30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers: What Your People May Be Thinking and What You Can Do About It

by Bruce L. Katcher

Quietly seething...secretly resenting...and ultimately affecting performance, employees’ negative feelings toward their managers can lurk beneath the surface of even the most pleasant-seeming work relationships. These issues, if gone unchecked, can result in organizational catastrophe. To find out what’s really going on, the authors surveyed more than 50,000 employees in 65 organizations of all types and sizes, and discovered the 30 main causes of ill will. This book provides solutions for these fundamental symptoms of employee-manager discomfort, including employees’ sense * they're being treated like children * their contributions aren't respected * their manager doesn't listen to them * senior managers are incompetent * they lack the resources and training they need to do their jobs well * they get insufficient feedback * their pay isn't fairly linked to job performance * they are burdened by heavy workloads or inflexible schedules. Featuring real-life examples, this eye-opening book empowers managers to make their workplaces more productive, congenial, and satisfying for their people and for themselves.

207 pages, Hardcover

First published March 7, 2007

About the author

BRUCE L. KATCHER, PH.D., (Sharon, MA) is founder and president of The Discovery Consulting Group. His client list covers a broad range, from Fortune 500 names such as Revlon, Johnson & Johnson, Alcoa, and Merck to successful smaller companies. He is the author of the award-winning book 30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers (978-0-8144-0915-2).

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was an easy read and while it is all common sense, that's exactly what seems to be lacking in most management positions. I did a book review on this for work and my senior manager actually commented that she didn't like that it wasn't a feel good book. In my opinion, if your work environment isn't a "feel good" work environment (which most people's aren't), you may want to read this and figure out how to fix at least some of the problems going on. With outsourcing and lack of job security, most employees are miserable. This book helps bring you back to the basics, which in this high production, high stress environment, seems to be lacking.

[Joe Robles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book is a good first step if you're a new manager or supervisor to let you know what your employees really think of you and the organization. I know I've heard some of these complaints in my business, from people at various levels.

I like the structure of each chapter: Examples, Problem, Psychology, Solutions. However, it just seems like its skimming the surface. If you use this along with other books and say the Manager Tools Podcast then I think it will work, but on it's own i don't think it would be effective.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short read but a good one. Highly recommended if you are responsible for a work force.

[Peregrine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is pretty lame, unless you honestly have very little management experience and no idea what it's like to work in an environment where your manager is not perfect.

[Stanley Hall]

Explains why you don't like your employer, and how to be a better employer if that's your job.