Brazil Survey Links Retention to Manager Quality

The survey, part of the Mapa do RH & DP 2026, was conducted by Offerwise and included 657 leaders and employees across Brazil. It shows a gap between what managers say they are doing and what workers say they are experiencing.

That disconnect is most visible in development. While 68% of leaders said they actively support their teams’ growth, only 45% of employees said they felt supported. On communication, 95% of leaders rated themselves positively, compared with 75% of employees. And 28% of workers said their managers only listen occasionally or not at all.

For investors, the broader implication is that retention risk is no longer just an internal HR issue; it is a management-quality issue with direct cost consequences. Higher turnover raises hiring and training expenses, disrupts operations and can pressure margins in labor-intensive businesses.

The findings also echo broader labor-market research. A Gallup survey of 717 U.S. workers who left jobs voluntarily found 42% believed the employer or manager could have done something to prevent their departure, and 70% of those cited management-related fixes such as better relationships, fewer internal problems or more growth opportunities.

The message is that retention depends on whether companies can turn formal people programs into actual day-to-day management. HR can design the framework, but managers determine whether workers stay long enough for those policies to matter.

As labor-market conditions stay uneven, the winners will be employers that invest in manager training and career paths; the losers will be firms that keep treating retention as a back-office function.