Benefits January 8, 2008

Boss Issues Top Reason Employees Consider Job Change

January 8, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A survey from Yahoo! HotJobs found almost three-quarters (72%) of respondents are open to a career change in 2008, with boss issues the top reason for considering a change.
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According to a Yahoo! press release, the majority of respondents (55%) agreed that “people don’t leave companies, they leave managers.” Forty-three percent of respondents cited dislike of their boss’s management style or lack of mentorship at their company as the reason they would be willing to change jobs.

Salary (36%) and growth potential (34%) were also major considerations for respondents in deciding to look for a new career, the release said.

When asked which aspect of their job was most important for determining their happiness at work, 32% of respondents chose having a good boss or supervisor. In identifying their ideal manager, 70% of respondents said they prefer a hands-off boss who trusts them to do their job but is there when needed.

Almost half of respondents (43%) said they think they could do as good or a better job than their boss if they switched positions for a day.

The qualities respondents cited as being necessary to be a good boss (in order of importance) included:

  • Communication/listening skills,
  • Effective leadership skills,
  • Trust in their employees to do their job well,
  • Flexibility and understanding,
  • Intelligence,
  • Teamwork skills and even temperament (tie),
  • Interest in employee development,
  • Ability to share credit,
  • Successful in finding and retaining new talent, and
  • Presentation skills.

Data for the survey was collected from more than 1200 office professionals in the U.S. via an online survey questionnaire across the Yahoo! and HotJobs networks.

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