4 reasons why it’s getting harder to be a successful manager

Data shows that managers are dealing with more challenges than last year, with little relief in sight.

Management has never been for the faint of heart—but that hits even harder today. According to recent data from Leapsome, many managers are not okay. Since last year:

• 81% of upper-level managers have more direct reports
• 71% of managers have increased workloads from last year
• 6 in 10 managers report feeling overwhelmed
• More than 50% of managers say their mental wellbeing has deteriorated

The “Great Unbossing,” in which managers at various levels have been laid off in favor of less centralized team structures, has resulted in additional pressures on those who remain. It’s little wonder that mental health is declining among these leaders, as their sense of overwhelm has grown.

Earlier this year, I reported on the growing numbers of individual contributors who have made it their ambition never to become a manager. Clearly, something’s not attractive about leadership roles in the current workplace. Here are four of the major reasons that are having a detrimental effect on current (and potential) managers.

1. Heavier Workloads

When a manager quits or is laid off, their work doesn’t go away when they do. Instead, it often gets redistributed to adjacent managers in addition to their existing responsibilities.

In education, I call it “killing the survivors.” As educators exit the profession, those who remain are expected to pick up the slack, since there just aren’t enough people entering the field to replace those who leave. It’s a recipe to burn out the most committed and passionate of educators—and it’s not getting better.

Now we see a similar dynamic in the world of business. However, while increased direct reports and responsibilities are no doubt a major contributor to the growing pressures that managers are feeling, there are other factors also at play.

2. Lack Of Communication

No matter how much we tout good communication as a vital part of a healthy work culture, we still can’t seem to master it.

A recent study by Staffbase found that only 49% of managers are very or somewhat familiar with their company’s goals, indicating systemic gaps in communication. Sixty-one percent of employees who are considering quitting say that poor internal communication is one of the reasons why, with 26% saying it’s a major factor in their dissatisfaction.

The Staffbase study found that employees are most likely to trust the information they receive from their immediate supervisor, making that individual indispensable in the creation and maintenance of a healthy work culture. However, mid-level managers can’t communicate what they don’t know. Good internal communication must start at the C-suite.

3. Trust Breakdowns

Though trust is the secret ingredient to a high-performing team, it’s not as common as we’d wish it to be.

Though immediate supervisors are employees’ preferred source of company news, Staffbase found that just 56% of employees say they fully trust their line managers.

Some of the trust breakdown can be seen in how managers and individual contributors view constructive feedback and praise. According to Leapsome’s report, 71% of managers say they gave constructive feedback last week—but only 37% of individual contributors say they received it. Similarly, 66% of managers say they gave recognition or praise last week, but only 38% of employees said they received it.

Either managers aren’t giving as much constructive feedback and praise as they think, or employees are finding those moments forgettable. In either case, the communication breakdown is contributing to the lack of trust dogging managers as they lead their teams.

4. Detached Employees

The Great Detachment is the latest workplace dynamic, describing a workforce that is deeply dissatisfied, yet too cautious to quit outright. Just because employees aren’t resigning doesn’t mean they’re happy about staying.

As a manager, you can only take a disengaged workforce so far. Carrying everyone over the finish line on your back is exhausting and unsustainable, but what else can middle managers do when their teams are bored, disillusioned and doing the bare minimum? Even worse, many managers are coping with their own feelings of disengagement while trying to rally others.

The detachment is real, for managers and individual contributors alike. And it’s something every organization will need to grapple with.

The Great Unbossing

Heavier workloads, lack of trust and communication, and widespread detachment—all of these take their toll on leaders at every level. Organizations that value their management teams will take these challenges seriously and create better support systems for managers. Organizations that don’t will kill their survivors, until there are none left.

It’s a bleak picture, but one that should spur us to change the way we view the managers within our organization. They’re not invincible to feelings of detachment, they need healthy work-life balance like everyone else and they can’t bring out the best in their employees when their own best is compromised.

While the pith of the Great Unbossing movement is the idea that employees can make their own decisions, organizations will always need leadership. Reasonable expectations, meaningful support and clear communication can help make those leaders effective in our ever-changing landscape of work.

Forbes