CHROs must realign managers with business objectives, Gartner says

Managers must acknowledge the inevitability of employee dissatisfaction to avoid burnout, with new research finding that despite one in two (47 per cent) working harder than last year, they did not receive a proportionate return.

With pressures to deliver more on reduced budgets and stagnant headcounts, the managers are facing a challenging shift to deliver on organisational goals, said Jonathan Tabah (pictured), director analyst at Gartner’s HR Practice.

Chief human resources officers (CHROs) must reset expectations by acknowledging the inevitability of some employee dissatisfaction during periods of significant change, Gartner stressed. HR leaders must also shift manager selection and training in the operational and tactical components of their roles, such as dynamic resource allocation, bandwidth management, AI integration, and career facilitation, so that they can deliver better business outcomes, it added.

“Instead of trying to resolve personal discontent, managers are encouraged to focus on factors they can control: aligning work with employee interests, reinforcing perceptions of fairness, helping teams prioritise, and recognising contributions,” Gartner said.

In its recent report, From People-First to Performance-First: Rethinking Manager Effectiveness, Gartner found a trend of managers prioritising employee engagement and holistic support since the pandemic, based on analysis of responses from 2,947 employees and managers between November and December 2025.

The data revealed that two in three managers have noted that managing people takes over driving organisational goals, despite performance and productivity rising to the top of their agendas.

Further, its findings revealed that 62 per cent of managers felt obliged to protect their teams despite declining business performance and employee satisfaction – this responsibility has led to greater burnout outcomes for these managers.

“Australian managers have heard the call to support employees as whole people, often leading them to prioritise employee interests over the needs of the business,” said Tabah.

“This undermines both performance and employee satisfaction, while directly undermining the organisation’s high-performance initiatives.”

In addition, the findings revealed that 47 per cent of managers report increased expectations placed on them, adding that they are working harder today than they were a year ago, with 66 per cent saying they put managing people on their teams above driving progress towards organisational goals and priorities.

“In fact, the average manager reports spending nearly one-quarter of their time engaging with employees on personal and emotional issues,” said Tony Guadagni, director analyst in the company’s HR practice.

Further, the data found that while 39 per cent of employees agreed that their manager was effective at providing clear developmental feedback, 41 per cent felt that their manager helped them to prioritise their work.

Many of the managers behind these outcomes felt they held primary responsibility for a positive employee experience (71 per cent), with 45 per cent saying they made decisions that prioritised employee interests over the business. “Managers spend an average of nine hours a week, which equates to more than 20 per cent of their working time, addressing employees’ personal and emotional concerns,” Guadagni said.

“Today, business leaders are contending with a persistently fragile economy, the disruptive integration of GenAI and rising geopolitical volatility,” said Tess Lawrence, principal analyst in the HR practice.

“As a result, performance and productivity have moved ahead of engagement and retention as top workforce priorities.”

Gartner said: “While the benefits of a strong relationship between managers and employees are well documented, for many managers, a personal affinity for employees can lead to a ‘loyalty trap’ that runs at odds with the best interests of the organisation.“

CHROs must reset manager objectivity and shift loyalty from the individual worker to the collective, Gartner said. “This is not about devaluing individual relationships, but about aligning them with the performance-first management framework,” it added.

“To build more objective managers, CHROs need to be prepared to offer holistic training, tools, and consistent reinforcement to help managers make business-first decisions as they manage their teams.”

Carlos Tse

Carlos Tse is a graduate journalist writing for Accountants Daily, HR Leader, Lawyers Weekly.

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