Uninspiring leaders demotivate staff

Nearly a quarter of the UK workforce – 7.2 million people – are feeling the effects of uninspiring leaders in the workplace, according to new research by Investors in People.

Over a quarter didn’t feel motivated by their managers. Equally, almost a quarter didn’t feel appreciated for their hard work.

The study of 3,500 employees, conducted to identify links between staff management and business performance shows nearly one third of employees don’t trust their boss and one in five bosses said they don’t believe in the importance of training their staff.

Investors in People worked with economic analysis consultancy TBR to evaluate the value of poor leadership, identifying a £39 billion cost to UK businesses every year.

The survey suggests Bristol, Sheffield and Glasgow have the most uninspiring bosses with 36 per cent, 33 per cent and 31 per cent of people not motivated by their managers respectively. Meanwhile, Edinburgh, London and Belfast are deemed to offer the most inspiring bosses, with 82 per cent and 77 per cent of people in those cities feeling motivated by their leaders.

The issue is most prevalent in larger businesses (1000+ staff) where one third of employees do not feel motivated by their managers. In small businesses 29 per cent of staff feel unmotivated by their bosses.

Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: “Our research shows that many employees are feeling frustrated in their roles due to poor management. Strong and inspiring leaders are critical in business in order to get the best from your staff. These findings should be a wake-up call to leaders and are one of the reasons Investors in People has worked with top businesses across the country to launch a leading practice framework, helping organisations manage their people more effectively.”

Hundreds of academics, business leaders, and industry experts were involved in the creation of the sixth generation Investors in People standard, which launched last week and aims to show the management performance of workplaces across the UK.

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