How Bosses are Perceived by Employees

Amy Winter
Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700
Lifestyle

With National Boss Day approaching, it is only appropriate to see how employees really feel about their bosses. Overall, it seems the manager and employee relationship has grown stronger through the recession, according to a survey by Adecco Staffing U.S., a work force solutions provider, that questioned 1,000 workers and bosses. But there is still room for improving the manager-and-employee relationship in workplaces.

When it comes to choosing a favorite celebrity or famous boss, the top spot goes to Oprah. Following close behind, the second choice was President Obama, followed by Donald Trump, Michelle Obama and former President George W. Bush. The least desirable manager choices went to Simon Cowell and former BP CEO Tony Hayward.

Would you want to take your manager's position? The responses were mixed in the survey. Only 30 percent of respondents seek to obtain the manager job. Of those who aim to gain a managerial position, it seems the higher percentages are male, in the Millennials generation and have children under the age of 18 at home.
Updated: Fri Oct 15, 2010

With National Boss Day approaching, it is only appropriate to see how employees really feel about their bosses. Overall, it seems the manager and employee relationship has grown stronger through the recession, according to a survey by Adecco Staffing U.S., a work force solutions provider, that questioned 1,000 workers and bosses. But there is still room for improving the manager-and-employee relationship in workplaces.

When it comes to choosing a favorite celebrity or famous boss, the top spot goes to Oprah. Following close behind, the second choice was President Obama, followed by Donald Trump, Michelle Obama and former President George W. Bush. The least desirable manager choices went to Simon Cowell and former BP CEO Tony Hayward.

Would you want to take your manager's position? The responses were mixed in the survey. Only 30 percent of respondents seek to obtain the manager job. Of those who aim to gain a managerial position, it seems the higher percentages are male, in the Millennials generation and have children under the age of 18 at home.

Even if you and your boss are friends and socialize at the office, most employees (82 percent) are not "Facebook" friends with their bosses. You would need to be extra careful of what material is posted on your wall if your manager is viewing your Facebook profile. Men tend to worry more about their boss seeing their Facebook photos compared to women. But that might be the case because female workers tend to adjust their privacy settings more often.

"There is still a divide that exists between what employees want and what they feel they are getting from their leaders," says Tig Gilliam, CEO of Adecco Group North America. "What this tells us is that as businesses continue to look toward economic recovery, building up their work forces post-recession, they should be mindful of the wants and needs of their talent — gut-checking both boss and employee feedback — while keeping a watchful eye on their talent with the highest potential."

For more information, visit www.adeccousa.com.

COLLEGE DEGREES AND THE JOB MARKET

Sometimes it can be difficult to choose a major in college. It will most likely define your career path, right? Not always, according to a CareerBuilder survey that questioned at least 2,000 workers with college degrees. It seems that more than one-third of these workers wish they had studied a different subject in college.

The fact that the job market has declined for certain occupations doesn't help when trying to find a dream job. Twenty-six percent of respondents say positions in their chosen field have declined during the period of entering college and graduating. And 19 percent of workers are still looking for their ideal position.

With certain industries, the wait proves to be beneficial to employees — 21 percent of respondents found a job in their desired field after three or more years. And it took at least five years for 12 percent of workers to land that job in their college major.

"The job market has been challenging for all workers, regardless of degree level, and has prompted many to think about learning skills for high demand and emerging jobs," says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources. "Many employers, particularly in health care, engineering, IT and communications, have open positions and can't find skilled candidates to fill them.

"College students and workers considering going back to school should take note of areas with growth opportunities and more abundant hiring."

Haefner provides suggestions for those employees who want to look into gaining more skills and educational opportunities:

— Communicate with human resources. Many companies provide certain kinds of learning programs. Talk to HR to see what type of classes or seminars would go along with your educational goals.

— Look into Web education. You may be able to further your education with online classes.

— Seek local resources. Local libraries and community centers provide various classes. Find out what programs are available.

For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.