Bad line management and stress at work.
In the CIPD quarterly update “Impact” two of the articles particularly interested me. Firstly one about guidance to help line managers manage stress at work more effectively. The author , Ben Willmott of the CIPD says “managing stress is, to a large extent, simply about good people management”. The other about line managers failing to support staff development where Victoria Winkler, its author, says “Only 40% of organisations train all, or a majority, of their line managers to support learning and development”. The guidance for managing stress at work provides a “competency framework for managers” and clearly shows positive and negative manager behaviours. One of the competencies identified is “development” including mentoring and coaching with regular reviews and support. The approach of a negative manager is to refuse requests for training and not providing opportunity for job mobility.
At this time I am reading comments about good and bad managers on Steve Olsen’s blog. I am sure many of us will identify with some of the stories. http://www.steve-olson.com/
But let’s be fair here. How many managers out their were given specific training relating to managing people when they took on management responsibilities? I regularly speak with people who either feel out of their depth themselves in that role or comment on their own manager being promoted because of technical skills but beyond their capabilities in people management.
It seems that work related stress issues are becoming more and more common. Good employers can go some way to can address this by supporting appropriate development of line manager skills!
