Younger managers seek empowerment

Citation

(2003), "Younger managers seek empowerment", Work Study, Vol. 52 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2003.07952aaf.002

Younger managers seek empowerment

Younger managers seek empowerment

The views and aspirations of Britain's younger managers have been revealed via a research study undertaken by the Chartered Management Institute and PPP healthcare.

The report, entitled Great Expectations? shows what the next generation of managers is looking for from their employer, and describes their attitudes to work, their values and their ethics.

The survey on which the report was based reveals that younger managers (those aged 25-35) are less likely to hold down a job in the same organisation for more than a couple of years. They move on in a search for quality of life and job satisfaction. Unlike previous generations, who aspired to, and expected, a "job for life", 82 per cent believe that in today's business world, there is no such thing.

More than seven in ten (71 per cent) expect to stay in their current organisation for a maximum of five years. Perhaps more surprisingly, 41 per cent plan to move on within just two years. This raises real challenges for companies seeking to recruit and retain good managerial talent.

Along with this confidence to take charge of their own careers, these younger managers demonstrate that they have expectations of their employers – they expect to be part of an employer-employee working relationship that is built on partnership and trust. Their preferred management style is one that empowers; though they still expect to find bureaucracy and authoritarianism in place of such freedom.

The young managers surveyed were not satisfied with the verbal communication, emotional intelligence and listening skills of the senior executives in their organisations. One young manager said: "For all of my working experience there has been a lack of understanding about motivation, satisfaction and incentives. My aim as a manager is to ensure that these areas are addressed first before operational improvements are suggested to maximise outputs."

Young managers expect to be trusted to work flexibly as they strive for a better work-home balance. Very high on the wish list was the opportunity to work from home regularly, exploiting technology. They also wanted the chance to work a compressed week: for example, completing agreed hours over four days instead of five.

They were asked if the terrorist events of 11 September in New York and Washington had changed their attitudes to work. Many – about one in five – had re-evaluated their goals but as one young manager put it: "It certainly put things into perspective. However, as we move further away from the date, you begin to get caught up again in employment pressures and demands and begin to lose sight of what is truly important." Christine Hayhurst, director of public affairs, Chartered Management Institute, said: "Our research sends some clear signals to organisations bidding for the best in today's talent wars. These younger managers seek a more mature employer-employee relationship, built on empowerment and trust, that gives them the flexibility to achieve both their personal and professional goals."

PPP healthcare's human resources director Sarah Pearse said: "Self-fulfilment is the abiding obsession of tomorrow's managers. Look after them physically and psychologically, trust them to find better ways of working, enable them to develop and you may well keep them. Odds are they'll leave if you don't."

The report, Great Expectations? What the Future Holds for Young Managers, is available, price £50 (£25 Institute members) from the Chartered Management. E-mail: research@managers.org.uk