March 2 2005 - The attitudes of British employees towards senior managers
are significantly more negative than those of their counterparts in the USA, with fewer than a
third expressing trust and confidence in their leaders, according to a Watson Wyatt study.
Watson Wyatt's WorkUK and WorkUSA surveys - involving a representative sample of more
than 15,000 private sector workers in the US and UK - showed that while a half (51%)
of workers in the USA had trust and confidence in the job being done by their
organisation’s leaders, just under a third (31%) of UK employees felt the same. The surveys are
part of Watson Wyatt's global benchmarking studies of employee opinions, communications, pay and benefits, performance management, HR effectiveness and work-life balance.
"Clearly there may be cultural factors at play here when we compare the
UK and US," said Andrew Cocks, European head of employee research at Watson Wyatt. "But
nevertheless, UK business leaders can take little comfort from these results. There is a
clear need for a better dialogue between management and employees and the development of
a real climate of openness and trust, especially if we are going to compete effectively
with the US in the new ‘cheap dollar’ world."
Whereas Watson Wyatt found that workers’ ratings of senior managers in the US had risen from
a low of 44% in 2002 (following Enron and other high profile corporate scandals) there was
no evidence for a similar upward trend in the UK survey.
"Lack of confidence in senior management does not just make for a
difficult atmosphere at work," said Andrew Cocks. "Our research shows that it can hit the
bottom line hard. In an employee survey we recently conducted for a major European company,
belief in senior management proved to be the strongest leading indicator of new product
sales and was their top business performance indicator."
According to Watson Wyatt, effective communication is a key way in which leaders can
build trust with employees. But months before the implementation of
the new EU Directive on Informing and Consulting Employees, a mere 30% of British employees
believe that management explains the reasons behind major decisions and just 18%
feel that management successfully involves employees in decision making.
"Greater mutual understanding has to be key to the future success of
business in the UK," said Andrew Cocks. "In order to play an active part in taking any
organisation forward, employees need to understand and support any vision leaders have
for the future and know how they can contribute to the process in their day to day work.
Our research has consistently shown a link between factors such as employee alignment
and commitment and enhanced business and financial performance."
Employee Attitudes
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