Moreover, only 20% regard their bosses as strong leaders and highly competent in terms of the social corporate climate. This surprisingly negative appraisal of managers is prevalent in all industries, but the tendency is strongest in the public sector.

An interesting comparison can be drawn between these results and the outcome of a study, which was conducted in the United States, also by NFO Infratest in which about 42% cent of American employees described their bosses as weak in leadership terms and incompetent in social matters.

For the representative study NFO Infratest conducted more than 26,000 appraisal interviews in Germany at the end of 2000.