Most Australian workers lack faith in their boss

Australian workers believe their workplaces suffer from poor leadership and need better management, according to a survey into workplace management by the Centre for Workplace Leadership at the University of Melbourne. 

The survey found that 75% of Australian workers believe that their workplaces need both better management and leadership. 

The representative survey of over 2,000 workers found a quarter of the Australian workforce do not have someone in their workplace they look up to as a good leader, while 35% of senior and middle managers also lacked a workplace role model. 

"Australian workers lack faith in their leaders," said Professor Peter Gahan, the Director of the Centre for Workplace Leadership. 

"Leadership is the often neglected ingredient in productivity with studies showing that employees who have greater job satisfaction and motivation create workplaces that have productivity gains of 30%."

The survey findings are being released today to mark the official launch of the Centre for Workplace Leadership by the Federal Employment Minister, Senator Eric Abetz.   

University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis said the Centre for is an exciting venture. 

"Created as a co-investment between the Commonwealth Government, the University of Melbourne and industry, the Centre for Workplace Leadership represents an exciting innovation in how we generate and harness new insights and thinking around leadership," he said. 

"We want to provide an opportunity for all Australian workplaces, irrespective of their size or location, to access cutting edge ideas through robust research, and mobilise them in practical ways in the workplace" said Professor Gahan. 

"We have already developed pioneering partnerships with Cisco and Bendigo & Adelaide Bank, among others, but the Centre is strongly aiming to help small and medium enterprises in particular to fulfil their productivity potential through smarter management training and leadership" continued Professor Gahan.