catalogue of management failings has led to a fifth of UK workers feeling ‘frustrated’, new research from Hay Group has revealed.

The research identified a series of management failures at the heart of workforce frustration, including ineffective structures and procedures, an inability to create productive working climates and poor handling of underperformance.

Furthermore, half of the employees questioned believe that they do not have the authority to make the decisions crucial to their jobs. The same proportion did not feel encouraged to participate in decisions that directly affect their work.

Workers also feel that their talents are being under-utilised. Over a third of respondents said their current role does not make best use of their skills and abilities.

Aside from the manner in which their skills are leveraged, employees are also becoming frustrated with their working environments. The survey’s findings show that 56% of senior managers fail to generate a high-performance working culture. In fact, almost half of managers create de-motivating climates for employees, while a further 15% generate only a neutral environment.

Just a quarter of leaders are able to generate a high performance working environment, the survey found. This is due in part managements’ inability to address underperformance – Hay Group estimates that less than half of organisations deal effectively with underperformance issues.

Ben Hubbard, regional director at Hay Group commented that companies must shed the ‘dead wood’ in their workforces. “In times of economic uncertainty, organisations can ill-afford to carry the burden of underperformance,” he said.

© Crimson Business Ltd.