Vol. 1 / No. 27
Managed Down and Out
“Middle Manager” is an accurate description of the majority of Americans in so-called “leadership” positions. It’s also an insult that implies both bootlicking and territoriality. Why such contempt? The day-to-day work of being “a boss” looks similar to the day-to-day work of being “the boss,” but… isn’t. Entry level employees tend to figure this out quickly. Executives with middle management backgrounds take longer, but they’ve finally gotten there. In 2023, middle managers made up roughly a third of layoffs, up 10% over three years and saw their wages stagnate.
This crisis in middle management (and Upper Middle management) went largely unremarked upon on Labor Day despite the fact it affects a chunky 17%+ of the labor force making a very chunky 30% of comp. There’s no omerta. The problem is simply difficult to discuss because there’s a catch-22: If middle managers protect their jobs by organizing, business leaders will feel antagonized, try to eliminate their roles, then struggle to do so. If middle managers don’t protect themselves by organizing, business leaders will not feel antagonized, not try to eliminate those roles, then do so anyway when under pressure.
Early in their careers, many middle managers are told they are not eligible for “the union.” That’s true in the sense that under the National Labor Relations Act managers cannot join the same union as the employees they manage. That said, there’s such a thing as a “Middle Management Union.” These are fairly common in the public sector (Minnesota’s and Wisconsin’s are huge), but rare in the private sector for a simple structural reason: elections. The most ambitious public sector leaders get voted, not promoted into their roles. There’s churn at the top.
In the private sector, churn is not a given so managing both up and down is key to climbing. In fact, it’s often the only way of climbing. At many Fortune 1000 companies, advancement (outside of the engineering org) requires management and increases in comp are tied to responsibilities as quantified by reports. The result? Many American professionals are bullied (or Peter Principled) into management and even those that want to manage struggle to provide value while engaged in disputes and constant “pinging” with too-numerous peers. According to research from the Harvard Business Review, excess middle management is responsible for $3T in corporate waste annually.
This is all to say that middle management is failing middle managers, who are being pushed (or baited) into bad, albeit well-paid, jobs and subsequently let go. Consider this: Citigroup plans to eliminate 20,000 roles by eliminating five of its 12 management layers. Ambition, not curiosity, killed the cat.
This is one of the reasons organized labor exists, to ensure workers don’t take on the risks created by poor executive management. But, to date, middle management unionization efforts have largely taken a backseat to job-hopping. Stymied people leverage their networks to find new roles. In a sense, this creates informal verticalized unions of area experts making intros and recommendations. And maybe that’s fine for the moment. Unfortunately, the moment will pass. The current system now feels like it’s a recession away from obsolescence.
Recently, there’s been an increase in the number of white collar workers leaving their positions (many due to feeling ignored) to start businesses of their own. In a sense, these people have found the only real answer to the problem of being “a boss”: become the boss. But not everyone can be the boss, which means that someone at some point is going to get organized.
You first.
This crisis in middle management (and Upper Middle management) went largely unremarked upon on Labor Day despite the fact it affects a chunky 17%+ of the labor force making a very chunky 30% of comp. There’s no omerta. The problem is simply difficult to discuss because there’s a catch-22: If middle managers protect their jobs by organizing, business leaders will feel antagonized, try to eliminate their roles, then struggle to do so. If middle managers don’t protect themselves by organizing, business leaders will not feel antagonized, not try to eliminate those roles, then do so anyway when under pressure.
Early in their careers, many middle managers are told they are not eligible for “the union.” That’s true in the sense that under the National Labor Relations Act managers cannot join the same union as the employees they manage. That said, there’s such a thing as a “Middle Management Union.” These are fairly common in the public sector (Minnesota’s and Wisconsin’s are huge), but rare in the private sector for a simple structural reason: elections. The most ambitious public sector leaders get voted, not promoted into their roles. There’s churn at the top.
In the private sector, churn is not a given so managing both up and down is key to climbing. In fact, it’s often the only way of climbing. At many Fortune 1000 companies, advancement (outside of the engineering org) requires management and increases in comp are tied to responsibilities as quantified by reports. The result? Many American professionals are bullied (or Peter Principled) into management and even those that want to manage struggle to provide value while engaged in disputes and constant “pinging” with too-numerous peers. According to research from the Harvard Business Review, excess middle management is responsible for $3T in corporate waste annually.
This is all to say that middle management is failing middle managers, who are being pushed (or baited) into bad, albeit well-paid, jobs and subsequently let go. Consider this: Citigroup plans to eliminate 20,000 roles by eliminating five of its 12 management layers. Ambition, not curiosity, killed the cat.
This is one of the reasons organized labor exists, to ensure workers don’t take on the risks created by poor executive management. But, to date, middle management unionization efforts have largely taken a backseat to job-hopping. Stymied people leverage their networks to find new roles. In a sense, this creates informal verticalized unions of area experts making intros and recommendations. And maybe that’s fine for the moment. Unfortunately, the moment will pass. The current system now feels like it’s a recession away from obsolescence.
Recently, there’s been an increase in the number of white collar workers leaving their positions (many due to feeling ignored) to start businesses of their own. In a sense, these people have found the only real answer to the problem of being “a boss”: become the boss. But not everyone can be the boss, which means that someone at some point is going to get organized.
You first.