Member Article

Negative working culture hits UK managers’ health

A report, by the Chartered Management Institute and Simplyhealth, surveyed over 1,000 managers in 2007 and 2012. It said that managers today work longer hours because of larger workloads, suffer increasingly from ill health due to stress and depression, and go to work while being sick.

The study pointed out that the average manager worked about 46 days unpaid overtime a year, 6 more than in 2007. Among those working overtime, 60% felt that they had no choices due to the increasing work volume.

46% believed that people did not take sick leave when they were sick, increased from 32% in 2007.

The research said that negative management styles prevailed over the past few years in organisations : 45% being bureaucratic, 33% reactive and 30% authoritarian.

Job satisfaction also dropped to 55% in 2012, compared with 62% in 2007.

More than a third of managers would leave for another job only if they could find one, according to the report.

The report’s author, Professor Les Worrall said: “ What is more worrying is that there seems to be no sign of economic conditions getting better- we are in for a worrying time if these trends persist into the future.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Yu-Chih Lin .