Most Middle Managers Roughly Satisfied With Their Jobs

2-19-2009
by Racheal Lee Mei Nyee

KUALA LUMPUR: Some 80% of the middle managers in Malaysia are roughly satisfied with working in their current organisations, Accentures director Low Choy Huat said.

Quoting the study Middle Manager Outlook: Malaysia Overview of Findings, he said about 30% of middle managers are highly satisfied with their jobs, while more than half (53%) are somewhat satisfied with their jobs.

The three main reasons for job dissatisfaction are insufficient pay and benefits, insufficient training and development, as well as lack of prospect and advancement, Low said at a media briefing here yesterday.

Interestingly, the most frustrating aspects for middle managers here are different from their reasons for job dissatisfaction, Low said.

The managers are most frustrated by not getting credit for the work they do and having no clear career path, with 58% of those surveyed voting for each of the reasons.

Commissioned by Accenture, the annual survey was conducted by International Communications Research (ICR) last November to assess middle managers outlook on their current job situations and involved 17 countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, France and Malaysia.

The survey is the second by Accenture in Malaysia and the fifth globally.

In Malaysia, the consulting firm conducted a total of 157 web-based interviews among middle managers across all sectors with average age of 35, average working experience of seven years and average income of RM10,000 per month.

The report also showed that about 69% of the middle managers are considering another job but are not actively looking, while some 8% of them are actively looking for a new job.

The most important things this group is looking for in a job are salary and compensation (88%), benefits (66%) and flexible working hours (66%).

Nevertheless, Low believes that with the current global financial crisis, these middle managers will be less demanding and will take steps to improve their job security such as working harder and longer hours.

He said that the financial meltdown is a good opportunity for middle managers to enhance their leadership skill to better position themselves when the economy recovers.

He added that companies top management should have more engagement with the middle managers as they are the future leaders, by understanding the employees needs, getting feedback and comments as well as discussion.

These middle managers are neither the top management nor the workers. They are stuck in between what we call the frozen middle. They take management strategies and execute them, but very often top management would neglect this group of people.

The top management should engage with the middle managers, Low said, adding that companies are now focusing more on deployment and engagement, rather than employment.

About 57% of the middle managers surveyed said the economy is having some effect on their work environment, 48% of them felt that the economy is having a negative effect while 38% are concerned that they could lose their jobs.

This negative effect is felt more strongly among those looking for or at least considering a new job, Low said.

Asked about the most challenging generations to work with or manage, some 42% of the middle managers said it is Generation Y or the Millennial group, while 34% said it is Generation X, due to communication styles (66%), work ethics (65%) and motivation (59%).