Gen Z and Middle Managers

I came across an interesting article ("Gen Z has turned against taking middle management roles") in the online version of the Financial Times earlier this week (a related article appeared in Forbes magazine).  The article is based upon an unpublished study conducted by the talent solutions firm Robert Walters, which is available on their website.  The firm surveyed more than 2,000 white-collar workers, 800 of whom were Gen Zers (generally defined as individuals born between 1997 and 2012).  They found that over half of Gen-Z professionals don't want to take on a middle management role in their career.  Nearly three-fourths of the Gen-Z professionals stated that they would choose an individual route to career progression and promotion over managing others.

When asked about the reasons for their reluctance (even refusal) to accept a middle management role, Gen-Z professionals stated that these roles were too high stress with too little reward.  They've observed the trend towards flatter, less hierarchical organizational structures (and 30% of them think that's the correct approach compared to only 14% who still believe the traditional hierarchical structure is the right one), and coupled with the high rates of burnout in this group, likely feel that these careers are just not worth the effort and stress. 

Lucy Bisset, Director of Robert Walters North, suggested that "Gen-Z are known for their entrepreneurial mindset - preferring to bring their 'whole self' to projects and spend time cultivating their own brand and approach, rather than spending time managing others."  Bisset also suggests that "More senior professionals have usually committed years to one company, working their way through more traditional levels of management and as such have developed a greater respect for mid-level managers.  Younger professionals, having entered the workforce in a largely remote or hybrid capacity with a huge focus on digital capabilities are less inclined towards complete company loyalty."

My concern is that this reluctance to move into middle management roles will only further stress the individuals who are currently working in middle management.  As the pipeline of middle managers dries up, there will be fewer individuals managing larger teams of employees.  As I mentioned in a previous post ("Layers upon layers of managers managing other managers..."), "...at a time when employee engagement seems to be at an all-time low across the board, do we really want to do something that could decrease the amount of time that employees spend with their direct supervisor?" (at least one person commented on this point).   

Bisset goes on to say that "It's clear that middle management remains a lynchpin of any organization, and to keep these roles filled employers need to innovate their strategies to make them more attractive - from providing more autonomy, to regular workload assessments and clear upskilling opportunities."  She further suggests that "Embracing an 'unbossed culture' could be key in transforming the role from just being seen as an 'unnecessary layer' of management to a 'facilitator' who empowers their team to take their own initiative."  Whether we continue to flatten the hierarchy and remove excess layers of management or embrace an 'unbossed culture' as Bisset suggests, it's clear that organizations will need to double-down on High Reliability Organization principles and develop "Networks of Competence".