Improving line management
Having a good manager is crucial to how we get on at work.
The TUC polled over 2,000 working people on their experiences with their line manager. This report examines the results and makes recommendations on how employers and the government can improve the relationship between line managers and workers.
It found that:
- One in three workers (32%) feel uncomfortable approaching their managers about problems at work
- More than a third (35%) don’t think that their line manager treats them and their colleagues fairly
- Nearly half of respondents (44%) say their line-manager didn’t ensure they knew their rights at work.
The report recommends employers provide better training and support for line managers. It also calls on the government to improve the enforcement of workers’ rights and to do more to increase awareness of workers’ rights.
The work of a line manager is vital. A good line manager improves the working lives of those they manage, as well as enhancing the performance of the organisation they work for. A poor line manager, unfortunately, can have the opposite effect.
In this report, we set out why line managers are so important. We then look at workers’ views on line management and discuss why line management isn’t as good as it might be. We end by setting out some ideas and recommendations for how we can improve line management in the UK.
We argue that to be good in their roles, and to ensure that they’re doing right by those they manage, line managers need training, support and time. Unfortunately, they don’t always currently seem to be getting those.
We therefore need to create incentives for employers to improve line management. We want to see better enforcement of rights, unions allowed access to workplaces, and a legal requirement for employers to display workers’ rights in the workplace.
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