The bad news of 2025: After years of unchecked burnout, overwork, and flawed support systems, a “manager crash” is likely to hit the workplace.
This is one of the four major predictions made by I Quilibriuma digital coaching platform aimed at strengthening workplace wellness. (The other three: Adapting to change will become a priority, the perks of remote work will gradually erode, and Gen Z will struggle with change more than older generations.) )
Alana Finke, head of content and learning at meQuilibrim, said: “Similar to a market crash, managers’ happiness, performance, and ability to continue to lead as change agents will suffer significantly. ” he wrote in the report.
“If no one cares about managers, they are at a higher risk of burnout and turnover than the employees they manage,” Finke emphasized.
This prediction is not at all surprising. Middle managers (non-executive-level employees who oversee other employees) have historically been less likely to feel supported by their managers than their teams. But middle management dissatisfaction is particularly dangerous. That’s because happy and encouraged managers serve as “an important power multiplier” for the overall success of an organization, meQuilibrium writes.
You can’t afford to lose mid-level managers.
To avoid an impending ‘collapse’, organizational leaders need to take decisive action before the new year to make clear the importance of mental health. This is a worthwhile endeavor, Finke explained. “The benefits ripple throughout the organization, increasing productivity, innovation, and overall employee well-being.”
Similarly, if you don’t address the tsunami of burnout hitting your leadership team, the stress will trickle down to your leadership team. Employees who don’t feel supported by their managers tend to struggle during times of change. Workers are more than four times as likely to quit their jobs and twice as likely to report poor overall well-being if they feel unsupported at any level, Finke said. I warned you.
The outlook is not encouraging. While employee sentiment has cooled overall this year, middle-management confidence fell to its lowest point on record in February, according to Glassdoor. That’s because “middle managers are under pressure to accomplish more with less,” Glassdoor chief economist Daniel Chao said at the time. And after seeing all middle managers fired, the remaining workers are “becoming increasingly pessimistic about their employer’s future,” Zhao added.
Middle managers are in the worst position, and Gen Z is taking notice.
Burnout is a consistent problem for middle managers, and it’s no surprise.
often get caught up in impossible position Appease demanding executives and calm the concerns and needs of entry-level employees. It’s no wonder that almost half of middle managers surveyed in the 2023 UKG report said they were likely to quit within the year due to role stress.
“We’re putting a lot of pressure on managers and not giving them enough foothold,” said Pat Wadders, UKG’s chief people officer. luck, It describes a recipe for overwork and burnout.
Providing sufficient and ongoing support to often forgotten middle managers can be surprisingly effective in preventing burnout, and especially when they feel supported, they perform at their best. It is meaningful for employees who perform to the best of their ability. “You can’t expect them to lead if they don’t feel supported. No one is going to give you that,” said Tapaswee Chandele, global vice president of people, development and systems partnerships at The Coca-Cola Company. Fortune’s 2023 Impact Initiative Conference.
However, even if middle managers try their best against burnout, problems will continue to occur.
Last year, middle managers accounted for nearly a third of all layoffs. bloomberg That’s up from one in five five years ago, the report said. (No need to look beyond what Mark Zuckerberg said) “Year of Efficiency” At Meta, the main focus was on “slimming down” the management level of the company. )
If these issues are not addressed by the new year, companies could soon face a shortage of middle managers. The unattractiveness of the middle management role is becoming harder to hide, and as current leaders leave, entry-level employees are becoming more reluctant to take on the role.
Nearly three-quarters of Gen Z employees would rather advance their careers as individual contributors than to level up and become managers, according to a recent study by recruitment firm Robert Walters. It became clear. Still, more than a third of respondents who believed they would someday become managers admitted they were not looking forward to it. Obviously, they have a good reason.
