Why are middle mangers disappearing from organisations?

In many organisations, middle management has drawn the short straw when it comes to mass redundancies.  

Left besieged, forced to surrender, they’re in tatters because HR is thinning out their department to improve an organisation’s balance sheets and productivity. 

This trend and movement known as ‘unbossing’ gained attraction in the US but has hit Australian shores too, with a report from Australian HR platform Employment Hero indicating that middle management was disproportionately affected by redundancies in the past 12 months. 

Even though times have changed and many traditional workplace norms have shifted —let’s be honest—middle management still gets a bad rap. Yet, they’re often the biggest determining factor in employee satisfaction and well-being.

So why is business lore still riddled with stories of organisations dealing with middle management poorly?

Middle managers are the first to go when job cuts roll around. And because they're the link between the executive and employees, they bear the brunt of blame and criticism from both sides of the fence. They’re caught between leadership who calls the shots and employees who shoot the shots. 

And because so many organisations are cutting middle management in response to job cuts, it’s the paradox of the middle. The fat has to go.

It’s one way organisations are adapting to a slower economy. Some HR departments are putting employees on casual contracts or cutting hours. Organisations are trying to operate efficiently and keep things lean in a challenging economic environment. 

Why is this happening?

It’s only natural to stop and ask yourself, “What are those guys in the middle actually doing?” 

Middle managers aren’t responsible for developing the business strategy that pushes organisations forward, and they’re not on the front lines executing the strategy, which is why they’re an easy redundancy target. 

One-third of it comes down to economics. Organisations think they will lose more value if they cut higher-paid employees instead of employees in the middle. 

The second third is change leadership theory, which has become popular recently. It advocates that employees should have more autonomy at work and the ability to execute their own ideas rather than follow orders from middle managers. 

And the final third is that, during COVID, juniors were promoted to middle management because many organisations faced a people crisis. But now that the economy has shifted back, many of these “junior” middle managers are now seen as an unnecessary expense—and easy to chop off.

This has all resulted in middle management getting the boot. A recent statistic that is also telling is that 52 per cent of Gen Z don’t want to be middle managers. Young people are not putting their hand up for the job. They simply don’t want the gig.

What can HR do about it? 

Middle managers are solutionists, mediators, the glue in the middle of an organisation. 

They are vital strategic actors, often caught between the highest and lowest ranks, making difficult yet crucial decisions every day. Which is why a good middle manager can make all the difference. 

They’re right in the thick of it. They're close to the action, and if used effectively, they can act as talent magnets who attract high performers and make them shine even brighter.

In other words, middle managers have the most significant opportunity to influence employees. They can also take a vision from leadership and help make it real. But they can only do that if they’re empowered to drive change in people. 

Not drive change in Microsoft excel sheets.

Middle managers are faced with an overwhelming demand for their time. They’re supposed to focus on strategic planning, but in reality, they’re bogged down in operational planning. They’re making plans to do plans, reports, and PowerPoint decks.

There’s too much of a requirement to perform by attendance. Too much of their work takes time and attention away from people. They’re feeding the beast way more than they’re developing their employees. 

For HR, the takeaway is clear: focus on fostering an environment where middle managers can be key strategic actors in employees' lives. And work with management to reduce the workload of meetings and reporting to free them up for more impactful, people-centred leadership.

HR can also support middle managers by giving them feedback on their skills, whether it be technical expertise or people management which can prevent the misplacement of middle management talent. 

Middle management will continue to play an essential role in most organisations, regardless of how structures change. The key takeaway is that supporting middle managers with proper training is essential for their success and fostering a positive work environment.