Adam Snyder - 30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers: What Your People May Be Thinking and What You Can Do About It

Dedicated to the memory of my father, Milton (Mickey) Katcher. His incredibly strong work ethic and Job-like perseverance in the face of adversity in his personal and work-life has been a continuing source of inspiration to me.

It is businesss dirty little secret. Put simply, the work environment for todays employees, no matter the industry or location, has deteriorated badly in recent years. At the same time Americas workers are being placed under tremendous pressure to produce more in less time and with fewer resources, the traditional benefits of full-time employment are being eroded.

To a great extent, the problem is an outgrowth of managements abdication of their longstanding responsibility to provide leadership. By the mid-1990s, we started to hear the phrase that were all self-employed, signifying that we no longer were all in this together, but rather it was every man and woman for themselves. This concept was strongly embraced by corporate leadership... much more than it was by their employees. The result was a significant shattering of the bond between management and employee.

Just as the were all self-employed phase began to lose steam, industry was confronted with the economic downturn at the turn of the century. In response, managers put even more pressure on their employees to produce morefaster and at less cost. Already-strained relationships between management and employees intensified.

In a perfect world, or in a perfect economy, dissatisfied employees would find employment elsewhere. Competition for the best workers would improve conditions for everyone. In fact, however, in a negative environment, employees often lose their confidence. They dont feel comfortable leaving their nest no matter how bad the situation. As a result, their performance continues to spiral downward, becoming a financial drag to their place of employment.

Is there any hope then? Most definitely there is. In the first place, despite the overall rather bleak environment for most workers, there are some companies that have combined impressive financial results with a policy of fully engaging their employees. These companies understand that most employees want to be successful and want to play a key role in the growth of their place of employment. In return for this strong commitment, they ask to share in the rewards of their companys financial success, and to be understood. They want management to recognize and respect their concerns, and not to consider their needs as a lack of dedication to their work.

Managers within these stellar companies also understand that they have a lot at stake in their relationship with their employees. Most insightful corporate leaders recognize that one thing that separates a successful organization from one that is not is its ability to attract, develop, motivate, organize, and retain top-notch employees. Obviously these conditions do not exist in an environment in which employees hate their managers.

Bruce Katcher has put together a management tool kit that quite simply could transform a negative situation within the workplace to one of great promise. Employees should also take heed. There are a number of practical suggestions in the following pages that can open the door to constructive improvements in the management-employee relationship, leading to improved business results.

Bob Gatti

President, Gatti & Associates

Specializing in the Search and Placement of Human Resource Professionals