49% of Brits have quit a job because they felt unsupported by their management team

Hephzi Pemberton, Founder of Equality Group discusses the realities of having a bad boss given 50% of Brits state their current/previous boss has caused them SIGNIFICANT anxiety

The Equality Group - a consultancy that helps companies attract, retain and develop diverse talent - unveils nationally representative research that assesses the detrimental impact that bad bosses can have on employee morale, productivity and retainment. This timely research comes amidst two female KPMG partners quitting over a bullying culture and Amnesty International letting go of five of its senior leadership team following reports of them creating a ‘toxic’ culture within the company.

Over the course of our lifetime, the average Brit will spend around 3,507 days at work including a staggering 204 days of overtime. Given the significant amount of time we spend within the workplace and for many, around bad bosses, it is of vital importance to understand what makes employees decide to stay in their current jobs and what makes people to quit.

According to author Alison Green, what constitutes a bad manager is the boss who isn’t clear about what they want, who don’t address workplace issues, who micromanages and who flaunts their power over their employees. Furthermore, according to Hephzi Pemberton, being a good manager is a skill that requires training - anyone could be a manager, but that doesn’t mean anyone has the natural ability or demeanour to lead a team from strength to strength. This research by Equality Group highlights the impact that bad bosses can have on employee mental health, enjoyment and retention whilst also noting that when businesses get the management layer right, 60% of brits will stay loyal to the company.

Key Research Implications:

• 67% of Brits say having a diverse, positive and encouraging management team is vital for career progression and professional enjoyment
• 63% of Brits state a bad boss is the number one reason as to why most people quit their jobs
• 60% of Brits state over and above enjoying what they do, a good management team is what will make them stay in their current job
• 60% of professionals say bad bosses are a main reason why businesses fail
• HALF of workers state that their current or previous bosses have caused them significant anxiety and/or stress
• 49% of the UK have wanted to / have quit a job because I felt unsupported by my management team
• 49% of workers would accept a job if they laid out a career plan and had a mentoring system in place
• 37% of Brits feel they were unjustly forced out of a previous job by my manager even though they were a loyal employee
• 33% of Brits say that they dislike their job because of bad management/bad managers
• 25% of Brits state their Sunday night anxiety is solely down to a bad boss
• 34% of BAME Brits feel that they are not positively encouraged to stay within the company they work for due to a non-inclusive culture that starts with the management team

Hephzi Pemberton, Founder of Equality Group comments:

"Bad bosses can be fundamentally damaging to a business as the quality of a manager has a direct impact on the company’s bottom line, in addition to its ability to recruit and develop good employees and aid them in producing the best results. We live in a hugely interconnected society where potential candidates can go online and assess the culture of a company before applying for a role and because of this, businesses can no longer sweep a toxic culture or bad management under the rug. It is undeniable that a bad manager has the power to drive away good talent and harm a business with 60% of Brits stating that a bas boss is a fundamental reason as to why businesses, particularly SMEs fail."

About Equality Group

Equality Group harnesses the power of diverse leaders for Finance, Technology and Social Impact. They change the business landscape by widening the range of exceptional candidates and offering them unique leadership opportunities. Their consultancy service helps companies attract, retain and develop diverse talent, which our Executive Search service headhunts.