UK Employees Give Management Bad Rap

In its press release, Mercer points out that this is similar to a US survey that found only 40% of employees trust senior management to communicate honestly.

A disturbing finding of the UK study was that the level of trust declines with length of service. According to the press release, 57% of employees with less than a year of service trust management to communicate honestly, while only 26% of those with more than 15 years of service do. Dr. Patrick Gilbert, Head of Organizational Research and Effectiveness at Mercer, said in the release, “It is particularly worrying that long-serving employees – who know most about their organizations – trust management the least.”

Other survey results mentioned in the release include:

• 53% of UK employees surveyed feel their organization does a good job of keeping them informed on matters that affect them.
• 48% of respondents think there is sufficient contact between managers and employees, while 58% think their manager does a good job of being available when needed.
• 58% of the employees feel their company has communicated its values clearly to employees.
• Only 45% of respondents think management behaves in a way that is consistent with the company values, and only 35% think that what their company says it values it what it actually rewards.

For its What’s Working Survey – UK, Mercer collected data from 1,119 working adults in Britain representing a broad cross section of industries. Mercer has conducted What’s Working Surveys in 18 countries. The company’s Web site is www.mercerhr.com .