Why Good Workers Leave Bad Managers

Many employees do not feel super engaged at work, according to a recent survey from Appirio. The resulting report, titled “The Human Touch for Tech Talent: Employee Retention Could Be as Simple as ‘Thank You,’ ” sheds light on how bad bosses fall short in motivating employees. Many supervisors fail to give credit where credit is due, for example, and others aren’t helpful in helping their staffers advance in their careers. As for the outstanding qualities workers look for in a boss? Think beyond promotions and raises, which don’t really play that much of a factor here. Instead, workers seek appreciation for strong performance, along with a sense that their managers have their back when the going gets rough. “While companies may try to lure prime candidates with outlandish perks, generous bonus structures, and overinflated salaries, what workers actually want may be much simpler — and considerably less expensive,” according to the report. “It is accepted that workers leave managers, not companies — and they choose to accept jobs for managers, too. While leaders may assume pay and career pathing are the most important issues a candidate examines when evaluating an offer, workers are far more concerned with more intangible benefits.” More than 655 employees took part in the research. (Despite the report’s title, survey respondents represented a broad range of professions, as opposed to strictly IT-related ones.)