SO. Only one in every five firefighters in the two counties believes that their senior officers are interested in what they feel about their work.

Although managers say the problem lies with the rank-and-file not realising they've been informed, it's a message which will strike a chord with thousands of workers, we fear.

Despite the criticism, 84 per cent of those surveyed admitted being happy with life in the brigade. Not everyone's so lucky, of course.

One observer of the survey has cited Field Marshal Montgomery as an example of how managers, in principle, might operate.

That's relevant, but only to a certain extent. Many bosses have strode on to the shop floor and struck a Monty pose, forgetting that fine words and a foot on the running board need to be backed up by action.

It's a coincidence, of course, that the fire brigade's apparent problem - and an Evening News story explaining how ambulance chiefs are tackling low morale among staff - should come in the wake of our annual Acts of Remembrance.

The abiding image of the First World War is of squaddies up to their knees in mire, and generals miles behind the lines, disconnected from reality.

There'll always be malingerers among the ranks. There'll always be those who need cajoling into effort. And there'll always be those who won't believe a word a manager tells them, regardless of what it is.

But too many of the people who make British industry tick are crying out for leadership, a person to follow loyally through thick and thin.

Is it a misjudgement to think that too many of our leaders take their inspiration from the early 20th Century, rather than the early 21st? Maybe.

Investors in People moves companies towards the culture of communication. It's vital, valuable support.

But good management doesn't need prompting to keep workers happy, or a manual to show them how.