The 6 Things That Make Managers Hate Their Jobs Less

By Sarah Lynch, Staff reporter @sarahdlynch

Managers are overwhelmed, but a few crucial changes could help them enjoy -- or, at the very least, not resent -- their jobs.   

Since the pandemic, "no one's job has changed more" than the manager's, says Joe Galvin, chief research officer at executive coaching organization Vistage. Many were tasked with managing hybrid workforces for the first time. They had to scramble to find and retain workers during the Great Resignation. And they're feeling the brunt of economic headwinds, too, he says.   

About three-quarters of HR leaders say that managers are "overwhelmed by the growth of their responsibilities," according to Gartner, the research and consulting firm. This year, almost half (47 percent) of managers were burned out, according to LinkedIn -- more than individual contributors or directors. 

And yet, managers play a critical role in their organizations, determining 70 percent of the "variance in team engagement," Gallup has found. Fortunately, there are shifts that can make managers' jobs easier and more satisfying, according to business leaders and management experts.  

1. Fewer reports   

Forty-four percent of middle managers agree that "organizational bureaucracy" can negatively impact their roles, says Emily Field, McKinsey partner and author of Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work. But CEOs can help get rid of the red tape.  

For instance, when it comes to the monthly organizational reports that managers so often must complete, CEOs should consider: "Do we read those reports?" Field says. "What are the reports we can simply delete? And for the reports that actually are beneficial, how do we create them as efficiently as possible?"  

It's not just paperwork that can pile up. Generally speaking, when leaders are coming up with strategies to help managers, that can often manifest in more work for managers, Field says -- and this should be avoided. "Instead of asking, 'What can I add to help my managers?' ask, 'What can I take away to help my managers?'"  

2. More autonomy  

While building company-wide culture is certainly key, managers should also be free to create "norms within their team," says Jessica Burkland, assistant professor of practice in organizational behavior at Babson College. 

At BambooHR, the Draper, Utah-based HR platform, CEO Brad Rencher espouses a "federal and state" approach, he says. That means providing company-wide guidance as well as department- or manager-specific autonomy, which he believes has been well received, based on engagement surveys. 

For instance, with artificial intelligence, Rencher shared company-wide "principles" around ethics and data privacy to his approximately 1,400 employees. But at the "state" level, managers have "a lot of latitude about what tools to apply, how you might apply those, and how you can unlock that to better deliver on what your division or what your group's trying to do," he attests.  

"We try to articulate: What are the things that we really care about at the federal level? And what are we OK empowering our managers to decide, with guardrails and guideposts so that they know they're on the right track?" Rencher adds. 

3. A place to discuss challenges (without fear)  

Companies need to create an environment where "managers can feel safe to fail," Burkland says. "Of course, we don't want to accept consistent failures," she adds, but managers need to feel safe to innovate and take risks. Otherwise, she says, they'll start to dislike their jobs.  

More than a year ago, C&R -- an L.A.-based public relations agency with 28 employees focusing on travel and real estate -- instituted monthly meetings for managers to update them on developments and open a forum for discussing goals and challenges, says co-founder Pieter Ruig.  

At one monthly meeting last year, managers and leaders discussed a client they had lost, despite -- from their perspective -- achieving success with their work, Ruig says: "Were our goals not aligned with the client?"

But (crucially) such meetings aren't a "finger-pointing session," Ruig says. "It's really collaboration and supporting one another."  

4. A clear understanding of why their role matters 

Managers also need to understand how their work "contributes to a larger piece of work that drives company growth," Galvin says. That's crucial for not just their own connection to the company's mission, he says, but also for their ability to translate that to their teams. 

"That glue, that cartilage, if you will, between the muscle and the bone of the organization is that first-line manager," Galvin says.  

Leaders need to clearly communicate that connection to managers as well as provide updates on their progress toward organizational goals, Burkland says. Unfortunately, she adds, leaders often miss that second step. 

"Oftentimes, these conversations don't happen until the metric isn't met, which, at that point, is a little too late," Burkland says. And this doesn't have to be an in-depth, lengthy meeting, she argues. Even quick check-ins on progress can help managers feel included, motivated, and connected.  

5. Truly worthwhile trainings  

Remember Field's point about removing items from managers' plates before adding more? Well, if you are going to add something, like a training session, you need to ensure that it's worthwhile, experts say.  

"It needs to be focused on developing skills that managers need," Burkland says, and skills they actually want to learn to make them enjoyable as well as effective.  

Examples of meaningful training topics might include how to delegate, how to communicate more effectively with teams, and how to build trust with a team, Burkland adds. But another, more timely example might be "managing a digital relationship with a hybrid employee," Galvin says, as many leaders are still getting used to leading in a partially remote environment.  

6. A reasonable workload  

As Gartner found, managers have plenty on their plates right now. That's why one of the most important parts of the monthly manager meetings at C&R is checking in on managers' workloads, Ruig says, ensuring that they are "reasonable and balanced," and figuring out how to lend support when necessary.  

"People raise their hand and say ...'Hey, I really need an account coordinator to do some of the reporting components,' say, 'on the real estate side of things, which will free me up to spend more time strategic thinking, pitching,' whatever it might be," Ruig says.  

He believes that managers have recognized this support, pointing to company accolades like its selection for Inc.'s Best Workplaces list, which includes an employee survey as part of the evaluation process.  

One thing leaders need to be wary of, however, is taking on managers' work themselves to try to solve workload issues or control outcomes, Field says. Leaders can't get bogged down with even more work, she adds, and managers need to feel empowered and be held accountable in their roles to grow and contribute.  

"The CEO ... is not going to be CEO forever, conceivably," Field says. "So how are they developing the next generation?"

Photo Credit: Getty Images.