Middle Managers Are at Their Breaking Point. But Why?

According to a new survey conducted by HR service provider UKG, 46 percent of middle managers say they’d consider quitting their jobs in the next year because of work-related stress.

And it gets worse.  More than half of middle managers surveyed said they wish someone would have advised them not to accept their current job and 70 percent said they would take a pay cut for a new position that better supports their mental wellness.

Where is all of this stress coming from?  According to Dr. Jarik Conrad, executive director of The Workforce Institute at UKG, “The chronic anxiety that comes from working through one global crisis after another is wearing on employees.”

While this may be true, I think other important things are in play.  From my experience, many organizations do a poor job managing managers’ expectations about what the role entails.  Employees are promoted into supervisory positions because they are excellent at their job, but no one asks them if they have any interest in leading others.

On top of this, many managers (new and seasoned) are not given the tools and resources they need to succeed in a supervisory role.  From training courses on how to have difficult conversations to easy-to-use people management software, people need to be upskilled in order to effectively hire, develop, engage, and lead others.  These are not skills that most people are born with.

Jill, What Can I Do?  Make manager learning and development a priority, especially since – according to Gallup – 70 percent of the variance in team engagement is explained by the quality of the manager.  Every organization should have a robust manager training program, which all people leaders attend regardless of how long they have led others.  For some tips on where to begin, check out this article on HRD.  To your success.