1 in 4 employees say work is a ‘dictatorship’
September 5, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Best Practices, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
A recent poll asked employees how they feel about their workplaces. HR might not want to hear the answers.
One in four employees describe their workplaces as “dictatorships,” according to the survey by Zogby.
Workers’ biggest complaint: their managers micromanage.
Less than half (46%) said their bosses promote creative or inventive ideas. But nearly all would like more freedom: 80% said they’d be more motivated to work if they could decide on their own the best ways to get the job done.
Having managers step back and focus on results rather than methods could go a long way to lift morale.
Tags: bad boss, dictatorship, morale, Zogby
September 10th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Micro-managing is exhausting, and I would must rather not do it. However, I have found that with a certainly level of hourly employee, failure to do can result in major issues. Line level employess often do not recognize the consequences of their ‘creative alternatives’. Policies must be adhered to and applied equaly across the board, and when it comes to HR, alowing others to ‘use thier own judgment’ can be down right risky business!
Purhaps, if we are referring to the techies employeed at Google, allowing free reign would result in a different end than that of a line cook or room attendant at your favorite Pay-and- Sleep!
September 10th, 2008 at 11:46 am
I agree that some standards must be followed more closely than others, but I don’t think micro-managing is ever a good thing. A manger should train his/her employees to do the job then leave them to do it. Constantly looking over their shoulder does no one any good. It takes the manager away from other, more important tasks and it creates an atmosphere of stress and mistrust for the employees. And it does not enhance the employee’s job performance.
Allowing employees to express creativity does not necessarily mean compromising standards if they are made aware that any new ideas must be evaluated before they can be implemented. We have to be careful not to shoot down every idea they come up with though or we will lose their trust.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Good point, Cynthia. Some people do require a great deal of input, direction and instruction while others just need to be pointed in the right general direction and they make it happen. And some people don’t think they need much instruction, but in reality, they do because they tend to go off half-cocked. We are ISO certified and have certain procedures that must be followed. Those procedures can be changed if there is a good reason to change them, but we can’t have people deciding not to follow them because they don’t want to do it that way.
I think part of being a good manager means being able to tell the difference in the types of individuals you manage. You have to be able to lead and motivate peoples with totally different personalities, needs, learning and relating styles, etc.. Some managers persist in micro-managing regardless. Some are dictators. And yet, they keep getting promoted. That’s what I don’t understand. Why are these dictators so frequently rewarded for their bad behavior?
September 10th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Most non-exempt employees recognize the difference in being mirco-managed and being held accountable for their actions. Policies and procedures exist to define the consequences for those who choose to ignore existing guidelines. The morale killer for most is not being treated with diginity and respect as an adult. The relationship between management and non-exempt is reduced to mistrust on both sides. A positive synergy cannot exist in an environment of mistrust. It starts from the top.
September 10th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
If the employee want to “decide on their own the best ways to get the job done”, they must be willing to accept the consequences if the job is not “DONE” and done correctly. I would bet that if asked about being allowed to do it their way and if the results are not correct, are they wiiling to lose their job, the answer would be NO.
After 40 years as amanger, I have found that most employees that raise this issue are either; 1.)new and do not know what is required and why, or 2.) that have made so many mistakes that the only alternative is to terminate, OR “micro-Manage” to try and save the employee from termination.