Problem Managers Plague Canadian Workplaces

The majority of Canadian HR professionals (73%) believe that managers who bully, speak inappropriately to staff, play favourites or are disrespectful are a significant problem in today’s workplace. This has negative implications on employee engagement, turnover and workplace morale, according to a recent survey by the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA). However, evidence shows that most organizations will tolerate at least some managerial misbehaviour as long as they’re getting results.

“Problem managers fall into different camps,” says Claude Balthazard, HRPA’s director of HR excellence. “There are managers who are poorly trained or promoted to management for the wrong reasons, and there are those managers whose values and attitudes are at odds with that of the organization. Management training can prove to be useful for the first group but is not helpful for the ‘bad apples’ out there.”