Over two thirds of managers (68%) categorise themselves as \u2018accidental managers\u2019, and they can damage staff retention, employee mental health and productivity.<\/p>\n
Accidental managers are managers who are promoted on their service record, rather than a history of people management or soft skills.<\/p>\n
Insight gathered from the Lumien platform over the past 18 months has revealed that poor management was the top reason employees left their jobs, with 50% of employees citing it as their reason for leaving a job. As a trickle-down effect, poor management will also have a significant impact on workplace productivity. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Additional data has also found that untrained managers can cause a 16% drop in productivity, which is equal to a financial hit of over \u00a35,000 per employee.[i]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n However, this damaging skills gap isn\u2019t the fault of managers, as 71% of employers in the UK admit they don\u2019t train their first-time managers.[ii]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Rising through the ranks<\/strong><\/p>\n In some organisations, the myth that leaders are \u2018born\u2019 rather than made, and that charisma is all you need, persists. These ideas have been disregarded by many experts in the field.[iii]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Managers can be extremely knowledgeable in the business and skilled within their role but are unaware of how to lead. Often, they can rely on their superior job title and position to drive through good and bad decisions, without understanding the complexities of management.<\/p>\n This can cause many employees to quit.<\/p>\n So, how does working for an accidental manager make you feel?<\/p>\n These emotions create serious barriers to good mental health and workplace wellbeing, which can cause productivity to reduce by as much as 15.6%. Our research shows that there is a 9% productivity loss due to stress, a 13% productivity loss due to low engagement and a 18% productivity loss due to distractions.[iv]<\/span><\/a> Once applied to the average UK salary of \u00a331,461, this equates to almost \u00a35,000 lost each year for every individual.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The impact of the pandemic<\/strong><\/p>\n The COVID-19 pandemic has tested managers\u2019 skills to maintain a resilient workforce.<\/p>\n Lumien data shows:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The cost to your company<\/strong><\/p>\n Managing staff wellbeing poorly costs companies and there can be an impact on reputation as well as the bottom line. \u00a0<\/p>\n By supporting workers, UK business could avoid losing \u00a345 billion a year. For every \u00a31 invested into supporting the mental health of employees, employers will see \u00a35 returned from reduced presenteeism, absenteeism and staff turnover.[v]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Companies need to prioritise measuring and reporting on staff wellbeing, and team morale needs a place on boardroom agendas with regular review. There is a duty for senior leaders to provide their managers with the tools and training to effectively monitor and respond to wellbeing issues.<\/p>\n As many businesses are currently struggling to fill posts, the stakes are high. Job vacancies are at a record number, with many companies struggling to recruit even with higher salary offers.[vi]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Looking for a \u2018quick fix\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n The reality is \u2013 all too often \u2013 companies only begin to think about employees\u2019 mental health when things are already going wrong. This then leads to a quick fix, often turning to Mental Health First Aid or Employee Assistance Programmes. However, these are reactive decisions, rather than proactively tackling the issues. These will then have little impact if management issues aren\u2019t addressed.<\/p>\n Businesses will often put tools into place to manage mental health \u2013 including subscriptions to mindfulness apps or programmes \u2013 without a mechanism to measure their impact.<\/p>\n Tailored measurement and reporting are essential. Leaders need to know where issues lie to create an effective strategy to address them before valuable team members start to leave.<\/p>\n There aren\u2019t any quick fixes when it comes to workforce wellbeing because there is no \u2018one size fits all\u2019 solution. Wellbeing isn\u2019t a \u2018fad\u2019, it directly impacts the performance of a business.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Evidence-based approach<\/strong><\/p>\n Top leaders should develop an evidence-based strategy with a plan that addresses how their whole business works, eg considering: any activity peaks, facilities, shift working, remote working and their skills development training.<\/p>\n A wellbeing strategy<\/a> that\u2019s led by data not only supports people, but also helps to improve the culture and overall effectiveness of the business.<\/p>\n Competing with businesses worldwide means you need to be able to recruit and retain the best people who are trained to performed at world-class levels for productivity and innovation.<\/p>\n Taking care of employees should be the cornerstone of that ambition.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If your business needs a data-led wellbeing strategy, find out more<\/a> or get in touch to book a demo<\/a> with Lumien.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [i]<\/span><\/a> Based on an average UK salary of \u00a331,461.<\/p>\n [ii]<\/span><\/a> Investors in People, Accidental Managers, https:\/\/www.investorsinpeople.com\/knowledge\/accidental-managers\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n [iii]<\/span><\/a> \u201cThe most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born \u2026 The myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That\u2019s nonsense \u2026 Leaders are made rather than born.\u201d \u2013 Warren Bennis (1925\u20132014) American academic, management consultant and an influential writer about leadership.<\/p>\n [iv]<\/span><\/a> Research from Lumien platform (Apr 2020 \u2013 Aug 2021) aimed to evaluate the change in self-reported corporate wellbeing at work across the Covid-19 pandemic.\u00a0 Lumien distributes pulse surveys to corporate employees, called \u2018check-ins\u2019. Employees can choose how regularly they check-in, but always move through a full cycle of areas tracked every 12 check-ins completed.\u00a0 Sample:\u00a0 24 UK companies ranging from 5 to 1000 headcount, n = 871 participants, 12,023 check-ins with no bias as all quantitative measures using a purpose-built automated platform.<\/p>\n [v]<\/span><\/a> https:\/\/www2.deloitte.com\/uk\/en\/pages\/press-releases\/articles\/poor-mental-health-costs-uk-employers-up-to-pound-45-billion-a-year.html<\/a><\/p>\n [vi]<\/span><\/a> https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/employmentandlabourmarket\/peopleinwork\/employmentandemployeetypes\/bulletins\/uklabourmarket\/october2021<\/a><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[298,227,226,40,281,279],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[113,21,172,19,14],"class_list":["post-3657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-human-resources","category-leadership","category-mental-health","category-strategy","category-wellbeing"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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