Almost three-quarters (73%) of senior decision-makers within UK businesses said their roles had become more complex since 2020.
This is according to a study by Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS), one of the world’s leading business schools. It commissioned Censuswide to survey 500 managers, directors and C-suite executives within UK businesses.
When asked what factors had contributed to this increased complexity, the most common response was the emergence of new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). More than three in 10 (31%) respondents selected this as one of the main reasons for their jobs getting harder.
Other key factors were increased cybersecurity and data privacy risks (28%), the performance of the UK economy (27%) and new regulation and legislation (also 27%).
Elsewhere, a quarter (25%) of the business leaders surveyed said that pressure on meeting expectations around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) had been a contributor to the greater complexity of their roles over the past five years. The same number (25%) cited the rise of remote working, while 21% pointed to employees’ pay demands.
Stuart Wells, Managing Director of Executive Education at Alliance Manchester Business School,said: “Over recent years, significant new pressures have been placed on business leaders, and evidently this has translated into the vast majority feeling as though their roles have become far more complex.”
