Management Support

How supportive is your manager or supervisor? Does he or she give you recognition for work well done, listen to your concerns, communicate with you regularly, or provide you with challenging opportunities? Research has found that employees with supportive managers or supervisors report less stress and higher productivity than employees with unsupportive managers. Arguably, any work and family policies that may be offered in an organization will likely be ineffective if an employee’s manager or supervisor does not support them. For many, who you work for is more important than where you work.

Duxbury and Higgins have developed a measure of perceived supervisor or management support based on sixteen behaviours that are associated with being a supportive or non-supportive supervisor or manager. Benchmark data are used to categorize managers into three groups: those that are “supportive”; those that are “mixed” (they are sometimes supportive and sometimes not); and those that are “non-supportive”. We present data below on the number of employees who see their manager or supervisor as "supportive".

How does manager support vary across Canada? As can been seen from the chart below, perceived management support among professional employees is highest in the Maritimes (55 percent) and lowest in Ontario and the Prairies (each at 46 percent). These findings would suggest that the majority of Canadian employees (professional sample) do not see their manager as supportive. This should be of concern to employers and employees alike.

Professional Employees in the Maritimes
Have Higher Perceived Management Support

Additional Charts and Information