Influence of employee-manager relationship on employee performance and productivity

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Organizational performance can be seen as dependent on employee job performance and productivity. One of the factors that influence employee job performance and productivity is the working relationship between employees and their managers. This paper examines the influence of the relationship between employees and their managers on enhancing employee performance and productivity. The study was conducted in a financial organization based in Durban (South Africa). A quantitative approach was utilized with a census method targeting a total population of 40 administrative employees. A questionnaire was constructed based on the research aims and was administered to all 40 respondents. As a result, the response rate was 65%. Key findings indicated that the relationship between managers and employees did affect employee performance and productivity. A positive relationship with a manager is closely linked to increased motivation and performance, while a negative relationship is linked with poor performance. An overall negative impact and high level of dissatisfaction amongst employees were found due to the current bureaucratic management style that managers adopt in their organization. Thus, it makes employees less productive and decreases their work performance. Furthermore, it was found that employees’ perception of their relationship with managers plays a significant role in predicting job performance. Recommendations for a better working relationship to promote employee performance and productivity include manager-employee training, team building activities, skills development programs for managers, employee rewards and recognition, increased communication platforms, and more consideration for employee well-being.

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    • Figure 1. Current working relationship with managers
    • Figure 2. Current management style
    • Figure 3. Satisfaction with current management style
    • Figure 4. Rating of current management style
    • Figure 5. Impact of current management style
    • Figure 6. Current management style impact on performance and productivity
    • Figure 7. Relationship strength between employee and manager
    • Figure 8. Existing relationship challenges
    • Figure 9. Recommendations for a better working relationship
    • Conceptualization
      Nosipho Pearl Dlamini, Sachin Suknunan, Anrusha Bhana
    • Data curation
      Nosipho Pearl Dlamini
    • Formal Analysis
      Nosipho Pearl Dlamini
    • Investigation
      Nosipho Pearl Dlamini, Sachin Suknunan
    • Methodology
      Nosipho Pearl Dlamini, Sachin Suknunan, Anrusha Bhana
    • Project administration
      Nosipho Pearl Dlamini, Sachin Suknunan
    • Resources
      Nosipho Pearl Dlamini, Sachin Suknunan
    • Validation
      Nosipho Pearl Dlamini, Sachin Suknunan, Anrusha Bhana
    • Visualization
      Nosipho Pearl Dlamini
    • Writing – original draft
      Nosipho Pearl Dlamini
    • Software
      Sachin Suknunan
    • Supervision
      Sachin Suknunan
    • Writing – review & editing
      Sachin Suknunan, Anrusha Bhana