Line managers are bereft of the skills necessary to operate in the 21st century and worry about being fired due to the introduction of a flexible working policy according to workplace specialists.

In a roundtable discussion chaired by telecoms giant BT, Philip Flaxton, chief executive at not-for-profit organisation Work Wise UK, said managers were reluctant to embrace changes in the workplace.
"They have the attitude: 'If we empower people to work flexibly, how long before we are no longer needed?'" he said.

Caroline Walker, director for people and policy of BT commented that there was a myth that office workers supplied managers with complete control.
"Managers are afraid of losing their status, their big offices and their prestige," she said.
"HR should be telling managers that they have status because they deliver a service, not because they tell people what to do."

Many BT staff work flexibly with 70% choosing to do so with 13% home-based.
John Gundry, director at training consultancy Knowledge Ability, said many managers were hiding behind a myth flexible workers untrustworthy. "They are afraid to say that they are afraid of losing their jobs," Gundry added that many bosses were uneasy with managing a 21st century workforce, but armed with old fashioned skills, they felt anxious, inferior and resistant to change.

Waters said: "Managers have to ask the question: 'How can I make my team happier?' However, we still face a problem of having to teach people how to manage."