4 in 10 Workers Would “Definitely” Confide in Their Boss
13th December 2022
4 in 10 workers in Ireland say they would ‘definitely’ turn to their boss with a personal problem, with a further 3 in 10 saying it’s “possible” that they would. More than 8 in 10 people say their workplace is a ‘healthy’ place to work.
These are among the primary findings of the latest instalment of Taxback.com’s All-Ireland Employee Survey, which surveyed 1,200 employees in SMEs around the country on their view about staff-management relations. The results indicate a largely healthy position for staff wellbeing and employee relations in Irish workplaces.
Speaking of the findings, Marian Ryan, Consumer Tax Manager at Taxback.com (pictured): “On the whole, the findings are encouraging and point to a healthy state of affairs in terms of employee wellbeing within Irish companies. It would appear that people really believe they are supported by their organisation and the people within it.
Interestingly, we noted very little difference between the sexes on the topic – it’s good to know that both men and women feel they can confide in their manager with an issue or difficulty they are experiencing.
The survey demonstrates the shift that has occurred over the years in the approach to employee management. Whereas in the past, traditional management methods would have been very hierarchical, with the boundaries between roles and communication between management and employees being quite rigid and fixed. Nowadays however,
companies take a much more fluid, dynamic and engaged approach to employee relations that places far greater importance on softer skills such as relationship building, communication, understanding, and flexibility.”
Highlights from the Taxback.com’s All-Ireland Employee Survey on Workplace Support include:
•Almost three quarters of employees feel that they could turn to a manager/ boss if they have a personal problem
•9 in every 10 employees asked said there’s at least one person in work they could speak to for help on a work-related issue – 4 in 10 of these said there are “lots” of people they could turn to
•The experience of both men and female workers tend to mirror each other when it comes to workplace support
•Just 1 in 10 said that they definitely would not go to their boss with a personal problem, while the same number of respondents said they couldn’t think of someone in their workplace to speak with regarding a work-related issue
Ms. Ryan went on to comment, “A good boss will want to know if something is affecting their staff or affecting their staff’s performance in their role and will want to understand and to help if possible. For employees it can be worth considering opening up to someone at work if only for the fact that a problem shared is a problem halved. In other cases, a manager or colleague might even be able to help depending on the nature of your problem. Perhaps it’s through additional support with a project, assistance in resolving a human resource issue or conflict with another employee, or maybe you are looking redeployment to another project or team as a result of a difficulty?”
The Taxback.com survey also asked respondents whether they felt, on taking everything into account, that their company was a ‘healthy’ place to work. 8 in 10 respondents agreed with the statement, and a quarter strongly agreed.
Ms. Ryan concluded, “While there are always improvements to be made in every company, it’s very encouraging to see that this many people feel that their workplace is, on the whole, a healthy place to work. It’s good to see Irish companies striving in this regard, although when it comes to down to it, creating a positive and inclusive working environment is something that every company needs to be conscious of and working towards, as the challenge to retain and attract staff is harder than ever. Many people nowadays simply don’t want to work in anything less.”
