What a hard life for the white collar worker…

“The price of greatness is responsibility.”

Winston Churchill

Today Randstad published a survey which has surprised me enormously. It asked workers what they thought of their managers in terms of talent management. More than 52% of those surveyed felt that their managers in the company were not apt enough.

That more than half the people thought their boss was ill equipped comes as no surprise to me, especially in a country like Spain. But what did surprise me is that almost half (around 49%) of the people who had enough experience to convert into managers would not accept a promotion.

Some 50% of those over 45 would choose to say no to becoming managers. Why? Increased stress (for some 82%). In the18 to 29 year-old age group, things are somewhat different, although not the decision to refuse to become managers. In this group, the key reason is concern that they would have to deal with difficult employees. Other reasons include increased administrative paperwork (some 63%) or having to fire other workers (63%).

SO THEN, WHERE ON EARTH DO WE GET BOSSES?

This data reveals a rather unpromising reality for companies. Finding and training future managers is becoming an overwhelming task in the short term, and an Achilles heel in the mid and long term.

According to this survey, 45% of the employees feel there will be a dearth of managers who are sufficiently capable of addressing the needs of the business world of the future.

Rather curious to say the least… it seems that the pros and contras of being a manager are at loggerheads when it comes to pondering on whether to accept a promotion of this kind or not. A salary raise for instance does not appear to be sufficiently motivating when other “increases” like that of escalated responsibility or stress. Other reasons that make employees pull back from becoming managers is working under pressure, or finding it difficult to be in charge of a group.

In contrast, there are other incentives that are gathering weight. For instance, the capacity for sharing knowledge and experience (rated as the prime reason for 98%) or to share some of the responsibility for success in the company and being able to take decisions (for 85%).

Undoubtedly these reasons will need be factored in by companies who are well aware of the issues in talent hunt and capture for managers…