Over half of all distribution bosses are worse at motivating since recession began

One in four (24%) distribution bosses have increased their criticism and blaming of others, 27% have hidden themselves away, more than one third (36%) have simply become indifferent, 31% are pretending that nothing's happening and 13% have started shouting and raging, according to a new survey of over 1,600 workers by the campaign Keep Britain Working.
 
The campaign, which promotes innovative ways to preserve and create jobs, calls on people to share their motivational ideas on KeepBritainWorking.com and today launches a special third-off offer on the classic best-seller How to Win Friends and Influence People.*
 
Specific examples of de-motivating boss behaviour revealed by the Keep Britain Working survey include:
 
* a charity boss who brought in his hunting rifle and pretended to fire it at staff to make them work harder
 
* a boss who made staff clean toilets because she had sacked the cleaners to save money
 
* a boss who cut staff hours and pay while boasting about using his bonus to re-decorate his house
 
* a public sector boss who advised a worker that people were queuing up for her job
 
* a telecoms boss who chanted "hit this target, keep your job...hit this target, keep your job"
 
Overall, more than half the UK's bosses - 52 per cent - have got worse at motivating their staff since the recession began. One in three bosses have increased their criticism and blaming of others, nearly a third have hidden themselves away, more than one in four have simply become indifferent, a quarter have pretended that nothing's happening, while 17 per cent have started shouting and raging.
 
Only one in six bosses have done more to motivate staff since the recession began, according to the Keep Britain Working survey.
 
More than half of all workers believe bosses failing to motivate staff lowers productivity, and more than a third think it makes company failure more likely.
 
As well as sharing new ideas to help bosses motivate better, visitors to campaign website KeepBritainWorking.com can access an exclusive 35% discount on Dale Carnegie's iconic, multi-million selling book How to Win Friends and Influence People, on which the survey was based. First published in the 1930s this classic, credited with leading America out of the Great Depression, is now back on top of the UK best-seller lists.*
 
James Reed, founder of the independent campaign "Keep Britain Working" comments:
 
"Bosses need to realise that they have a huge effect on those around them, and that no matter how they feel, their first responsibility is to do more to motivate staff.
 
"This will lead to greater productivity and help people make the most of any new opportunities. As a result it is far more likely that organisations will survive and thrive, create new jobs and keep people working.."