Over a third of employees are rarely or never motivated by their bosses to give their best, a new international study has found.
The research, which was carried out by Harris Interactive on behalf of DDI, also found that 34 per cent of office workers do not think their leader is effective.
Lacking leadership skills includes not being able to empathise with staff and relate to the issues they have in performing their everyday tasks.
It also found that for many respondents they would prefer to suffer a hangover than a discussion with their boss and even doing the housework would be preferable.
Employees not working for the best boss under which they have served totalled 53 per cent with many saying they would be up to 60 per cent more productive with their best ever manager.
Staff morale is also at a low and is affected by bosses as more than half of those interviewed said that managers damage their self-esteem, which has a negative impact on business.
Simon Mitchell, director of DDI UK, said: “The consequences of managers and bosses with poor leadership skills are enormous, and the impact good leaders have in terms of employee motivation and productivity are significant.”
In terms of changing the situation, 45 per cent of people said they would be more effective than their current manager at leading a team.
This is unlikely to make a difference, however, as 46 per cent said that the additional stress and responsibility of management means they would not want to take up such a position.
Mr Mitchell said: “Workers report that managers fail to ask for their ideas and input, are poor at work related conversations and do not provide sufficient feedback on their performance, so it’s no wonder employee engagement levels are low.”
With many people facing bigger workloads alongside pay freezes it is important that leaders show that staff are valued and strong management is need to motivate employees.
