Undercover Big Boss is shocking and shaming. Will our CEOs learn from it?

Many firms need the empathy that comes from understanding what frontline workers have to deal with – business owners would certainly benefit from watching the ITV show, writes Chris Blackhurst

Self-made millionaire Alfie Best at Wyldecrest Parks in Essex with his Rolls-Royce and park workers (ITV/Studio Lambert)

Here is a proposal for the next CBI annual dinner. Run on a big screen at loud volume, to drown out the chatter, episodes from the current series of Undercover Big Boss.

Hopefully, the business chieftains will fall silent and take in the awfulness unfolding in front of them. Possibly, with any luck, they might be driven to thinking about their own organisations and whether they have any idea as to what they’re demanding of their workers.

To say that the ITV programme is an indictment of Britain’s boss class is an understatement. It’s shocking and shaming, and as well as at get-togethers for the employers’ body and similar associations, it ought to be required viewing on every MBA and executive advancement course. Better still, all directors should set aside time at their next meeting to watch. Private equity partners too, who think they know what makes a business tick and set ever bigger targets, but in reality, do not have a clue.