Three-quarters of South Africa’s middle managers feel that the economy is having a negative effect on their work environment, a survey released on Thursday found.
Accenture’s 2008 survey of more than 2 600 middle managers also found that over half felt that this was affecting morale as people were concerned about losing their jobs.
”In an uncertain economic environment employers will need to take extra care in keeping employees engaged and ensuring they maintain their job performance,” said Steve Smith, senior executive of talent and organisation performance.
”Sound talent management strategies are now more important than ever.”
As a result of their dissatisfaction, two-thirds of middle managers in South Africa would consider another job, however, they are not actively looking.
Fifteen percent were actively looking for a new job, the study found.
Three-quarters of middle managers said the reason for their desire to find a new job was better pay or benefits.
”Clearly, job security is of paramount importance to employees right now,” said Smith.
”Nevertheless, employers must continue to find ways to improve the work experience for their employees or they may be faced with an unwelcome rise in employee departures when the economy improves.”
Less than half of middle managers said their employers had taken steps to help employees cope with the weak economy, the global management consulting company’s study found.
However, two-thirds of middle managers felt their employers could do more to help employees cope with the faltering economy.
Some employers were making positive strides in responding to demands from employees for new ways of working.
Nearly one-third of middle managers said that their employers had taken steps to help them cope with the weak economy through programmes such as flexible schedules, four-day work weeks, telecommuting and transportation subsidies.
”Increasingly, we are seeing organisations refocus their talent management techniques to provide employee programmes that are more customised to individual needs,” Smith said.
”We expect this trend to continue for some time.” – Sapa