Middle managers — on the new front line of office life
In her middle manager role, Catherine says she has experienced “more pressure” since the start of the pandemic than ever before. Based in Zurich and working for a financial services company, she is trying to navigate a stiffening in senior leadership’s tone, pushback against demands for higher wages and hybrid work plans.
“In the past two years, the company gave a lot of support. The sense is, that’s done,” she says. “We’re entering a different chapter, a different economic context and a push to get people back into the office.” She has received little training on how to manage, though she is grateful for some coaching on building boundaries between work and family life.
“It’s very lonely — my boss is at a different level. I found myself having no place to turn to speak openly [in order to get] a sanity check.”
Jack, who works in sales, says his company is planning another pay rise before Christmas due to the cost of living. However, he knows it will not match the pay of competitors. “The external market is strong.” Another manager sought to mitigate the pay squeeze by encouraging more flexibility in commutes and compressed hours to help reduce costs.
Middle managers are also wary of sharing their challenges with fellow managers. Catherine says it can be a bit like the “blind leading the blind: they’re your peers, but it’s also an element of competition. We share the same boss. If I have concerns about my boss, I won’t talk to them about it. I don’t want to be perceived as badmouthing or gossiping.”
And in the current climate, says Jane, “there’s cost cutting going on all over the place. Middle managers are always the first to go. It’s not always about being the highest performer, it’s about how you fit.”
Andrew says “the promotion culture of an investment bank is geared towards the old-school performance metrics. There’s no success metric on mentoring, helping [his team] grow. There’s no way to bring that up.”
Willmott says too few middle managers receive training. “The old story rings true — that people are recruited into middle management because of their technical skills, and receive either no training or ‘sheep-dip’ training. There’s nothing wrong with people being recruited on their technical skills if they are given support. Some people aren’t suited to being managers. You need to give people other roles that aren’t management.”
This would bolster the middle management role. As coach Elise Finn observes: “When they’re good, they can be catalysts for change.”
The names of some of the interviewees have been changed
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Emma Jacobs
