Managers, leaders and C-suite executives have faced a steep learning curve in the past year as new ways of working emerged and expectations for their performance rose. A year ago, a soft skills gap was uncovered across the management and C-suite layers. Leadership development, coaching and upskilling appeared an effective way to equip management with the emotional intelligence deemed necessary to lead the worforce forward. The 2021 survey shows that the gap still exists and that more needs to be done to support leaders in this transition.

At a time when we are constantly connected, workers have never felt more disconnected. Leaders hold the key to reconnecting employees and re-inventing corporate culture. However, there is a big disconnect between management views of their own performance and the opinions of their employees.

Relationships, motivation and sense of team and company culture have regressed since 2020. With perspectives of leaders and non-management at odds, these disconnects pose a major threat to company cohesion.

Disconnected Workers: Warning Signs for Leaders

Globally, the relationships between staff and their leaders have deteriorated, with less than half of nonmanagers (45%) feeling their relationship is good, 17 points lower than in 2020. And only a third (33%) of nonmanagers feel they are getting due recognition for their contributions within the business.

“74% say it is important for managers to promote and nurture strong team morale and culture, but only 37% of non-managers say their manager is encouraging a good working culture.”

Most workers (74%) say it is important for managers to promote and nurture strong team morale and culture, but less than half (48%) say their managers meet or exceed expectations for creating good team morale and a good working culture. From the group in nonmanagement positions, only 37% feel that the their leaders are succeeding at encouraging a good working environment and team culture.

When it comes to supporting employees’ work/life balance, only half (50%) of the workforce say their managers are meeting expectations. The number is reduced to 42% when asking those in non-management positions.

Nearly half (46%) of managers say they have not found the overall experience of managing other people easy over the past 12 months, struggling especially with onboarding, identifying when staff may be struggling and supporting their career development (48%).

There is also a clear disconnect between leader and nonmanager perceptions of the company talent strategy and development, with most leaders feeling the company has a strategy, but less than half of non-managers believing or sharing that.

Motivation Fatigue

Only 43% of non-managers say they are satisfied with their boss, while motivation has regressed across the workforce. While nearly two thirds (64%) of respondents worldwide say they feel motivated. This represents a 13-point decrease versus the study in 2020.

Non-managers reported the worst motivation levels and the biggest deterioration in motivation levels (12%) compared to this time last year.

Motivation has Regressed Across the Workforce

Parallel Performance Views

Relationships between staff and their managers are on a downward track, with less than half of non-managers (45%) feeling that they have a good relationship, 17 points lower than in 2020. In addition to a deterioration in relationships, there is also a pronounced disconnect between how managers view their own performance and how non-managers judge leadership achievements.

74% say it is important for managers to promote and nurture strong team morale and culture, but only 37% of non-managers say their manager is encouraging a good working culture.”

More than three quarters (77%) of managers say they are satisfied with their own performance, while only 57% of non-managers are satisfied with the performance of their manager.

There are a number of areas where these disconnects are apparent, and include important areas such as trust, training and providing regular guidance and check-ins.

Workers Call For Skills Development and Career Prospects

People need to see and feel opportunity, but less than half (48%) are satisfied with career prospects at their company. This numbers falls to 34% for those with nonmanagerial positions. France, Italy and Japan are the least satisfied with career prospects in their company. China, Australia and the USA are the most optimistic about development opportunities.

“Only 34% of non-managers are satisfied with career prospects at their company.”

When it comes to career and skills development, just over a third (37%) of non-managers believe their company is effectively investing in their skills development. Only 4 in 10 (38%) of workers without management responsibilites believe their company is regularly assessesing their skills and helping them devise a development plan.

When asked about their company’s strategy to train employees in the new digital skills needed for the future, less than half (46%) of non-managers believe the company has a plan.

“66% of workers believe they need to gain new skills to stay employable in the years ahead, but only 37% of non-managers feel their company is investing in their skills development.”

The disconnect mentioned previously is further reinforced as leaders have a dramatically different view of their company’s efforts to assess, develop and invest in their skills. For example, 8 in 10 leaders believe their company has a clear strategy and is assessing and developing their skills effectively.

In the absence of efforts by companies to upskill or reskill workers, 60% of them are taking it upon themselves to undertake courses and work for additional skills or qualifications. Just over half (52%) of non-managers are upskilling themselves.

However, we must also remember that nearly half of managers (46%) have not found the overall experience of managing other people easy over the past 12 months, and leaders do recognize that supporting teams has been problematic during the pandemic, particularly around areas such as onboarding (55%), identifying when staff might struggling with the pressures of work (48%), supporting and guiding teams to focus on business goals (45%) and assessing performance of their teams (44%).

Leaders Hold the Key to Reconnecting the Workforce, But They Need Support

Despite leaders viewing their own performance more positively than non-managers, they recognise difficulties managing others. Nearly half (46%) of managers have not found the overall experience of managing other people easy over the past 12 months.

Onboarding new team members has been challenging for 55% of all managers, as well as identifying when staff might be struggling with mental wellbeing (53%), burnout (51%) or the pressures of work (48%).

“Nearly half of managers (46%) have not found the overall experience of managing other people easy over the past 12 months.”

For nearly half of leaders (48%), supporting their teams’ career development has not been easy. They have also struggled with guiding their staff to focus on business goals (45%) and assessing their team’s performance based on outcomes and results rather than hours worked (44%).

Some of these areas – mental wellbeing, onboarding team members, setting goals and assesing performance based on results – are deemed key for companies in the new hybrid normal. Rather than applying old models and blaming the shift to remote work when problems arise, companies and leaders must be deliberate in how they set up the new working structures, resources, training, and team dynamics, and take accountability for actively framing the new model of work. Taking time to invest in building a stronger set of soft skills will be paramount.

“69% of all managers believe it is important for companies to provide coaching and mentoring on leadership skills.”

When it comes to training and coaching for leaders, there is wide disparity between perceived importance of leadership training and those that are actually doing it. While 69% of all managers believe it is important for companies to provide coaching and mentoring on leadership skills in the future, only 23% of leaders have received or are receiving coaching or mentoring.

Leaders Must Reconnect the Disconnect: Key Takeaways

  • With worker motivation, relationships, feelings of recognition and sense of team and culture deteriorating, leaders hold the key to re-connecting people to the company purpose, helping them feel like they belong, and providing them with motivational development and career opportunities.
  • However, leaders are struggling to recognise the issues. Companies must support the new breed of leaders to ensure they are well-placed to address major threats to company cohesion.
  • Equipping leaders with upskilling, coaching, resources and technology that will help them to better listen to and manage their teams, increase and nurture motivation, and set a strong team morale and culture is a priority for businesses in the new hybrid working model.
  • Companies must identify the skills and capabilities required for a competitive future. This should also feed into the creation of a comprehensive range of reskilling and upskilling opportunities for all company workers, regardless of position, in order to future-proof the company and its employees.

About the author

The Adecco Group is the world’s leading talent advisory and solutions company. Their services help people fulfil – and exceed – their potential, building employability and connecting people with opportunities. Their solutions enable clients to optimise their talent needs and organisational models to achieve their goals. To learn more, visit www.adeccogroup.com.

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