The report shows that:

• 75% of employees who display low engagement levels or leave their jobs say that it’s due to their manager or leadership
• 72% of employees get praise less than once a week
• 53% of respondents have looked for another job in the last year
• 36% said they would leave their current company if offered a similar job at another organisation.

A manager’s behaviour affects employee satisfaction and retention

Although these stats look shocking, it didn’t come as a surprise to us. When founders Andrea Gregory and Lisa Smale created The Good Boss Questionnaire (GBQ) in 2004, they did so because there was no tool on the market that measured the impact that managers’ behaviour had on their teams, and they had witnessed themselves from their own experience of working with organisations, the positive impact a good boss can make and the damage a bad boss can do.

The Good Boss Questionnaire founded on research

Development of the GBQ started with sound research. Over 1,500 UK employees in a number of different industries were asked questions which looked at the behaviours of their boss. Behavioural examples were sought to clarify the differences noted, and people were encouraged to post their own stories of good and bad bosses which were both uplifting in places and terrifying in others. At all times there was a strong commitment to letting people set their own agenda and wording of what made a good boss rather than to impose any framework or concepts upon them.

The research results in an employee-led identification of what an employee really wants and needs from their boss. Research showed that people with a ‘good’ boss are more motivated, committed and encouraged to provide better customer service than those with a ‘bad’ boss; also, the view that employees had of their organisation was strongly influenced by the rating that they gave their boss (for those with a ‘good’ boss, 75% saw their organisation as ‘good’).

The research evidence strongly supported the view that the most powerful factor in being a good boss is to value your people. By far the strongest emotions were expressed by research participants when they described experiences where their boss treated them badly.

“My previous boss used to bully and belittle me in emails and in person in front of other members of staff, making my work out to be worthless etc. I confronted him and told him it had to stop – but it didn’t …. so I resigned.”

Recognition at work has a positive effect on business

In a 2016 study (Novak), 40% of employees said they would put in more effort if they were recognised more often, further underpinning the findings.

The good news is that it’s both simple and inexpensive to improve recognition. Here are just a few tried and tested suggestions from the GBQ (Good Boss Questionnaire):

• Keep in mind that an overwhelming majority of people aren’t simply motivated by money. They want to work hard and contribute and be noticed and respected for their efforts. Valuing people should be a belief that influences all aspects of being a boss. If a boss holds this belief, then, more often than not they will instinctively take good decisions in managing their people
• Don’t save praise for the big occasions – publicly recognise small wins too
• Recognise people for the behaviour and actions that lead to good results more often to help reinforce what good looks like and encourage them to repeat the behaviour and actions you value
• Get to know the people who work for you as individuals; what are their aspirations? What do they do well? What motivates them? What do they want to do better? People respond better to bosses who treat them as a person not just as a number
• Celebrate successes of the team as a whole as this can help to create a climate of achievement and indicates that you give credit where it is due
• Pass on positive feedback or recognition given to you about the team’s performance
• Ask people how and when they like to be acknowledged for a good job well done. If you know how people like to be praised, you can tailor your approach to maximise the positive effect of it
• If you notice that someone seems not their usual self, find a way to ask them about it. Take an interest in how your staff are day to day.

Over time, the GBQ has been further developed to provide a self-questionnaire, the GBu, designed for people who aspire to being appointed into a managerial role, are new to managing others, or those who want to learn what makes a truly good boss. Other developments include team reports and a series of masterclasses focusing on different aspects of boss behaviour that have an impact on staff.

The Good Boss Questionnaire is suitable for a wide range of development activities, including one-to-one performance coaching, training needs analysis, evaluation of training interventions and performance reviews. It can also assist with recruitment, team building and organisational restructuring.

With hybrid working, recognition has lost focus; employees feel less connected to company culture and it’s easy to look for another job. The Officevibe report shows us that there may have been many changes in the way we work, but the behaviour people want to see from their boss remains the same – as does the impact.