Middle managers are languishing. They deserve our support
Also: grading sources of energy in terms of safety and cleanliness; and the tale of an abandoned airline bag
Squeezed and worn out
Let's take a minute to consider the plight of the middle manager. A recent survey by Capterra, a consulting firm, found that nearly three quarters of middle level managers are struggling in their roles. 73% of them say they are experiencing burnout.
Human Resources Director (HRD), an online publication, shared results of the study this week.
HRD reported that half of all middle managers in Canada who took the survey (50%) believe they do not have enough time each week to complete their tasks. Globally that number is 53%. Also, more than half of these managers worldwide feel it is impossible to provide their direct reports the one-on-one support they need.
A third of those surveyed in Canada said they are looking for another job. And burnout seems particularly acute in young managers or those with fewer years of experience.
Having been a middle manager for much of my career, I can empathize with those in the role. Most newly-promoted mid-level managers need time to adapt, as they find they are continually squeezed from above and below. Many are offered these roles without adequate training and follow-up. They learn to swim on their own.
Some, especially those who have been in their job for some time, can be unhappy folks; control freaks even, using bureaucratic organizational systems in ways that maintain their own status and control. Embittered over time, they sometimes cling to outdated processes and act as gatekeepers stifling innovation and progress.
Fortunately, there is a bright side. Some middle managers are truly dedicated and talented. Good recruiting and proper backing is fundamental to success. These leaders and administrators take on the responsibility of not just helping an organization grow, but also mentoring and assisting newer employees. They have found supportive executive management and have adopted a philosophy of continual learning. They are solutions-focused and frequently customer-oriented. They push for incremental change within their organizations and make the time for one one-on-one coaching. They find satisfaction in developing new leaders. They influence others in positive ways.
Everything has a limit, however. Because of the increasing pressures on these workers, it may be opportune for higher management to re-evaluate these middle manager roles. More resources are needed, as well as training, both formal and informal.
The Capterra survey goes further, using strong language to induce human resources professionals to help:
HR needs to work with executive leadership to rebuild the middle manager role entirely.
Source: Capterra survey as reported in HRD
Meanwhile, in the New York Times this week columnist David Brooks wrote an ode to middle managers. He argues that likely it is thanks to them that society is getting through the kind of divisiveness and dysfunction we are currently experiencing. His piece, published on April 11th, is titled, "The Quiet Magic of Middle Managers."
Here's how he started his column:
Nobody writes poems about middle managers. Nobody gets too romantic about the person who runs a department at a company, or supervises a construction crew, or serves as principal at a school, manager at a restaurant or deacon at a church. But I’ve come to believe these folks are the unsung heroes of our age.
Amid a wider national atmosphere of division, distrust, bitterness and exhaustion, these managers are the frontline workers who try to resolve tensions and keep communities working, their teams united and their relationships afloat. At a time when conflict entrepreneurs (see: Tucker Carlson) and demagogues are trying to rip society apart, I’m beginning to think that these members of the managerial class, spread across the institutions of our society, are serving as the invisible glue that gives us a shot at sticking together.
Source: the New York Times, April 11th. Column is linked here.
Brooks credits people in these roles with championing a humanistic approach to work. He says many exhibit "ethical leadership." They understand the essential benefits of using a moral formation and creating workplace cultures based on shared values.
He also notes that middle managers are especially aware of the people around them, are attentive to the needs of their direct reports, and generally operate in ways that are altruistic.
Now of course this isn't true of all mid-level managers. But I do believe Brooks is right to praise workers who succeed in holding things together in the face of so many stresses that threaten to pull us apart, both as a society and as individuals.
This group of people needs our support.
Sources of energy compared
Data researchers Hannah Ritchie and Max Moser recently examined different types of worldwide energy production to see how different sources stack up in terms of safety and environmental impact.
They found that renewable energy sources are cleanest and safest; fossil fuels the most dangerous and the dirtiest.
Here’s a visual breakdown of the statistics, from Our World in Data :
It’s important to note that hydropower and nuclear statistics are skewed by several large-scale accidents which occurred in the past. A dam failure in China in 1975 accounted for 171,000 deaths, while the nuclear reactor accidents at Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011) claimed approximately 3,000-4,000 lives combined. The researchers noted that, despite these tragedies, the death rates for nuclear and hydropower are still much lower when compared to the number of people who die each year from fossil fuels.
Overall, the researchers concluded this:
All energy sources have negative effects, but they differ enormously in size…fossil fuels are the dirtiest and most dangerous, while nuclear and modern renewable energy sources are vastly safer and cleaner. From the perspectives of both human health and climate change, it matters less whether we transition to nuclear power or renewable energy and more that we stop relying on fossil fuels.
Source: https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy
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Rollaway luggage
On a lighter note, I had a chuckle this week when Patti shared the story of a passenger on an Air Canada flight whose plane left its gate with the passenger’s luggage still on the tarmac.
I’m sure this has happened to others, maybe even to you. Hannah McCormick decided to post a video on TikTok showing the plane taxiing away with her luggage left behind.
Air Canada delivered Hannah’s bag later that day on a different flight, explaining to Daily Hive Vancouver that it regretted “that the customer’s bag was delayed.”
Not lost, misplaced, left behind or forgotten. “Delayed.”
What made me laugh were some of the comments to the story. A person identifying as Jon, for example, wrote: "She was lucky to meet the only efficient AC Staffer."
Ingrid Weiner shared a story of her own: "I was once three hours early for a flight to Italy and I got a text before I even left Canada that the bags were lost. One went to Germany, the other was too traumatized to ever talk about it."
Haha!
I’d love to hear your odd/sad/funny luggage tales. Feel free to share them with other readers here.
Daily Hive’s story about Hannah McCormick is here.
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Thanks for reading Zanepost. For interactions with other writers, you can also join me on Substack Notes. The content is rich and colourful.
My closing sketch this week is of the motorcycle that has taken me on lots of adventures in the Vancouver area.
It’s a 2018 Kawasaki Versys-X 300.
See you next time,
-Renato
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If you’d like to buy me a coffee, here’s the link:
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Yes, indeed! I thought it was a funny situation, too.
Love the baggage on the tarmac story. No need for AirTags when you have a visual on your bag like that!