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GEORGE TOWN: It's Bosses Day today but not many employees will be celebrating it with their employers.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Mohd Khalid Atan said Bosses Day was not popular here because workers were not treated as “social partners”.

“The gap between the management and staff is too wide. Bosses must change their mindset they need to identify and understand their workers' needs,” he said.

“Workers here respect their employers but the latter need to improve communication with their staff before Bosses Day can gain popularity.”

Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said while bosses were not always popular as they tended to push their employees to the limit, it did not mean that there were no good employers.

He, however, acknowledged that there was room for management to improve.

“Bosses need to have realistic and reasonable expectations.

“Setting unattainable targets only stresses out the employees and backfires on the company as productivity drops,” he noted.

Shamsuddin said increasing productivity was as simple as creating a happy environment.

“If employees wake up and dread going to the office, you may end up with a drop in productivity.”

Permodalan Nasional Bhd president Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman stressed on the need for an innovative culture in management.

“Society has changed. Businesses, managers and leaders ignore these changes at their own peril,” said Hamad, who received the Business Person of the Year Award 2011 from the Asian Academy of Management and Universiti Sains Malaysia on Friday.