Trust
in UK bosses has plummeted over the past 12 months, according to research by
recruitment group Reed, published today.
Reed
surveyed more than 2,600 workers and nearly 200 HR professionals for its report
Motivating People at Work: What is to be Done.
It
finds that across the board, 45 per cent of workers said their trust in bosses
has fallen over the past year, rising to 61 per cent of managers.Â
Morale
has also fallen, with 52 per cent of workers and 68 per cent of managers saying
morale is lower now than 12 months ago.
Organisations
are giving higher priority to worker morale than a year ago according to the
research, with 71 per cent increasing initiatives designed to raise motivation
in the last 12 months.Â
However,
when implemented in the wrong way, many employer initiatives have
backfired.Â
‘Inappropriate’
training, ‘unattainable’ or ‘driven’ targets, ‘irrelevant’ teambuilding events,
‘ridiculous’ incentives, excessive bonuses and ‘constant supervision indicating
lack of trust’, all helped reduce motivation over the last year, according to
People at Work.Â
What’s
more, one in six workers said presentations about ‘living the brand’ (used by
48 per cent of organisations over the last year) had lowered, rather than
raised, morale.
Worst
of all for morale in the current climate, however, was when organisations
either did nothing or appeared to do nothing, leading to lack of communication,
closed door meetings and no contact.
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Instead,
‘an honest approach’ coupled with praise from their immediate or ultimate boss
would do most to raise morale, according to more than 80 per cent of
respondents.
