Downturn will hit productivity as pressure dents leadership skills

Line managers will come under pressure during the economic downturn, affecting their teams’ productivity, an expert warned.

Penny de Valk, chief executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management, has warned that managers will ignore their training and rely on basic instincts that may not be very staff-friendly.

“This recession will increase managers’ workloads and put more pressure on them, which will in turn cause excess stress,” de Valk told Personnel Today.

“We know and psychologists know that when people are under pressure they revert to natural style, albeit in an amplified form, in order to survive.”

“It may be that in order to be a better manager, their behaviour needed to be modified, and so forgetting their training as a result of the economic downturn will obviously have a real effect on employee engagement and productivity,” de Valk said.

Last week, statistics showed many managers were considering careers in teaching to help them through the economic crisis.