Property and real estate workers most likely to quit job to flee boss

Almost a third (29%) of workers in the property and real estate industry would leave their job because of poor leadership, according to global recruiter Randstad.

This is the highest of all sectors in the poll of almost 9,000 workers across the UK.

Less than a quarter (23%) of design engineers, project engineers and other professionals involved in various engineering disciplines say they would leave their job because their organisation showed such poor leadership.

While the percentage of engineers was the same as the percentage of accountants and finance professionals, by contrast, only 21% of quantity surveyors, site managers, labourers, and project managers working in construction said poor management would drive them to quit – suggesting that leaders in construction are better than those in engineering.

Owen Goodhead, managing director of Randstad Construction, Property & Engineering said: “Having the right manager can make your working life easier and a lot more enjoyable. My advice to people is, when you’re going for a job interview, don’t be afraid to ask your new boss directly about their preferred management style. How does it fit with your preferred style? And, if you have more than one interviewer, watch how the hiring manager interacts with their colleagues. 

“Paying attention to your potential new manager during the interview will help you gain a better understanding what kind of leader they are, you wouldn’t want to leave it too late and end up with a bad boss.  Lastly, try to figure out whether your new boss will be the mentor and leader you’re looking for to help drive your career forwards. Listen to the questions they ask you and try to understand what their priorities are.  If they ask about your goals and how you plan to reach them, you can assume that they have an interest in your professional development. 

“Working for a manager with no interest in your future just feels like a waste of time; they should want you to succeed as much as you do. Are they looking for someone who is going to show leadership skills and be a potential leader, or someone who will follow instructions precisely? Look out for questions about times when you have used your initiative – or if they want to know about previous responsibilities in past jobs. If you’re hoping to move into a more supervisory position these types of questions could be key.”

In the worst sector, Property & Real Estate activities – including facilities managers – 29% said they wanted to leave.

Meanwhile only 14% of skilled tradesmen – including handymen and maintenance engineers – say they would leave their current job because of the quality of the management – the best in the country.

Goodhead added: “This just goes to show how inaccurate the stereotype of the selfish, inconsiderate white van man is. Far from being overly aggressive, they’re the best leaders in the country!”

CHART 1: I WOULD LEAVE MY JOB BECAUSE MY ORGANISATION SHOWS POOR LEADERSHIP

SOME POSITIVES FOR PROPERTY PROFESSIONALS

There was some upside for managers working in Property. When asked if strong management was also a reason to stay in their jobs, 20% of workers in the sector said it was.

Owen Goodhead continued: “The quality of leadership across industries is clearly very mixed if leadership is both a significant reason to quit and a big reason to stay.  As your career in the industry progresses, there is every chance you will be handed a management role, asked to manage a team or head up a project, which can take you out of your comfort zone if it’s not something you’ve done before. 

“Yet, you will be expected to jump straight in and put into practice the necessary leadership skills without any hitches.  Property is a competitive industry and you need to be able to show your boss you are ready for that next challenge.  Communication is often a differentiator.  You can have many leadership skills but if your communication is a bit lacking you will probably hit a professional ceiling. Being able to listen and understand are vital skills for being a good leader. Not only do you need to listen to understand a problem, you need to listen to what co-workers, or your team, say and figure out what inspires and motivates them.  You’ll need to be able to process complex and important information while also being able to lend an ear to your team members’ issues and concerns. If you’re unable to listen effectively it can lead to costly mistakes and misunderstandings.”

The research also suggested the UK is seeing a revival in the popularity of strong bosses. In a long-running poll of employees working in the UK, sampling more than 62,000 people and now in its eighth year, Randstad has tracked the attractiveness of strong leadership as a factor in influencing candidates’ views of potential employers.

In 2012, just 14% of employees said strong management was an important factor in attracting them to a new employer. By 2014, this had risen to 15% of potential employees, rising to 17% in 2015 and 24% in 2017. It has now risen to 28%.

CHART 2: Strong Leadership Is an Attractive Quality In A Potential Employer

Goodhead concluded: “The rise of the visionary tech billionaire - mainly, but not exclusively, based in the States - has begun to make strong leadership fashionable again here in the UK. Elon Musk began delivery of the four-door Tesla Model S in 2012.  In the same year, Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In, became the first woman to serve on the board of Facebook. 

“Mark Zuckerburg took Facebook public in 2012 – they’ve made films about him as well, as Steve Jobs who propelled Apple to become the world's most valuable publicly traded company.  ames Dyson, Jeff Bezos, and Arianna Huffington have become internationally renowned leaders. Their accomplishments and their extraordinarily high profiles have reignited a belief in strong leadership across the British workforce. It’s just a shame that so few of these role-models are British.”