“An employee’s motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his or her manager.” – Bob Nelson

Employees don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses. The worst place an employee can be is stuck in a company with a micromanager who doesn’t care about their development and there are no opportunities for growth and advancement.

Profit before people

I often come across bad bosses who put profit before people and seek to gain every little bit of productivity out of employees, and then they ask me why they have high staff turnover and lots of sickness absence.

I’ve noticed that these types of bad bosses don’t stop to celebrate the teams’ successes. They rarely say thank you, they just quickly move along to the next goal. There is no real leadership (vision and inspiration) only management (command and control). The culture in these businesses is basically “do as you are told”. Suggestions and recommendations by employees and results of viewpoint surveys are often ignored.

Employees become disengaged and focused solely on their salary. They look forward to the weekends and hate coming into work on a Monday. Motivation to go the ‘extra mile’ is low.

No matter how great a company’s products and services may be, if the management is dysfunctional, a company will have serious problems.

The typical ‘bad boss’ spends their time directing and monitoring employees rather than empowering them. Micromanaging is oppressive, fosters anxiety and creates a high stress work environment. Eventually, employees will become disenchanted and leave to work for another company or they will cause a huge amount of negativity amongst their teammates.

Good bosses care

A good boss sets the tone. There is nothing like having a boss who genuinely cares about their team. They make the working experience for employees so much better. They support, empower and appreciate their employees. Employees will be willing to do more and give more. They become incredibly loyal.

Most companies don’t currently think about great managers as a benefit but it is the best incentive in retaining good employees.

Culture is everything and your managers are the people who set, nurture and support your company’s culture.

Message me to discuss your company culture and how it can be tweaked to support your business to become more profitable and a great place to work!