How much bad managers are costing companies

Forget burnout, the real workplace crisis might be that your boss just doesn’t get their employees.

A new national survey from The Predictive Index (PI) found that nearly half of workers feel misunderstood by their managers, with 46 per cent saying their boss only somewhat or rarely understands their contributions. This is resulting in missed promotions, undervalued work and a growing risk of employee turnover.

“We’ve long focused on workload-related burnout, but our research reveals a more fundamental issue at play,” said Matt Poepsel, vice president and godfather of talent optimization at PI. “When employees don’t feel accurately seen or understood, it creates a perception gap that directly impacts retention, performance and innovation.”

The 2025 Workplace Perception Gap Survey, conducted by Dynata, polled 1,000 people. It found that 44 per cent of employees say they’ve been passed over for raises, promotions or projects because of misperceptions about their skills or work style. Nearly half (48 per cent) feel their contributions are consistently undervalued by leadership.

The disconnect is especially sharp for younger workers. Among Gen Z employees, 62 per cent report being overlooked due to misperceptions, 18 points higher than the overall average. More than half say the feedback they get from managers doesn’t match how they see themselves.

That’s a problem, considering Gen Z is expected to make up 30 per cent of the workforce by 2030, the report noted.

The survey also points to solutions. Forty-four per cent of workers say better leadership training would help managers understand their teams. Another 45 per cent want more frequent and meaningful feedback. And 80 per cent of Gen Z respondents believe behavioural assessments could help teams better understand each other’s strengths and work styles.

“Traditional leadership approaches are failing to recognize the diverse behavioural drives and work styles that make teams successful,” said Poepsel. “Behavioural data provides the objective insights managers need to truly see, understand and develop their people, including those whose strengths may not always be immediately recognized.”

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