How bad management affects employees and your business

The signs of a bad manager can vary, but often include the following traits: 

• Micromanagement. Often rooted in a lack of trust, micromanagement can undermine employees.
• Does not prioritise management. This can include late feedback, cancelling one-to-ones and being unresponsive.
• Lack of openness to feedback. A poor manager will often fail to take feedback on board, meaning their conduct does not improve.
• Dismissive. Rather than building employees up, poor managers may dismiss their ideas and contributions.
• No structure. Bad managers can be disorganised, unprepared and unwilling to put in the work. 
• A poor listener. Does a manager fail to listen and process employee comments? This can be a very detrimental trait.
• Unsupportive. A lack of support can leave teams feeling powerless and demotivated in their roles.

It only takes one or two bad managers to affect company culture too. For example, only 27% of employees with bottom quartile rated line managers said they were satisfied with their jobs vs 88% of those with the highest rated managers. 

Learn more about the signs of a bad manager and how to properly identify them.

1. Micromanagement

What is micromanagement? This problematic behaviour manifests itself when a manager tries to control too many aspects of an employee’s day, from their decision making to the completion of their tasks. It is classed as micromanagement when a manager tries to take charge of far more than is necessary and it can often indicate a lack of trust, impacting the performance it is meant to control. 

Micromanagement could be happening in your workplace if: 

• Managers fail to see the bigger picture, instead focusing on the minutiae of individual tasks
• Employees are asked to provide extra visibility of their work. Perhaps managers want to be copied into their emails, or they want an excessive number of one-to-one meetings
• Regular approval is required, in particular for smaller tasks that could be performed independently
• Managers do not delegate, choosing to take on a higher workload to remain in control
• Over-detailed instructions are provided, giving employees little freedom to find their own path, work with other colleagues and think independently.  

Some tips to deal with micromanagers include: 

• Honest, open conversations. When employees explain how they are feeling and emphasise their ability to work more independently, this can be a helpful starting point
• Building trust. Examples of successes will help to prove that micromanagement is not needed
• Communicating appropriate channels for escalation. All employees should feel empowered to flag bad management practices like micromanagement. They should be able to skip a level and speak to more senior managers, or escalate directly to HR. 

2. Managers do not prioritise management

People management is one of the most important jobs and it should be treated as a priority. When a manager does not take their responsibilities seriously or feels that management is not as important as their other tasks, this can become clear in their behaviour – they may cancel meetings, fail to respond to direct reports and hold up projects where their input is needed.  

It is important that managers undertake regular training to understand exactly what is expected of them and develop their management skills. They should also take the time to build a good working relationship with their team and make themselves available. 

3. Managers do not take feedback on board

In much the same way as direct reports should receive regular feedback from their managers, managers should also receive feedback from their direct reports. Being a good manager takes training and practice, and who better to give open and honest feedback than a direct report? Managers should also receive regular feedback from their own managers and senior leaders.  

However, a poor manager may not take feedback on board, even if they expect their own teams to do so. Signs that a manager is not receptive to feedback can include dismissiveness, a lack of understanding and a reluctance to change, which should be raised in the appropriate channels as soon as possible so action can be taken.  

4. Dismissive of ideas

Some bad managers can be dismissive of ideas presented by their team. For direct reports, this can be incredibly frustrating and can make work feel less rewarding. Managers should be receptive to ideas and if a concept is not going to work, they should be able to explain why, encouraging employees to come up with alternatives. Employees who think their ideas are being dismissed should always feel empowered to ask for their manager’s reasoning, and feel that they are learning and developing from their managers, rather than feeling put down and dismissed. 

5. A lack of structure

Poor management style may involve a lack of structure that is detrimental to employee development and wellbeing. This may include too few meetings, taking a long time to review a team member’s work and managers not making themselves available. A regular pattern of one-to-ones can help to combat this, and both managers and direct reports should come to them fully prepared. This is often more straightforward in organisations where performance reviews are properly tracked and monitored so that employees feel clear on their roles and responsibilities. 

6. Poor listening skills

Manager-employee communication is the basis of a good working relationship. When a manager does not listen properly and absorb what they are being told, this can fundamentally damage the relationship and leaves them unable to support their team. Despite this, one study showed that three out of four managers do not listen well. The good news is that ‘soft skills’ like listening skills can be learnt and practiced, so this facet of poor management can be successfully corrected through training and a culture of development at all levels. 

7. An unsupportive approach 

This can range from not supporting career aspirations, to dismissing personal situations that could impact work, to ignoring issues such as overwork – a manager could even be directly responsible for overwork. An unsupportive management style fails to prioritise individuals, but it can derail entire teams. Alternatives could include speaking with HR, escalating to a more senior manager and giving direct feedback regarding the support that is needed. 

Bad management practices can impact an employee’s career development, wellbeing, performance and productivity. On an organisational level, they can impact culture, the amount of sick leave taken across a team and employee turnover, meaning you can lose good people through poor management. 

One of the most concerning consequences of poor management is its impact on mental health. According to one survey, 43% of respondents said management style was the second biggest contributing factor to stress-related absence. The direct correlation between poor management and absenteeism demonstrates just how significant the impact can be for both individuals and organisations.  

Now you know what poor management looks like in practice and how it impacts culture and wellbeing, let’s look at ways to turn it around internally. Options include: 

• Tracking performance expectations specifically in relation to management 
• Training to develop leadership and management skills 
• Robust policies that detail all responsibilities and how to escalate problems with managers 
• Rewarding and reinforcing adherence to company culture 
• Taking disciplinary action where necessary

1. Address performance expectations 

Management expectations should be set out clearly, in writing, from the beginning of an employee’s tenure as a manager. Measure managers’ performance using quantitative data – that which is countable or measurable such as productivity – and qualitative data – surveys, reviews, feedback etc. This will help to establish a clear picture of overall conduct. Managers should have their performance monitored regularly against these set expectations to help keep them on track.  

2. Leadership and development training

Regular training can help managers understand what is expected of them and how to be effective. Not all those who become managers will have received training on communication skills and other leadership qualities required to be a good manager. Poor management is often not due to a lack of care – managers may have been promoted in their roles for successful performance and simply may not know how to manage people well. According to a report from the CIPD and Simplyhealth, only 50% of managers have undergone training to support staff in managing stress. Good management calls for a complex skillset involving empathy, coaching, teaching, goal setting and much more. How can managers excel in their roles and develop good self-awareness if they are never taught how to do so? 

3. Robust policies

HR departments are responsible for setting clear policies that are recorded in easily accessible places such as employee handbooks, intranet or an HR system. All managers must be made aware of their responsibilities according to official company policy, and they should be informed of any performance expectations. This is the only way to deal with poor managerial performance through remedial action, suspension and termination of employment when necessary.  

4. Improve culture

Take lengths to improve company culture and instill the messaging you want all employees to know. A manager or leader’s job is to be a culture carrier, ensuring their teams understand the organisation’s values and principles. Actions matter here and all managers should exemplify company values and conduct themselves in a way that builds trust. Bonus schemes, commission and incentives can be used to reward the behaviours that carry company culture, highlighting its importance and making sure managers lead by example. 

5. Take disciplinary action 

Where other avenues have been explored and have failed to make an impact, disciplinary action may be needed involving HR. You should follow a clear disciplinary procedure to protect your organisation against legal claims. Again, the all-important employee handbook is a good place to outline disciplinary procedures, should employees fail to meet expected standards of conduct. For managers, these will tie back to role expectations, giving you a clear-cut way to deal with poor performance via a thorough, end-to-end process. 

One way of thinking about poor management is as a failure to instil company culture at all levels of the workforce. Culture doesn’t just come from senior leaders – it comes from all managers, who have a responsibility to demonstrate company values, contributing to an overall employer brand that everyone in the organisation ‘buys’ into. A poor culture can make it hard to attract talent and even harder to retain, so can in turn affect overall company success.  

Developing a positive working culture doesn’t happen overnight. Managers need to be trained, monitored and given the right tools to succeed. Technology plays a major part in this, particularly the HR software used to record and monitor workforce performance using both quantitative and qualitative metrics, onboard employees, track goals and much more. Setting your managers up for success gives them a head-start and provides them with more time for their teams.  

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