Training Supervisors: The Key to Legal Compliance and Effective Leadership

by Vanessa M. Greene, J.D.; Employment Law Subject Matter Expert, CalChamber

The majority of American workers — 82 percent, to be exact — say they would potentially quit their job because of a bad manager, according to a survey by GoodHire, a background check company. And that number reached 83 percent in the science and technology industry, 84 percent in education, 86 percent in finance and insurance, and 88 percent in health care.

Add to that the fact that, according to McKinsey & Company, 56 percent of American workers claim their boss is either mildly or highly toxic, and 75 percent say their boss “is the most stressful part of their workday,” and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. And this is especially disastrous since stress effects on employees, according to a study titled Ineffective-Leader-Induced Occupational Stress, “decrease organizational commitment and productivity leading to increased absenteeism and turnover” — which is quite costly for employers.

Ultimately, a manager's effect on a workplace is so significant, according to Gallup CEO Jon Clifton, that the analytics and advisory firm “can predict 70 percent of the variance in team engagement just by getting to know the boss.”

And that’s not the worst of it! Supervisors can also create legal liabilities for employers. So, it’s relatively easy to draw this conclusion: Training supervisors is essential.