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Press Release: American Workers are Anxious, Losing Sleep and Considering Jumping Ship Due to Unprepared First-Time Managers

Oji Editorial Staff | Jul 17, 2023
Press Release: American Workers are Anxious, Losing Sleep and Considering Jumping Ship Due to Unprepared First-Time Managers

Oji Leadership Poll finds skills deficit in newly-minted managers negatively impacts teams, careers, and business results

SAN FRANCISCO, July 18, 2023 / PRNewswire/-- Oji Life Lab, the creator of mastery-centered leadership learning solutions, today announced the results of nationwide research that examined how the performance of first-time managers impacts their teams. The research, conducted with 2,066 American adults by Harris Research in June 2023, is one of the deepest investigations of the skills and impacts of first-time managers.


The Oji Leadership Poll found that 4 in 10 employees felt “stress or anxiety about going to work” due to a first-time manager, more than a third lacked motivation, and 1 in 5 had trouble sleeping as a result. These factors and others ultimately resulted in more than a third wanting to leave their companies entirely.


These impacts, with real business and human costs, are the result of new managers’ inadequate skills and training. Oji found significant skills gaps, with 4 in 10 workers rating their first-time managers as being weak at “reducing conflict”, “handling difficult situations”, “providing quality feedback”, “running a productive meeting” and “making decisions”.


Older employees were especially likely to rate first-time managers negatively with more than half of workers 55+ rating them weak on these skills. Women over 55 were the most likely to rate new managers as weak at “handling difficult situations” (62%) and “providing feedback” (59%).


For women more broadly, first-time managers had an even greater negative impact, with nearly half of all women feeling stress or anxiety when working for a first-time manager, making them substantially more likely than men (40% vs. 29%) to want to leave their companies. Three in 10 workers of all genders felt working for a first-time manager had a negative impact on their relationships, either at work or at home.


Linda Hill, Harvard Business School professor and best-selling author of Being the Boss commented: “In my research, I’ve seen how strong individual contributors are often promoted to management roles with little or no leadership training, with a ‘sink or swim’ philosophy. It’s no surprise that these untrained leaders often struggle in many areas, compromising the productivity and agility of their teams in these very competitive times.” Dr. Hill’s work underlies Oji’s newly-announced learning program for new managers, Oji Foundations.


Oji’s research showed a striking contrast in respondents’ opinions regarding new managers and their best managers, who were rated about twice as favorably across the same skillsets of “reducing conflict”, “handling difficult situations”, “providing quality feedback”, “running a productive meeting” and “making decisions”. Between 80-89% of workers rated their best managers as strong in these categories.


“We wouldn’t ask a surgeon or a pilot to learn on the job but that’s what we do every time we promote someone to be a first-time manager with no training,” said Matt Kursh, co-founder and CEO, Oji Life Lab. “It’s no surprise that these freshly-minted managers have anxious teams that want to quit; the managers are unskilled at decision-making, cultivating good communications, coaching people to success, and a range of other universal leadership skills. The good news is they can all be mastered, step-by-step.”


For more information on Oji Life Lab, visit https://ojilifelab.com.

About Oji Life Lab
Oji Life Lab offers a growing family of Life Labs that help teams build actual mastery around essential leadership skills. Built with a unique hybrid of step-by-step learning and live video coaching, Oji demonstrates real impact with its  Proof of Impact reporting system. For more information about Oji Life Lab, visit www.ojilifelab.com.

                                                                     

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Oji Leadership Poll conducted by Harris Research June 2023

Have you ever worked for someone who was managing people for the first time?


Total

Gender

Age

N=2066

Female

N=1046

Male

N=997

18-34

N=605

35-44

N=347

45-54

N=337

55-64

N=348

65+

N=429

Yes

862

42%

384

37%

469

47%

283

48%

189

54%

127

39%

121

36%

141

31%

No

828

40%

457

44%

368

37%

207

35%

123

35%

138

42%

157

46%

204

45%

Not sure

338

16%

182

17%

147

15%

76

13%

39

11%

53

16%

57

17%

112

25%

N/A I’ve never had a job

38

2%

22

2%

14

1%

27

5%

7

2%

5

1%

  • 42% of workers have worked for a first-time manager.
  • More men (47%) than women (37%) have had a first-time manager.
  • More than half (55%, 472 of 862) of workers under the age of 45 have worked for a first-time manager.

During the time you worked for a first-time manager, which of the following, if any, did you experience as a result of working for this manager? (Please select all that apply.)

Effects of First-Time Managers

Total

(N=897)

Female

(N=395)

Male

(N=493)

Stress or anxiety about going to work

41%

353

46%

177

36%

171

Loss of confidence (Net)

40%

349

40%

152

41%

191

Loss of confidence in the company overall

31%

267

33%

126

29%

137

Loss of confidence in myself

20%

170

18%

69

21%

99

Lack of motivation to do more/offer suggestions

36%

312

40%

154

33%

154

Desire to leave my company

34%

295

40%

155

29%

135

Desire to change managers by changing jobs/teams within my company

31%

264

33%

129

28%

131

Negative impact on my relationships (Net)

30%

257

27%

105

32%

151

Negative impact on my relationships with co-workers

23%

201

22%

86

24%

114

Negative impact on my relationships with family and/or friends

13%

108

9%

35

15%

72

Negative feelings about my career path

23%

202

25%

96

22%

104

Poor sleep quality (e.g., trouble sleeping)

21%

185

22%

86

20%

 96


Thinking about your experience with this first-time manager, how would you rate their abilities in the following areas? (Respondents who responded Very/Somewhat Weak)

Management Skills

Total

(N=897)

18-34

(283)

35-44

(189)

45-54

(127)

55-64

(121)

65+

(141)

Reducing conflict within our team

378 

44%

98

35%

80

42%

60

47%

69

57% 

70

50%

Handling difficult situations

(e.g., promotions/salary increases, inappropriate behavior)

377

44%

109

38%

68

36%

55

43%

66

54%

79

56%

Providing me with quality feedback

359

42%

85

30%

71

38%

53

42%

65

54%

84

60%

Running a productive meeting

343

40%

92

32%

67

35%

54

43%

64

53%

66

47%

Making decisions

327

38%

77

27%

62

32%

55

43%

59

49%

75

53%

Providing a positive work experience

302

35%

75

26%

58

31%

44

35%

52

43%

72

51%

Listening to my ideas or suggestions

301

35%

75

27%

63

33%

42

33%

62

51%

59

42%


Workers 55+ were most likely to rate first-time managers as weak, especially women.

Management Skills

Total (262)

Female (126)

Male (136)

Providing quality feedback

57% (149)

59% (74)

54% (74)

Handling difficult situations

55% (145)

62% (78)

49% (66)

Reducing conflict within our team

53% (139)

56% (70)

50% (69)

Making decisions

51% (134)

50% (63)

52% (71)

Running a productive meeting

50% (130)

50% (63)

49% (66)


Evaluating management skills for the best manager you’ve ever had and first-time managers

Management Skills

Best Manager

Rated Strong

1st Time Manager Rated Strong

Diff in Rated Strong

Best Manager Rated Weak

1st Time Manager Rated Weak

Diff in Rated Weak

Making decisions

89%

61%

+28%

8%

38%

-30%

Providing a positive work experience

89%

63%

+26%

8%

35%

-27%

Providing quality feedback

86%

57%

+29%

10%

42%

-32%

Handling difficult situations

85%

54%

+31%

10%

44%

-34%

Running a productive meeting

85%

56%

+29%

10%

40%

-30%

Listening to my ideas/suggestions

85%

62%

+23%

10%

35%

-25%

Reducing conflict within team

80%

52%

+28%

12%

44%

-32%

  • Best managers were rated highest (90 - 99%) by older workers in all categories.
  • Best managers were rated consistently across other categories: gender, race, income, children, education, etc.
  • The biggest gaps between best managers and first-time managers were in handling difficult situations, providing quality feedback, running a productive meeting, reducing conflict, and making decisions.
  • First-time managers are 3.5 - 4 times more likely to be rated weak in the management skills surveyed than best managers.

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