Staff usually hear about important business decisions in their companies from office rumours rather than directly from their managers, according to a survey.
UK managers tend to be poor communicators, leaving employees to find out about any planned changes in their organisation through the office grapevine.
As a result, staff feel left out of decision-making and are less inclined to put in extra effort, said consulting firm ISR.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Its research among 40,000 workers, including 10,000 in the UK, found that managers in Britain were ranked the poorest in Europe for informing employees about any important business developments.
The research was released ahead of the Information and Consultation Regulations which come into force on Wednesday 6 April 2005.