The History of Middle Manager Stress with Emily Field

Middle Managers’ Difficulties. Frustrated Middle Managers. Discontent of Middle Managers. Job Outlook for Middle Managers.

Middle managers are the least confident they’ve ever been. Why are middle managers so miserable? How to loosen the squeeze on middle managers.

Those are all headlines about middle managers. The first group were published between the 1970s and 1990s. The second, in 2023 and 2024. How has the story not changed for middle managers in over 50 years?

That’s what we are diving into with Season Three of the Return by putting a spotlight on a group of workers who have largely been overlooked and ignored. Middle managers are stressed, overwhelmed and unhappy. And they have been for decades.

To kick us off, we first need to define what a middle manager is. For that, I spoke to Emily Field, partner in McKinsey's people and organization practice based in Seattle. She’s spent the last few years deeply researching the topic of managers for her recently published book, “Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work.”

She tells us more about why this role is critically important to the workforce, how middle managers are emotional lifeguards, and how it’s evolved over time to become just that much more challenging.

Her unpacking of what middle management is sets us up for a season that talks about accidental managers, the need for training, where managers can find support, how they navigate tough conversations, and how AI is helping them free up their time to focus on the people part of management.