‘Bad middle managers’ to blame for crisis in productivity
BAD middle managers are dragging down the economy, according to a string of blue-chip bosses and analysts who say inept executives are at the heart of Britain’s productivity problem.
FTSE 100 insurer Phoenix has identified poor middle management as one of the biggest drags on their business, while economists at the Resolution Foundation warned that Britain’s army of bad managers “stands out” globally.
It is understood the company behind Standard Life conducts an informal exercise every year to examine whether it can produce the same amount of output with a 3pc reduction in resources.
Another executive at a Uk-listed firm said: “Most of the weakness is down to bad middle management. Some of them leave every year and it’s hardly noticed.”
UK pay growth has stagnated since the financial crisis amid a collapse in productivity that threatens to push the UK into a low growth trap.
Recent research by the Chartered
Management Institute branded four fifths of British supervisors “accidental managers” because they have no formal training after being promoted.
A third of the 2,000 people surveyed also said they had left jobs because of a negative working culture.
The Resolution Foundation recently warned that firms were not as well managed in the UK as the US, with dire consequences for investment, productivity and growth.
“Rising interest rates are biting across borders, and bad taxes are found in many countries.
“Bad managers are, however, an area in which Britain stands out,” it said in a flagship report.
“This matters for reasons beyond investment. But well-managed firms make better investment decisions.”
In 2019, workers in the US produced 28pc more per hour than in the UK.
A spokesman for Phoenix said: “We always look to operate efficiently and effectively, and to have the highest calibre of leaders at every level, which we know is important to colleagues.
“It provides us with an opportunity to bring fresh thinking and maximise productivity.”
‘Most of weakness is down to bad middle managers. Some of them leave every year and it’s hardly noticed’