Article: National Stress Awareness Day: UK Employees Say Their Managers Aren’t Supportive Enough Wednesday 07 November 2018 Share Share to LinkedIn Share to Facebook Share via email A Lack of Flexibility and Micro-management Are Qualities of an Unsupportive Boss. A third of UK employees think their managers aren’t supportive enough, according to a new survey from YouGov and payroll supplier MHR. Researchers spoke to 1,174 UK employees about company culture, work/life balance and job satisfaction. They found those who felt they lacked the support to do their jobs properly blamed rigid hours; a lack of flexible working practices; and micro-management imposed by their bosses. The findings are concerning because earlier this year the CMI linked unsupportive management styles to negative mental health outcomes. The CMI called on business leaders to adopt “open” and “empowering” working relationships to reduce stress at work. This is How Managers Can Reduce Employees’ Stress The CMI’s Quality of Working Life research also suggested that flexible working could boost mental health. In the YouGov survey, the 63% of employees who felt supported by their managers praised benefits such as flexible hours and the freedom to manage their own schedules. There are different ways to implement flexibility. Autonomy over working hours and tasks was a common feature of The CMI/Glassdoor top 20: an annual list of top-performing UK companies with great leadership and cultures. At Facebook managers are self-nominated, while Auto Trader prioritises a flat organisational structure where employees “act as owners of the business”. Managers Are Also Suffering Of course, managers are also facing their own pressures at work. The latest Quality of Working Life statistics put the amount of unpaid overtime at 7.5 hours per week for a team leader – and this equates to 44 days per year. This is largely caused by individuals failing to switch off when leaving the office: 61% of managers think new technology makes it difficult to unwind, while one in five say they check their email “all the time”. Read more about work stress and solutions in the full Quality of Working Life report. Image: Shutterstock Like this article? Why not share it. Share to LinkedIn Share to Facebook Share via email Topic: “You can achieve anything if you try hard enough” Sandy Farar CMgr FCMI took great risks to build her career – but her hard work and resilience paid off Read article Article Topic: Highlights – 14 May Middle management, cost-cutting and Tupperware: another week of meeting management challenges Read article Article Topic: How can managers help remove barriers facing disabled employees? We ask how managers can better support disabled employees at work (and what support managers themselves need) Read article Article Topic: Workplace Culture Is middle management just a “thankless slog”? Data says young people see middle management as an overburdened and underpaid position – so what needs to change? Read article Article Article Our extensive range of articles are designed to keep you in the loop with all the latest management and leadership best practice, research and news. Members See More CMI Members have access to thousands of online learning and CPD resources. Learn more about our membership benefits Join The Community CMI offers a variety of flexible membership solutions, tailored to your needs. Find out more and get involved in the CMI community today.