Calls to ban thinking out of the box

From bullying to ineffective communication, poor management is rife in UK workplaces, a new study by law firm Eversheds has said.

The report, which polled 1,500 blue- and white-collar employees, said that over a quarter believe management styles have become too harsh during the last year — with almost 50% saying they had worked for a bully.

And it highlighted UK managers’ inept communication skills, with almost all workers (97%) saying that they want their bosses to communicate more directly and clearly.

One of the first things employees want to ban is management speak — among the examples staff found most grating were phrases like “we are all singing from the same hymn sheet” and “thinking out of the box”.

Meanwhile, nine out of ten employees said they had worked for a bad manager, 48% said their manager was a poor decision maker and a similar proportion said the boss had no clear direction.

The attributes staff most valued in management were approachability (for 78% of workers), honesty (75%) and clear decision-making (72%).

Eversheds chief executive David Gray, said: “Strong and effective leadership should be at the heart of all good businesses, but these findings make troubling reading. The report shows that poor communication, lack of direction and weak decision making are widespread among UK bosses.”

He added that the study showed “a distinct lack of respect for management, with more than one-third of workers having a negative perception of their boss”.