Most of the U.S. workers surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reported that inadequate management training contributes significantly to workplace stress.

In the survey, 84 percent of respondents said poorly-trained people managers create a lot of unnecessary work and stress. Fifty-seven percent said managers in their workplace could benefit from additional training on how to be a better people manager.

Half of surveyed workers stated that their own job performance would improve if their direct supervisor received more training in people management skills.

The survey gathered employees' views on how well equipped their supervisors are to manage people, which managerial skills are most important, and how improved management practices could affect individual contributors' performance. SHRM's broader research on workplace stress has also identified poor leadership as a major contributor to employee stress levels.

Source: https://www.shrm.org/mena/about/press-room/survey-84-percent-u-s-workers-blame-bad-managers-creating-unnecessary-stress

So, the question for our readers is: Are Untrained Managers Responsible For Workplace Stress?

Here is the opinion of one of the McCalmon editorial staff:

Jack McCalmon, Esq.

Untrained managers and supervisors are often the first targets when employees look for a cause of workplace stress. In my experience, however, the reality is more complicated.

Poor "people skills" at any point of contact in the workday can elevate stress levels. That can be a manager who avoids hard conversations, a coworker who is chronically negative, a customer who is verbally abusive, or a vendor who disrespects your team.

We also have to recognize that employees do not walk through the door as blank slates. They bring with them financial worries, family conflict, health issues, and other personal pressures. Those stressors do not stay in the parking lot. They color how employees hear feedback, respond to change, and interpret ordinary workplace friction. When personal stress meets a poorly trained or emotionally unaware "people person," the effect is almost always negative.

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