Poor Management in the Workplace
By: The Milestones Content Team
Poor management is detrimental to all aspects of life and when it comes to an employer-employee relationship, it plays a major role in poor morale, productivity in terms of turnover, and an increased cases of work-related stress. Most people would rather leave their jobs for a lower-paying one simply because of poor management.
The most common result of Poor Management is Poor Communication or lack-there-of. Rather than involve the team in the decision-making process, any form of communication is either an imposition or a demand which in turn is taken as a form of dictatorship by the employees.
In cases where it’s all the decision making is solely left to the manager, some may not be well equipped to give proper instructions or if given, they appear to be vague or rushed. These leaves the employees to their own devices trying to either guess or decipher what their boss wants and while at it, conflict and animosity arises. Productivity is affected as everyone stops caring about their performance and a disgruntled employee is more likely to sabotage their job or quit altogether.
Having a Closed Door Policy is another form of poor management. Employees need to feel that they can reach their boss without having to cut through all the “red tape.” An open door policy keeps the communication lines open in turn beneficial to both parties in terms of a good working relationship and a great platform for information on what’s going on.
A good manager will not Ignore Employee Requests no matter how frivolous. Rather, he/ she will use their managerial skills and judgment to best handle their requests and complaints through the proper channels. Ignoring employee requests or complaints can lead to unnecessary ramifications, such as an exaggerated animosity between both parties, compromising of important company information and pointless lawsuits. Following up on requests, however many is important because this allows the manager to know exactly what is going on and what need to take precedence.
A request or complaint from an employee can seem very minute and unwarranted to a manager at the time and will most probably be quickly brushed aside for other “important matters,” but it may turn out to be a very serious matter that has been ignored hence creating a negative ripple effect.
Another form if poor management is the lack of Employee Reward and Recognition. An organization may have the world’s greatest team working for it, but in order to keep them motivated there has to be a level of appreciation applied in recognition for a job well-done. This way employees have a sense of greater purpose, in that it’s not just another mundane 8-hour job and they feel valued by the company for their efforts.
Recognition can be done in simple yet effective ways such as having a photo of Employee of The Month posted on the company’s board or sending a personalized email to the team acknowledging their contribution toward the company’s growth and productivity or just a simple handshake or pat on the back may suffice.