10th August 2023
Impact of Effective Managers on Employee Experience and Performance
The influence of effective managers on employees’ professional and personal lives is undeniable. Good or bad manager stories abound on the internet for a reason. Managers often form the most significant relationships for workers, guiding their tasks, daily interactions, and career development. A positive manager-employee dynamic can impact attitudes, engagement, productivity, and overall work approach. The pandemic has intensified the role of managers as boundaries blur, making a strong manager-employee relationship crucial. In a viral Twitter post, an employee’s drunken message to their manager emphasized the value of a good manager over a good company. Studies highlight that workers prioritize relationships with managers despite other factors, with psychological safety and engagement closely tied to managers’ trust and support. Effective managers foster communication, emotional intelligence, and create safe spaces for dialogue, helping shape organizational culture, productivity, and employee satisfaction.
From the original article published in HR Grapevine by Serena Haththotuwa
The impact of a good manager on an employee’s professional and personal life can’t be ignored. There are countless stories of both good and bad managers all over the internet, and this is for a reason.
Managers are often the closest or most meaningful relationship a worker will have, telling employees what to do, speaking to them every day, and being partly responsible for their professional development. When a worker has a good manager, this can influence their attitude, engagement, productivity levels, and almost every other positive aspect of their approach to work.
In a recent viral Twitter (X) post, a manager, also known as @siddhantmin on the social media site, shared text messages someone in his team sent him whilst drunk. Captioning the screenshot with ‘Drunk text(s) from (an) ex is okay, but have you received drunk texts like these?’, the image showing messages from an employee.
The drunk worker’s messages read: ‘Boss, I am drunk. But let me tell you this. Thank you for trusting me and thank you for pushing me harder. A good manager is more difficult to get than a good company. I am lucky. So, appreciate yourself.’
Finding a good manager certainly can be more difficult than finding a good company. Despite many recent studies suggesting that workers are increasingly looking for an employer that aligns with their values, offers flexibility and prioritises wellbeing above everything, having a good relationship with their manager is still considered of extreme importance to workers. This was exacerbated even more over the pandemic when professional boundaries were loosened, and workers became closer to their superiors.
A study from Inpulse, which surveyed 50,000 employees, found that 81% of workers who felt trusted by their line managers were more engaged, compared to 28% of employees who didn’t. The research also found that employees who felt supported by their managers had the biggest impact on how engaged they were at work.
“Many key elements that make for a happy and engaged employee are directly influenced by their manager, for example, access to training, promotions, or new projects,” says Mandy Watson, Managing Director at Ambitions Personnel. “In addition, the manager is often the ‘voice’ of the business and will be tasked with cascading down business communications, such as policies, procedures and changes. How these, even just menial or day-to-day, updates are communicated can directly impact how staff feel. Conversely, line managers are often the first port of call for your employee’s queries – and how basic things like holiday requests through to more sensitive matters are handled, or perceived to be handled, really do matter.
Because managers are essentially the stewards of a company and the representatives of HR policy, their managing style has an impact on the company’s culture and overall direction. With workers having just come out of a pandemic and quickly entering an economic crisis, managers having close relationships with their team members remains crucial.
“With challenging economic conditions now the norm, however, hard-pressed organisations will need to help their line managers play another pivotal role in securing their organisation’s survival,” says Arne Sjöström, Lead People Scientist at Culture Amp.
“Leaders that empower their managers to create safe spaces to talk through personal challenges with their teams will go a long way to addressing engagement and wellbeing – research published this year found that managers have as much impact on employees’ mental health as a spouse or partner (69%) — appreciably more than with their doctor (51%) or therapist (41%).”
Read the full article to find out how to foster an effective and compassionate management style.
Do you know an inspiring leader? Nominate them today: Inspiring Leaders Awards 2024.
Are you an inspiring workplace? Then register for the Inspiring Workplaces Awards 2024.
Join our community here, for free and access The Inspire Hub Forum to connect directly with your peers who share the same purpose.
