Why do bosses in Singapore demote employees?

Have you ever demoted an employee? If you have, you're not alone. A new survey of bosses in Singapore revealed that demotions are more common than some may think.

According to the findings, independently commissioned by specialist recruiter Robert Half, 30% of Singapore business leaders have demoted an employee at their company.

Reasons cited for demotion include:

• The employee was not succeeding in the new role (46%)
• Poor performance (37%)
• Organisational restructuring / the position has been eliminated (15%)
• The employee volunteered to be demoted (2%)

While the bulk of employees (54%) handled the news as gracefully as possible, 21% got upset and lost interest in their work and 18% quit in response. Only 7% took a proactive approach and focused on excelling in their new position.

While employees should keep emotions in check and stay professional, companies have a part to play too.

Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, Managing Director of Robert Half Singapore, said: "Companies need to be very clear in their communication about the reason why the demotion happened, what the consequences are, what the new position entails and what the employee’s options are."