Lack of communication between senior management and the wider business is responsible for the low motivation in the British workforce according to a recent survey by people development company, European Leaders. Over two thirds (68%) of respondents fail to understand their company’s vision, leading to a lack of motivation and reduced productivity. Sixty four per cent of those questioned claimed they could and would work much more efficiently with better motivation*.
These findings give context to a recent report conducted by the TUC which claimed that Britons are continuing to work longer hours than their European counterparts. This research suggests that, in part at least, the reason behind this ‘long hours’ culture, could be a lack of communication and motivation from senior teams across the country. Currently less than a fifth of respondents (18 %) view the business they work for as a good organisation and, as a result, only thirty six per cent describe themselves as working to their full potential.
In order to drive economic growth, improved productivity across UK Plc will be key however the current lack of motivation across our workforce threatens to hamper this. The findings suggest that there is a significant role to be played in reversing this trend by UK management. Employees across the country cited strong management as being crucial to building motivation amongst employees. Specific qualities highlighted as necessary from management included the ability to communicate passion and enthusiasm about work to employees (41 percent), the capacity to challenge employees to reach their full potential (41 percent), and help them find something that motivates them in the workplace (38 percent) as well as making work engaging (37 percent).
Ashley Ward, director of European Leaders, said, “It’s widely accepted that people performance is the biggest influence in business performance, yet as a nation we’re still not doing enough. If you look at the UK’s best companies to work for, their focus on company values and employee engagement is right at the top of their agenda. This is reflected by feedback from the employees themselves through rankings such as The Sunday Times. What this survey proves is there is a real need to develop and help employees grow, transforming profitability with little financial investment.”
Other notable statistics of interest include: 31 percent of respondents are passionate and enthusiastic about their interests outsidevof work; 15 percent have skills and knowledge from their personal interests or hobbies which could be put to better use at work; 34 percent think a good manager should know when employees have under-used skills or expertise and 38 percent think a good manager should embrace new ideas and input from across the company.
Ward continues, “The fact that people want to be more involved in their work and their company shows they think about their employer’s business and care about how they’re managed. They have more to give and opening the minds of management to fresh ideas can release a huge amount of energy and skill from the workforce, benefiting the business bottom line as well as the employees as they become more passionate about the organisation they work in. A seemingly negligible investment can get teams much closer to their full potential performance, resulting in a happier workforce and significant financial benefits.”
