Listen too much! Effect of supervisors’ ratio of listening and speaking in one-on-one meetings on subordinates’ motivation

Existing literature on one-on-one meetings has emphasized the importance of the supervisor’s listening attitude. Hence, this study targeted 1,367 full-time employees working in 10 industries in Japan and clarified the effect of supervisors’ attitudes on subordinates’ motivation from supervisors/subordinates’ perspectives. From the supervisor’s perspective, they recognized that the more the supervisor listened, the more motivated the subordinates would be. However, from the perspective of subordinates, they recognized that their motivation would increase if their superiors spoke and listened equally. HR practitioners should update their training programs so that managers recognize that employees want to be listened to and receive supervisor feedback.