Nearly half of the UK’s managers (43 per cent) fear redundancies at their companies and 38 per cent feel insecure about their jobs.

It doesn’t look promising for business owners with a further 43 per cent of the managers questioned stating they don’t have faith in the skills of their staff.

The research conducted by the Chartered Management Institute had 774 participants across the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Optimism about the UK’s economic performance in 2012 also remains low at just 8 per cent with the instability of the euro among management staff’s top fears.

CMI chief executive Christopher Kinsella says: ‘Sadly, it’s evident that this year has been one of the most difficult UK managers have ever had to face.

‘The quality of staff and managers will be vital to building success in 2012 and will be crucial if organisations are to survive the tough times and succeed next year.’

On a more positive note for business owners, 40 per cent of managers are looking to develop their strategic decision making skills in 2012, with around a third hoping to improve their project management skills (32 per cent) and coaching and mentoring (36 per cent).