More like this
Incompetent bosses blamed for high stress at work
Survey finds junior staff making difficult decisions because their bosses can’t
More than half of Britain's office workers feel their boss is incapable or hesitant, according to a survey of 2,000 British company employees. And four out of 10 blame incompetent bosses for their high stress level.
The research by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) suggests the character of David Brent in The Office is no mere fictional caricature - but is alive and well and confusing his minions in offices across Britain.
As a result of their managers' incompetence, many employees end up making decisions they do not feel qualified or trained to make, says the CMI report.
Another major concern is that too many bosses are unapproachable. Two-thirds of respondents claimed that when they had asked their boss recently for help in making a decision, none was forthcoming.
"The results prove that managers must do more to meet their teams' needs, if UK plc is to thrive," said Ruth Spellman, chief executive of the CMI.
First reaction to the survey from commenters online suggests the old "scum rises" problem is often to blame, with incompetent junior managers being promoted out of their roles rather than sacked.
But 'Keepcalm', a commenter reacting to the Daily Telegraph report of the CMI survey, said: "Lots of people complain about their managers because they don't like being told what to do.
"There's a strong taxi driver culture in this country where everyone thinks they're an expert on everything... If they stopped arguing and moaning their life would be less stressful." ·
Comments are now closed on this article
Comments
Managers are not allowed to manage any more, they have become administrators, and pushed into getting MBA qualifications we are great for government administrators, but worth sweet FA in the real world of business when you need to get your hands dirty as a manager. Now that we are overloaded with financial and services sector jobs and too many MBAs, and not enough real jobs, we are on a hiding to nothing.
What a shock....surely not! I am a Scheme Manager for a large housing company. Incompetence is rife. Maintenance issues are often forgotten about, despite being logged in to complete. If an attempt is made to sort a job out it is generally done wrong and months late. All this is run by Senior Managers, who, if challenged, say that they are 'far more qualified' to be told what to do and how to it. When things go wrong and they often do, there is never a 'face' to blame, plus whenever posible they themselves will blame anyone lower down the pecking order. Senior vacancies seem to be swapped around within this higher echelon, thus preventing anyone else from breaking up the party. Last year ,during an outside painting contract on my site, I questioned the validity of doing the job at such a time of year. I was told that I 'should not tell my grandmother how to suck eggs' Needless to say a lot of the work needs to be re-done now! I wish I could earn £60k+ to dispense such pearls of wisdom.