Ducks in a Row: Are You in Touch with Your People?
by Miki Saxon
Ask most managers and they’ll tell you that they understand their team’s goals and concerns. They see themselves as in sync with their people.
But are they?
Based on a study about stress the difference in perception of cause between workers and managers is more a chasm than a rift.
But what was particularly striking about the findings was the disconnect between what employees and managers perceived: Inadequate staffing was cited by 53% of workers as the major reason for stress, while only 15% of senior managers thought this was so. A third of managers said that access to technology outside of working hours was a cause of stress, but workers disagreed, with only 8% citing it.
Disconnects between managers and workers are never good, but when the subject is something l like stress it can have a major impact on the bottom line.
Stress lowers productivity, hurts creativity and innovation, increase absenteeism, leads to health problems, thus raising health care costs
In short, stress causes and escalates disengagement.
Of those employees claiming high stress levels, 57% said they were disengaged. In contrast, just 10% with low stress levels said they were disengaged.
Obviously, being out of sync with your people costly to both your company and to you, personally.
Join me tomorrow for a look at getting back in sync and other useful information.
Flickr image credit: Fabio Luiz
