THE INVISIBLE TRIGGER: EXPLORING THE PSYCHO BEHAVIOURAL UNDERPINNINGS OF INEFFECTIVE MANAGERIAL BEHAVIOURS

Abstract

An organisation’s performance is increasingly being governed not just by the profits generated but by its approach to building an employee centric environment in which every employee is committed to the organisational goals. This demands high level of engagement, as a growing body of research establishes the positive impact of employee engagement on productivity, retention, innovation and overall performance. As a result, organisations have pumped up investments in engagement enhancement initiatives. Despite such measures, many firms continue to struggle with disengaged workforces. One main reason is that in a bid to enhance engagement, firms focus on employees rather than employers. Behaviour of managers is an aspect which tends to be often overlooked though it plays a critical role in driving engagement. This study seeks to examine managerial behaviours which might be negatively impacting employee engagement and digs further to explore a deeper psychological dimension of managerial behaviour. Are there underlying causes of such ineffective behaviours of managers? Are these behaviours rooted in unresolved inner feelings and emotional states of managers themselves? These are the questions which this study aims to find answers to. Thus, this paper investigates how certain inner emotional conditions in managers could manifest externally through ineffective behaviours. These invisible linkages between the inner feelings of managers and their behaviours which leads to poor organisational performance through adversely impacted employee engagement are explored in depth.