UK 
United States
According to research by the CIPD, job satisfaction is at its lowest ebb in two years. A quarter of UK employees are looking for new jobs; the highest rate since 2013.
Why are so many of us unhappy at work and where does the responsibility lie? If the majority of the press coverage is to be believed, it’s with our managers. More workers than ever believe they are over-qualified for their roles and few feel their line managers support their career development. There’s also a gloomy theme doing the rounds in the media – that underperforming managers continue to receive bonuses and salaries far above those of their employees. And that those employees are not getting the recognition they deserve, with almost a fifth saying their organisations’ approach to performance management is ‘unfair’ or ‘very unfair’.
Managers can cut a powerful figure and, as such, can make credible scapegoats. When we’re unhappy at work we’re quick to spot a ‘them and us culture’. We project villainous traits onto our managers; of the sort that would bring them to turn unfair performance management processes to their advantage. Of the sort - even - that would bring them to dodge staff development entirely because it prepares their staff for the exit door.
I don’t doubt that those conspiracist musings would hit the mark in many cases. In many more, though, managers are simply constrained by lack of time, lack of imagination, and the sheer battle of staying on top of the operational day-to-day. Often they are not the Despicable Me types we imagine, but hard workers only slightly above our own payscales, doing a similarly difficult job for similarly little recognition.
Yet they are failing us (however benignly) as the research suggests. The answer? Think again about who and what a ‘manager’ is.
A manager need not always be an operational manager or a line manager. Why not a mentor, or a role model? Once we expand the definition of ‘manager’ to include those who may not lead teams on paper but are prepared to inspire and develop staff as part of their caseload, we have managers striving to enable employees to work to their potential for the organisation. We are less in danger of overstretching our operational managers to breaking point and have instead a culture of support and challenge available to those who want to progress within the organisation.
In practice, HR managers need to be at the centre of such a culture. They have the expertise to help operational managers select and empower the right mentors and role models within their teams and provide them with training. In a supportive, inspiring leadership culture, HR managers are the go-to source of advice and are experts in management practice concepts, trends and practicalities. HR leaders should encourage a positive management culture to flourish and put paid to feelings of ‘them and us’ by challenging instances of poor management. Developing HR managers to be superb role models should be a vital part of HR strategy.
Joanna Moonan is Head of Partnership Relations at MOL. MOL is a leading provider of professional training courses, including human resources, learning and development and leadership programmes.
