The Relationship Between the Manager and Employees

I recently came across a survey that reported U.S. employees have the most positive opinions and friendliest relationships with their managers. So good job employers!

According to the international ''Employees Assess Their Manager'' survey from Chicago-based SSP-BPI Group, 86 percent of U.S. employees reported a good opinion of their immediate supervisor. The study also had employees describe their relationship with their immediate supervisors and 62 percent of U.S. employees said it was ''friendly,'' while 33 percent said ''purely professional.'' The U.K., Germany and Switzerland also reported similar results, while other European countries, including France, reported more distant relationships with their managers.

The working relationships between supervisors and employees are different in each country and the responses of U.S. employees, who gave their supervisors the highest ratings of any of the 10 countries in the survey, show that professional skills and personal friendliness go hand-in-hand. When asked if their supervisor was ''competent,'' 90 percent said yes, while 90 percent said yes to ''friendly,'' 87 percent to ''talented,'' 87 percent ''honest,'' and 83 percent ''open to feedback.''

''As U.S. companies are becoming more global, it's important for leaders to understand how employees around the world view their managers and what they expect from them,'' said Juan Luis Goujon, CEO of SSP-BPI Group. ''According to the survey, the U.S. has a competitive advantage when it comes to employees feeling positive about their supervisors. This is particularly important because companies today require employees to be more engaged in order to achieve business results. Most U.S. supervisors appear to be providing a good work environment and direction, but employees still want greater recognition and support.''

You can see more results from the survey, including more international findings, online. Are these results surprising to you? Have you worked in an international capacity and have you seen some of these results first-hand? Please share!

~Kimberly Maul