Does your manager help you to be successful?

We asked 1,555 professionals if their manager is helping them to be successful. Results show that junior employees are the most grateful to their managers, while very few experienced people believe they receive help from their superiors. Some jobs such as human resources and compliance also appear to breed self-reliance more so than other professions.

Does your manager help you to be successful?

By experience

Years of experience Yes No
0-1 59% 41%
1-5 43% 57%
6-10 33% 67%
11-15 26% 74%
15+ 24% 76%

Grateful graduates: Reassuringly, most graduates (59%) think their manager does help them to become successful. Unfortunately, their experienced colleagues mostly do not feel supported by their boss.


Where is the team spirit? As professionals become more experienced, fewer managers will encourage their quest for success (only 24% of employees with over 15 years' experience feel helped by their manager). Experienced employees are not perceived as needing the support and tuition younger staff require, and can even be seen as a threat by their managers.


Does your manager help you to be successful?

By job

Job Yes No
Compliance 48% 52%
Human Resources 46% 54%
Engineering 40% 60%
Marketing & Communications 39% 61%
Sales & Business Development 38% 62%
IT 36% 64%
Consulting 33% 67%
Financial Services 31% 69%
Logistics, Operations & Purchasing 31% 69%
Financial Control 30% 70%
Executive Management 28% 72%
Support Functions 28% 72%
Data Analysis 23% 77%
Project Management 21% 79%


Manage or be managed : Those in executive management and project management largely do not feel their managers are helping them to be successful. As managers themselves, they are spending most of their time supervising colleagues, therefore logically expected to be autonomous.


New jobs, no leaders : The need for data analysts has exploded in the last decade1, and many companies struggle to find senior employees to manage their recently assembled data departments. As a result, only 23% of data specialists believe they have a manager who is helping them to become successful.


Does your manager help you be successful?

By company size

Company size Yes No
1-10 employees 29% 71%
10-50 employees 32% 68%
50-250 employees 39% 61%
250+ 32% 68%


Small does not mean helpful. Smaller companies are the least likely to provide strong managerial leadership (only 29% of those working for micro-sized businesses responded that their manager was helping them to be successful). A lack of corporate structure can create politicking among jostling employees and a lack of managerial awareness: staff are likely to be stretched to their limits and managing other employees does not make the top of priority lists.


Which is the optimal size? Employees working at medium sized companies (50-250 employees) are noticeably happier about their manager than those working at larger or smaller companies (at mid-sized companies 39% think their manager help, against 29% at small companies). Medium-sized companies are able to have the advantage of a light corporate structure and enough managers to supervise relatively small teams.


Alice Leguay, COO and Co-Founder at Emolument.com said: 'With many traditional industries such as accounting, consulting and even the financial sector, struggling to attract and retain young professionals, a huge emphasis is placed on caring for junior staff with year-round learning programmes to develop new skills, mentorship initiatives, charity projects and constant dialogue and feedback instead of the outdated annual 360 review. This impetus is clearly shown in our poll results; however, it is yet to trickle down to more senior employees. We will be watching to see how the new generation of carefully managed professionals matures, and if they themselves turn out to be proficient managers.'

1- http://www.cnbc.com/id/100792215

 

Emolument provides bonus and salary statistics based on data submitted directly by professionals like you. It is free, anonymous, and already a trusted tool for thousands of professionals worldwide. Are you paid enough? Click here to find out now.


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