The world of work is full of contradictions. Some want more autonomy while dreaming of a Jupiterian chiefdom. “We don’t need no education/We don’t need no thought control/No dark sarcasm in the classroom/Teacher, leave them kids alone” : Pink Floyd’s anthem has been emulated. The child king challenges authority in schools and the teachers’ discomfort is deplored. Elsewhere, they say they are looking for order, but the police feel unloved. It is no longer even a political question but a paradox which crosses our century. Managers are no exception: they were the stuff of dreams the day before yesterday – “You will be a boss, my son” – they were criticized yesterday on social networks – #balancetastartup. Now, the 32% of people who declare that they exercise a management function, or around 8 million individuals (Ifop/Jean-Jaurès Foundation estimate, September 2022), are being asked to be held accountable. The outcome would be “360° feedback”, imported to France from the United States: this reverse evaluation allows you to rate your boss anonymously, while managers carry out their own self-evaluation. These are 20% of executives who do not want to manage a team, 27% among 35-49 year olds, we learn in the study “These executives who do not want (or no longer) to be managers” (September 2021, Opinionway /Indeed). Among manager respondents, 66% find this role stressful and 43% consider that it represents too much responsibility.
There is not a single causal link but cumulative causes: 1 in 4 executives believe that their mental health has deteriorated over the past two years (Apec, September 2022). For managers, it is worse: 65% have the feeling of an insurmountable workload (compared to 47% for non-managerial executives), 62% feel a feeling of professional burnout (compared to 48%) and 64%, intense stress (compared to 48%). Skip to “quiet exit” or “minimum Monday” – “bare minimum Monday (BMM)” ? The cost of disengagement and unavailability is around 14,310 euros per year per employee (Mozart Consulting/Ibet, well-being at work index 2020).
Another factor, money, which is not incidental, since, “if we have been talking about ‘quest for meaning’ for several years already and 90% of executives declare paying significant attention to the company’s values for which they apply for, it seems that it is not yet the No. 1 priority for executives in France: it is indeed remuneration that remains in mind” (Rober Walters survey, December 2023). 84% of them also want “above all” for their organization to focus on their work/personal life balance: being fully committed to the company in “soldier monk” mode, without counting your hours, is no longer of interest big world. No more than managing your former colleagues: professional friendships would increase productivity and engagement (Gallup, 2018). “Friendship contributes to the good physical and psychological health of individuals” (“Friendship relations”, University of Sherbrooke, 2015): exchanging a promotion for a friendship is no longer trendy.
Rethinking the role of the manager
“Why spend over forty hours away from your family every week just to lose the majority of your salary on childcare? So it’s up to leaders to make it easier for mothers [NDLR : et les pères] who work to say yes to remaining in the job market”, analyzes Gallup again. The sense of commitment is the first way to find managers. It is up to the company to convince of the values it displays.
Recognition through salary, titles and “thank you” is the second way to re-enchant the profession. The restoration of managerial authority is the third. Forgotten “vintage authority” and unequal, “disguised as superiority”, which causes the worst, according to Laurent Kollen and Guillaume Villaros (So that the company continues to make us dreamr, Gereso, 2022). Let’s reinvent it. “To be effective, authority must be of three types, indicate the authors. First, it must be recognized. I obey because I agree and not because I submit. Second, to be respected, the authority must be respectable. It must not limit freedoms, under penalty of harming the authority in question. Third, the authority must offer autonomy. I agreed to obey because I am autonomous .” Final challenge: that of “servant leadership”, the manager serving his teams and not the other way around. And the 360° feedback method takes on a whole new meaning.
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