British stiff upper liploses millions

Citation

(2001), "British stiff upper liploses millions", Work Study, Vol. 50 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2001.07950faf.005

British stiff upper liploses millions

British "stiff upper lip" loses millions

Keywords: Management styles, Employee surveys

Businesses across the UK are losing millions each year because managers are so bad at recognising the efforts of their staff according to a series of studies by business psychologists Kaisen Consulting.

Kaisen, which undertakes employee surveys for major companies across the globe, says UK companies are consistently bad at giving staff recognition, because of their "stiff upper lips" – making people "feel good" about their efforts is apparently "not the British thing to do". Yet feedback and appreciation are critical psychological factors in ensuring people remain engaged and motivated.

The result of poor recognition is de-motivated staff who put in minimum effort to "keep out of trouble" and in extreme cases, become depressed, resentful and embittered, searching for ways of sabotaging the organisation before they eventually leave to find new jobs.

A simple acknowledgment of people's efforts and contributions can prevent many of these problems. Kaisen says recognition of people's efforts – emotional appreciation rather than tangible rewards – is one of the strongest factors which affects overall levels job satisfaction – and therefore a significant driver of commercial performance. But UK managers are consistently bad at providing this factor – they tend to focus on the task but are far too uncomfortable with the more personal but equally critical parts of the job – and hence they avoid them.

"The simple expectation that people will perform to the best of their ability and the assumption that people know when they're doing well leads us to ignore this critical issue", says Kaisen's Gwyn Rogers. "The upshot is that employees often feel taken for granted and complain that the only time they get noticed is when things go wrong.

"Managers may claim to recognise that staff are their greatest asset and that getting the best out of them drives commercial performance. Yet they repeatedly fail to see how important recognition is to their staff."

"The pay packet is only one way of recognising staff's efforts", adds Rogers. "Using all of an individual's skills and abilities demonstrates trust in them and hence a form of appreciation. Mentioning their work in organisation communications, verbally praising them for achievements – are just as important and easy to implement. It's as if the British 'stiff upper lip' prevents us from saying 'well done' to our staff."

Kaisen says part of the problem is that UK businesses often excuse themselves from managing people well, by considering management to be a "soft skill".

"In the UK, if someone is good at their job, they get promoted out of it and given management responsibility – but without any specialist training. There is a belief that management is a soft skill, but it is not. It has to be learnt like any other. Under the circumstances, it is not surprising that British management often under performs."

Kaisen Consulting work with clients in more than 30 countries around the world assessing senior managers, developing one-to-one management skills, designing and implementing large-scale recruitment and assessment processes, achieving rapid organisational change and surveying employee perceptions.

Clients include airlines, telecommunication companies, accountancy partnerships, utilities, banks, manufacturers, financial services companies, law firms, TV companies, development agencies, infrastructure investment businesses, civil engineering companies, retailers, computer systems developers and travel companies.