No Love: Employees and Employers.

It is a verified fact that most employees do not get the chance to discuss career issues with their employers from year to year. This alienation from the management brings, in return, lack of motivation, self-hate and lack of commitment to organizational goals.

In many offices, people work like robots, exist like ghosts and are paid peanuts which further strains the worker-employer relationship.

Employees fear to discuss issues regarding an improved pay or better work condition so as not to be blacklisted by the ranks.

The Right Management Global Career Conversation Study found that 46% of Brits have never taken part in a high quality discussion with their boss on issues about their career.

In addition, 84% of employees only spoke with the manager about career issues once or twice in a year.

The study examined the views of 4,402 global employees aged between 25 and 55 to understand to what extent employers are helping them manage their careers.

It found that less than a third (31 per cent) feel confident enough in their ability to initiate a conversation outside of annual performance reviews.

Ian Symes, Managing Director at Right Management said: “It’s time for organisations to relinquish career development models that are almost 50 years out of date.

“Career conversations need a completely different approach to meet employees’ changing needs and ensure an engaged and high-performing workforce. 

“Employers need to start proving that they’re serious about nurturing this ‘career for me’ expectation that the next wave of talent demands.

A performance review just once a year falls drastically short of achieving that.

“The fundamental challenge is that a majority of managers are unequipped to take action and drive the step change required. Managers fear having meaningful career conversations with their staff as they cannot meet expectations such as promotion or training investment, however careers are changing rapidly and employees are increasingly seeking opportunities for personal growth, new experiences and additional responsibility.

If businesses continue to fail to take action, the exit door will continue to become even draughtier and business performance and profits will undoubtedly suffer as a result.”

The study uncovers major benefits of better career conversations, including:

– 76 per cent surveyed would feel more engaged in their work

– 75 per cent state they would be happier in the work they do

– 68 per cent say they would be more likely to share ideas

– 68 per cent are more likely to recommend their employer to a friend

– 73 per cent say they would be more likely to stay in the organisation

Career conversations should be taken seriously by managers to achieve both short term and long term goals for every organization.