7 August – Highlights

We may be deep into the summer, but management teething troubles won’t be taking any time off. We’re now in the age of hybrid working, and you may well have been reminded just how hard it can be to take the holiday you deserve – while continuing to be a great manager. 

As hybrid working is still relatively new, you shouldn’t worry if you’re still struggling to get your head around best practice. For starters, how do you resolve a disagreement when the people involved aren’t even in the same room? You can read our tips here. 

Gunking the system

Of course, hybrid isn’t the only major advance in workplace tech that managers may be struggling to deal with. 

Anthony Painter, CMI’s director of policy and external affairs, has been discussing how AI “may gunk up the system again” when it comes to productivity in the four-day working week.

Toxic drivers

Traditional workplaces have their problems, too. In this week’s newsletter you’ll also find tips on managing political disagreements and how to spot and deal with bullying at work. But while these issues are nothing new, they remain absolutely crucial. CMI’s research has found that bad managers and toxic work culture are causing one in three staff to walk. 

Another major cause of discontent at work is inequality. Julia Gillard, formerly prime minister of Australia, appears on the latest episode of CMI’s 'The Leading Issue' podcast, to discuss businesses that fail to act on their gender pay gap data, and whether they should be named and shamed. Elsewhere, Wired Gov used the CMI toolkit ‘Close Your Gender Pay Gap’ in an article on the same topic.

Support our managers

One of the major hurdles in tackling these difficult problems is that managers don’t have enough training in the first place. CMI’s ‘Accidental Managers’ data has been cited recently in Harper’s Bazaar, Voice of Islam and HR Zone. In France, Hellowork Place, a trade website, compared CMI’s polling with data on 600 French managers and found a similar lack of quality management training there too.

Be the change

So, beyond requesting better training and support in personal development, what can managers do themselves to make things better? They can start by setting a strong example.  

A CMI study on this subject was used in this article suggesting eight ways to improve your personal work ethic. 

A good first step would be to commit to switching off your work devices when you’re on holiday. And perhaps consider those tips in depth in your first week back?

For now – enjoy your summer! 

Best,

Ian

Image: Shutterstock / LADYMAYPIX