Organizational Problems: Non-Supportive Management
Nine percent of all the comments (almost 25% of the comments in the organizational problem category) linked work-life conflict to the behaviour of managers in their organization. Men and employees without children were more likely to perceive their manager as non-supportive. Where do the majority of these types of problems arise? If one uses the relative number of comments as an indicator, the majority of employees (approximately 70%) were frustrated with the behaviour of their immediate manager. The rest (around 33%) felt that upper management was the source of the work-life balance problems they were experiencing within their organization. How do managers make balance more difficult? The comments suggest the following mechanisms:
Taken together, these comments support the idea that employees often do not leave an organization; rather, they leave bad management.
Immediate manager does not treat the employee with respect
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My manager is the source of much of my stress. He likes to point out your mistakes in front of others. He has no respect for his employees. He puts down his peers in front of his employees. If you take time off for your child's doctor's appointment, you had better make up every minute. His values are not the same as the company's - his actions are different than his words. He has no compassion for his employees or their families. ”
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Our director is a dictator! This man has no skills with people. It's all his way or the highway. ”
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At times I feel as if I am a child and my manager is my babysitter. I wish to be treated as an adult, respected as an adult who is responsible, and a good worker who will put in my hours as required. When I'm late, I'll give up my breaks. If I'm early, I may take an extra few minutes at lunch. My manager needs to recognize that I'm not out to screw my employer - they are my livelihood. ”
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The most stress in the job is caused by my supervisor. She does not support her staff, screams at them, cannot handle any stress, is poor at dealing with people problems and therefore causes many herself. She doesn't listen well and constantly causes confusion because of her poor listening skills. ”
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Managers do not see their people management role as a priority
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Managers absolutely need to accept their management role as a priority. Work satisfaction depends on effort and organizational support. If leaders don't take time to support their employees by encouraging, discussing and rewarding (positive strokes), then there will be work unbalance. Leadership is critical to balance. ”
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The wrong people get placed in management positions and are not carefully enough screened for their people management skills. A lot of the managers have been around since the 1970s and 1980s and haven't realized that times have changed. Most of our managers at all levels need training on how to manage people. ”
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I've seen my boss once in the last four weeks, for five seconds. ”
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Immediate manager acts as a barrier to the use of supportive policies
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Technically speaking, we have flex hours and compressed days - but when we ask for them our manager always uses "operational requirements" as an excuse for turning us down. ”
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Lack of leadership at the top
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I love my job, but I can't recommend it to anyone. My immediate supervisor is great, but upper management seem basically incompetent to me. Many are interested only in administrative details and self aggrandizement. Nobody seems concerned with the job, and helping staff is the furthest thing from their minds. It is a rare thing indeed to see anyone at the top walk the talk. ”
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Work would be much less stressful if the management were qualified to lead. There is no sense that there is a captain of this ship or that anyone knows which direction we are going. ”
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Unfortunately, working for X is like being on a sailing ship in the middle of a great all- encompassing fog. The captain of the ship is up in the crow's nest looking for land, and asking the crew members down on the deck to help find that glimpse of land - and the direction to sail in - rather than allowing them to actually sail the boat. The captain does not know what course or where the boat should be going, nor does he care about keeping the sailboat maintained well enough to sail. On this ship it is very difficult to know the parameters of our work and hence very difficult to balance anything. ”
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