Middle managers are the key to solving burnout, but half of them want to quit. It’s time we support them

Middle managers, who can relate to burnout all too well, are the key to solving it, leaders said at Fortune’s Impact Initiative conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Fewer than one in 4 employees feel like their organization cares about them, according to a Gallup survey.  After seismic shifts to the workplace brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, workers are now demanding change.

“They wanted to be treated with a different kind of dignity and respect and they wanted to be seen and heard and valued, and they were frustrated,” Kelly Rooney, senior vice president, chief HR, and diversity and inclusion officer at WM, said of her staff. “We have to evolve everything about the way we work to create a more human centered environment where we truly elevate the human experience,” Rooney says. 

Many necessary steps for solving burnout, such as quantifying success, managing expectations and goals, and creating a supportive culture, falls to middle managers. These pillars are crucial for employee retention and satisfaction, Tapaswee Chandele, global vice president of talent, development & system partnerships at The Coca-Cola Company, said.

“If they don’t feel like they belong if they don’t feel like it’s an inclusive environment, that their manager cares about them, that their work is being appreciated, that can add a huge amount of strain,” Tapaswee Chandele, global vice president of talent, development & system partnerships at The Coca-Cola Company, said.

Middle managers are burned out, too

Middle managers are not immune to the alarming rates of burnout.

Sandwiched between their direct-reports and senior management, many seldom have the time or support to serve their teams. More dire, one survey from February shows nearly half of middle managers want to quit this year.

“I think we put so much pressure on the manager, and we don’t give them enough scaffolding,” Pat Wadors, chief people officer at UKG, previously told Fortune. 

Solving the middle manager burnout crisis is the key to better workplaces.

How can we support leaders to support their teams? 

“It’s this tension of giving [managers] the foundational skills, the emotional intelligence, the compassion, the empathy, and the listening skills just to be present…That humanity side of managers is usually not in your manager 101 courses,” Wadors said. 

Supporting middle management 

Often, climbing the ladder in compensation and title comes with a leadership responsibility. Many people take on direct reports while learning the ropes of a new role—therein lies the issue, Chandele says. 

“We need to simplify their life so they can spend their mind, their time, on things that matter,” Chandele says. “We have very rarely spent time…thinking about what it means to be a leader.”

Middle managers need to be supported as they take on new duties around the well-being of those beneath them. 

“Giving them the support that they need is really critical,” she says, who shares Coca Cola’s program to support people who grow into leadership roles with training and mentors. “You can’t expect them to lead if they don’t feel supported, and there is no one that has their back.” 

Similarly at WM, Rooney ensures leaders have a mental health first aid course and integrated programming to support them. However, not everyone’s skill sets can translate into leadership roles, she says. It’s important, therefore, to create many career paths and progressions that allow someone to grow in a company without taking on the burden of leadership. 

“Can they inspire and lead teams and is there data to support that?” she says. “The folks who make the argument that you’re asking too much of me, what they are really telling us is that they don’t want the mantle of leadership.”