Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Announcing My New Book, DEEP TALENT (in Partnership with Eightfold AI)

The world is at a societal and technological inflection point. Business leaders cite talent recruitment and development as top challenges due to talent shortages, long hiring times, and high turnover. Meanwhile, key challenges for engagement and retention include managing employee expectations in line with post-pandemic norms.

We know from research and experience that nearly 50% of top talent leaves within two years, but also that most individuals would happily stay if given the right learning and growth opportunities. But as companies grow and gain thousands of employees, CEOs tend to lose track of their workforce’s abilities. They don’t know what skills employees have already acquired at work, what skills employees are well-equipped to master next, or how certain skills can be used to grow individual careers.

We talk often about the global skills gap, but what's really behind this? After all, the jobs are there and the people are there. It turns out there's not an HR or a workflow problem, but rather a matching problem between the best people and the most critical jobs you need to fill.

Having studied the talent gap for more than a decade, I was intrigued when I learned that there is technology available today that can solve this matching problem at scale. And that's why I was so excited to have the chance to write a book with Ashu and Kamal, who have a company, Eightfold, that makes one of the most promising talent intelligence platforms available today.

That book, DEEP TALENT: How to Transform Your Organization and Empower Your Employees Through AI, is now available everywhere books are sold. You'll leave us with an understanding of how to use talent intelligence and deep learning (AI) to assess skills adjacency (if you are good at skill A, you will also be good at skill B) to open non-traditional pathways for candidates who don’t have the experience doing the exact job needed but have every ounce of capability required. You'll also be able to determine your current organizational capabilities and future needs by taking into account a global dataset of standardized job descriptions and requirements.

Although the future is uncertain, we have reason to be optimistic, because talent intelligence has the potential to facilitate a meaningful career for everyone in the world. If we’re looking, talent intelligence will show us the work to take on next to feed our skills and passions and the careers we’ve always wanted but haven’t known how to find.

 

It's Time to Stop Talking Quiet Quitting and Quiet Firing

“Quiet quitting” and “quiet firing” are the latest buzzwords to take the world of work by storm. But while the terms themselves may be new, the concepts aren’t. And they illustrate a troubling trend taking place in the post-pandemic workplace.

Quiet quitting refers to employees who show up to work and seemingly do the bare minimum to meet expectations. Quiet firing happens when employers actively seek to make work conditions less favorable by taking away attention, resources, or opportunities from employees with the hope that they’ll resign.

Both quiet quitting and quiet firing are passive aggressive moves born out of uncertainty. Quiet quitters don’t want to pull the trigger because they may be afraid of what awaits them on the other side of unemployment in a volatile economic and social climate. And at a time when employee well-being and retention are front and center, quiet firers may be concerned about outright firing an employee.

The sudden shift to remote work that took place during the pandemic resulted in a loss of culture for many organizations, and unfortunately, that culture is not likely to spring right back into place for companies transitioning their employees to hybrid work.

Using in-office time as an opportunity to create an environment of camaraderie and psychological safety can go a long way toward mitigating both quiet quitting and quiet firing. Here are three specific strategies:

Facilitate face-to-face interactions

Quiet quitting and quiet firing are more difficult to pull off when you have formed genuine, authentic connections with your managers, reports, and colleagues. Managers should lead by example and show up. Some examples might include hanging out in the cafeteria or breakroom and hosting events. Where possible, hold performance discussions and regular one-on-one check-ins in person, and make use of casual lounges to support engagement and spontaneous meetings.

And this might go without saying, but if you’re asking people to be in the office a few days a week, don’t have them sit in an empty room by themselves. If an employee’s team isn’t there and they’re at their workstation all day devoid of human interaction, they might as well have stayed home. This is a surefire recipe for quiet quitting.

Avoid proximity bias

According to a recent Prezi study, 66% of hybrid workers feel that workplaces favor employees who are together in a physical office. To combat this so-called proximity bias, which could lead to inequities that drive both quiet quitting and quiet firing, level the playing field in how you structure your video meetings. For instance, everyone should join from their own computer to avoid spotlighting remote employees who aren’t in the office.

Co-create new norms

Quiet quitting and quiet firing may happen because managers and employees are afraid to speak up about their needs. For example, maybe you’re a caregiver and the long commute associated with returning to the office has been especially punishing for you, so you quiet quit. On the other hand, if you’re that caregiver’s manager, you may not want to overload your employee, but feel you have unmovable performance expectations, so you quiet fire.

By surveying employees to find out what policies work for them and working collaboratively to establish new norms for performance and productivity, you can build a culture that’s naturally more supportive of different concerns and points of view.

The bottom line? If you use your return-to-the-office efforts as a chance to learn about your employees directly and holistically, you will experience less “under-one’s-breath” phenomena such as quiet quitting and quiet firing.

For the original piece, check out the Ceridian blog.

Is Employee Monitoring Right for You?

For about a decade, donning my workforce futurist hat has required ongoing dialogue about employee monitoring tools and their inevitable march toward greater sophistication. Often, the question has not been “Will we monitor our employees?” but “What will we monitor about our employees?”

Today, employee monitoring is routinely making headlines. Stories abound of employers using monitoring software to track the location of their staff, detect signs of quiet quitting, record how much time employees spend on different activities, and take screenshots of their devices – sometimes without employee consent.

In August, the New York Times reported that eight of the 10 largest private U.S. employers are using software and other technologies to track the productivity of their employees.

According to a Capterra study reported in The Globe and Mail, 35% of Canadian employees work for a company that uses at least one monitoring tool that they know of. Another 18% weren’t sure if their employer was tracking them.

Canadian employees are divided on how they feel about being tracked. While the majority said using such tools did not affect how they work and did not impact workplace culture, 23% said it added stress and made work feel more “hostile.”

Overall, I’m not a fan of using software to track things like keystrokes, screenshots, and how much time employees are spending in various applications. If an employee wants to waste time on the clock, chances are they’re going to figure out a way to do it without their supervisor finding out. Presumably, you hired an adult to perform responsibilities as an adult would, so there’s no need to deploy technology as a babysitter.

As for efficiency, we need only look at individual and team performance metrics to determine if there’s an issue. Generally speaking, we shouldn’t care how long a specific task takes as long as quality work is executed consistently and delivered according to deadlines.

Instead of putting your technology dollars into monitoring workers and risking diminished morale and complaints over a loss of privacy, direct your investment toward cultivating a vibrant employee experience that fosters autonomy and trust. Such an experience should ideally include a mix of online and offline and human and technology-driven touchpoints.

In fact, you can use a purposeful lack of monitoring as an opportunity to survey your employees about their perspectives on company policies and start a dialogue with them more frequently about their individual goals and workload.

You might be thinking: Is any kind of employee monitoring appropriate? Given how vulnerable remote workers are to cybercrime, there may be a time and a place. Consider this: In a recent study, 80% of security and business leaders said their organizations are more exposed to risk because of remote work.

If you’re going to monitor employees for cybersecurity purposes, just remember that the goal should be protecting rather than calling out your people. And make sure you’re transparent with employees about why you’re collecting data and what you’ll be using it for.

For the original piece, head over to the Ceridian blog.

2023 Business and Employment Trends for Small Business

While business is generally stabilizing and neighborhood institutions are finding innovative ways to stand their ground against larger competitors, concerns including inflation and stubborn supply chain disruptions continue to dog many owners.

According to the November 2022 Small Retailer Report from American Express Business Class, which surveyed 300 small business retail decision makers, most small retailers currently operate in both online and brick-and-mortar settings, and retailers view their brick-and-mortar stores as a place for customers to discover and try products, as well as for boosting brand awareness and recognition.

Creating an In-Store Experience

Small retailers are encouraging their customers to shop in-store and make their in-store shopping experience more social. According to the Small Retailer Report, 69% of small retailers have offered in-store shopping experiences or events in the last 12 months, and 74% hope to offer in-store shopping experiences or events within the next six months.

State of Kid is one of those retailers that values in-store shopping experiences. A hybrid concept that combines a boutique retail experience and enrichment classes for children ages 0-8, the store launched in late 2019 and now has three brick-and-mortar locations in South Florida. Founders Alana Oxfeld and Cheryl Gonzalez created State of Kid after moving to Miami from New York and Switzerland, respectively, and struggled to find modern parenting solutions that met their needs.

“State of Kid combines retail with experiential programming. Parents can shop while they bring their children in for art, music, science, cooking, and much more,” says Oxfeld. “We offer a highly curated selection of kids’ clothes and gifts that aren’t often found at major big box retailers or on Amazon. Additionally, we are known for our exceptional service and personal connection with our customers.”

The State of Kid owners have worked hard to make their stores appealing for kids and parents alike. “Our aesthetic is inviting and playful. Children generally leave our enrichment classes—from Tumbling Tots to Jam with Jamie—with huge smiles on their faces. That sense of fun extends into the retail space, and often families congregate long after the class has ended, continuing the party-like feel,” says Oxfeld.

Milk Room, a vintage, luxury streetwear and sneaker boutique with three locations in southern California, prides itself on its custom sneakers. Founder Greg Monterrosa provides a memorable in-store experience for customers by hosting fashion, art, and music shows at each location, and running a podcast.

“Milk Room is a true community,” Monterrosa says. “Our stores are run by local designers. When you walk in, you see local art and emerging brands, and you’ll catch a scent from a local candlemaker or essential oil maker.”

Standing Out From the Competition

The Small Retailer Report also found that small retailers plan to prioritize (46% versus 37%) the online shopping experience than the in-store shopping experience in the next six months. For small retailers that operate via online stores and e-commerce, 96% hope to enhance their online shopping experience within the next six months.

Although concern about competition from big box retailers and larger chains is high, ahead of Small Business Saturday small retailers are positioning themselves for competition through customer loyalty, their prices, and their specialty products.

The owner of Dallas-based Taco Ocho, Mani Bhushan, works hard to stand out from other local restaurants. When you walk in to Taco Ocho, you will probably notice the colorful walls painted by a local artist, Latin music playing in the background, and the smell of tortilla chips baking in the oven. Bhushan, who is in his seventies and still works shifts at his restaurants, opened Taco Ocho in 2011 and has been in the industry for over 40 years.

For the rest of the piece, check out AMEX Business.

Small Business Grows Amidst Inflation and Economic Uncertainty

 

Despite an uncertain economy and the toll of inflation, small businesses are growing their revenue, expanding their brand, and prioritizing their customers. 

Kabbage from American Express’ September 2022 installment of Small Business Recovery Report, which polls 550 small-business leaders and tracks the recovery trends and growth outlook of U.S. small businesses, presented some surprising and encouraging findings.

The report reveals that respondents nearly doubled revenue year-over-year between July 2021 and July 2022 while profits remained flat amidst economic hurdles such as inflation and supply chain disruptions.

In the previous version of the Small Business Recovery report, from June 2022, 80% of respondents said they were confident they could withstand a potential U.S. recession. The data from the latest report helps illustrate why small-business owners (SBOs) are so optimistic. Cross-analyzing the survey results between July 2021 and July 2022, the data shows U.S. small-businesses revenues have increased on average by 87%.

This trend is on point for Stefan Kalb, CEO of Shelf Engine, a grocery store forecasting business that results in more products on the shelves and less spoilage. “We’re one of the few fortunate businesses that prospers amidst economic challenges, as they create more demand for our solutions,” he says. “The grocery industry operates on razor-thin margins and needs every tool at its disposal to cut costs. That’s especially true now, as rising inflation means consumers are carefully watching every dollar they spend.” 

Managing Revenue When Costs Are High

Not every business is in as good a position as Shelf Engine, however. While overall profits among U.S. small businesses have slightly declined four percent, 75% of respondents report feeling impacted by inflationary pressures and 56% of respondents expect economic pressures to last through summer 2023. SBOs are doing their best to manage increasing costs.

Kristina Schlegel, CEO and founder of California-based food crafting company Make Bake, has noticed these trends in her own business. “We’ve definitely seen our revenue grow as we’ve expanded our wholesale business from 50 to nearly 200 retailers in the last 12 months,” she says. “But inflation in our supply chain has certainly cut into those profits. As a business, we’re also in that ‘messy middle’ – incurring more costs in product development, marketing, and trade shows to get to the next level as a brand. And it’s challenging to be in a growth phase of your business while your costs are rising so quickly.”

For the rest of the piece and the research report, check out the AMEX Business' website.

 

Using HCM Technology to Enhance the Middle Manager Experience

In the last post of my series about middle managers, I’d like to explore how human capital management (HCM) platforms can assist HR teams in supporting middle managers. These management tools are especially adept for learning and job efficiency, so let’s start there. 

Promoting learning  

A self-service learning portal can deliver customized content to middle managers, including communication and team building. Ideally, this learning portal is integrated with talent acquisition, onboarding, project management/workflow, performance, and career mobility systems. 

Learning content should be in a variety of lengths and formats, including bite-sized videos, supplementary reading, and simulations, to be consumed at the manager’s discretion. 

Learning is a corollary to job efficiency, of course, but middle managers can also benefit from systems that automate simple job tasks and synthesize data.  

Supporting organizational agility 

Ceridian’s 2022 Executive Survey found that respondents are using a variety of systems that support organizational agility. 

According to the survey, 60% of respondents are using technology to aid in workforce scheduling, and 61% have technology to measure employee performance. Furthermore, 56% are using technology to speed up recruitment processes, and 44% are using technology to identify flight-risk employees. 

Data accuracy and integration, however, continue to be major issues. The Executive Survey found that 85% of respondents have issues with their workforce data, including 39% who said their data was siloed in different systems and 34% who claimed data was outdated or not available in real time.  

Given these findings, it’s easy to imagine how data is a thorn in the side of the middle manager. How can they make rapid and informed decisions that are a staple of their everyday lives if they cannot trust their data?  

Middle managers will also be reluctant to automate job components if the technology fails to work seamlessly with their core management tools or breaks down unexpectedly. After all, the last thing they need is more stress. 

Using HCM technology to better support managers 

When it comes to creating a better middle-manager experience powered by HCM technology, there are several directions a leader could go. I recommend starting with internal focus groups with HR professionals, leaders, and middle managers in a variety of departments. 

In these sessions, inquire about the biggest pain points in the middle manager’s day, and how these are currently addressed (if at all). What training and support do middle managers receive, and what role does HCM technology play in this process? Is the organization satisfied with its retention of middle managers, or would improvement be welcome? 

These brainstorms may uncover one area of the employee lifecycle that’s especially troubling for middle managers. For example, perhaps the talent acquisition system is so cumbersome that middle managers’ open positions remain unfilled for months.  

In this case, consult IT and/or an HCM provider to devise a pilot technology program with the intention of easing one burden at a time. Starting small will help to build a case for more expansive implementations down the line. 

This post was originally published on the Ceridian blog.

Are You Adequately Supporting Your Middle Managers?

Want to know what struck me the most in our middle manager panel blog post? I was impressed by how proactive they were. In many circumstances, they knew what to do and were able to execute on behalf of their organization and for their own well-being.

I realize this is not always the case, especially for new managers or managers who are new to working in a distributed work environment.

It’s up to an organization’s leaders to provide middle managers with the support and guidance to be productive, engaged, and healthy on the job. Let’s divide our support strategies into two categories: assimilation and safety.

Assimilation

Assimilation doesn’t just apply to middle managers who are new to the role or new to an organization. Even experienced managers can feel confused or stressed about how to succeed in this transformed workforce that presents new management challenges.

Leaders need to start conversations on how to manage bi-directionally within the organization’s current culture, how job expectations and success metrics have evolved, and how to handle employee issues that didn’t exist two years ago – like how to proceed if a worker refuses to come to the office.

More than ever, middle managers need leaders to facilitate mentorship, sponsorship, and peer-leader relationships that can grow and deepen in person as well as online.

In Ceridian’s 2022 Executive Survey, 94% of respondents said that the employee-manager relationship was very or extremely important for employee retention. Despite that, many people in supervisory positions don’t feel comfortable communicating with their direct reports.

In a private leadership session, I recently asked 10 executives how they felt about having substantive conversations with their employees. More than half said “awkward.” Regardless of the cause of the communication difficulties (lack of in-person rapport, etc.), this is an issue that should be nipped in the bud.

Both new and experienced middle managers should receive training in areas such as demonstrating empathy, building trust, delegating, providing constructive performance feedback, and persuading and motivating teams. This may be easier said than done, though, because as the Executive Survey indicated, only about half of organizations have management training programs at all.

The bottom line? Today’s middle managers don’t have the bandwidth or wherewithal to “figure it out.” If leaders want them working in harmony with the rest of the organization, they need to expend the time and resources to educate them and empower them to overcome management challenges.

Safety

For much of the pandemic, employee safety initiatives focused on how we could keep people from contracting and spreading COVID-19. But over the course of two trauma-filled years, employees and especially managers began feeling a different lack of safety.

In fact, the emotion that has most permeated the ranks of middle management is fear. Many are facing significant personal and professional challenges but are afraid to speak up lest they experience negative consequences.

Some organizations have done an excellent job of supporting managers’ psychological needs during the pandemic, including organizing events to target burnout, providing confidential resources like crisis hotlines and behavioral health sessions, and actively reducing the stigma of talking about mental health issues. And in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19, organizations are offering career mobility and flex work options to an unprecedented degree.

The key here is to sustain the momentum. Already, I’m seeing some companies revert to their basic EAPs (employee assistance programs) when it comes time to decide on benefits for the upcoming year.

Unfortunately, I’m also witnessing certain organizations doubling down on in-person office time or subtly punishing managers who leave work to pick up a child or go to a doctor’s appointment.

If managers don’t feel safe, no one else will either. Caring for middle managers through assimilation and safety isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart business decision in a tight labor market where competent and loyal talent is hard to find.

New Book from Barry Moltz Promotes Agility Among Business Owners

The following is a guest post from my longtime friend and colleague, Barry Moltz. Barry's new book (linked below) is a must-read for business owners emerging from the pandemic crisis.

My work with thousands of small business owners over the past 20 years inspired me to write about how to make changes.

Well, that is not exactly true. More accurately, my frustration and the resulting challenges working with small business owners forced me to write this book. Let me explain.

I’m often asked by many companies and small business owners I don’t know to help them. They are referred to me, hear me speak at an event, or find me online. Typically, they’re feeling stuck by a problem, and their companies can’t move forward. For example, their business growth is stagnant or worse—they’re either losing money or not making enough to grow their companies or be motivated to keep going. After analyzing the situation, if I agree to work with them, we mutually decide on a go-forward strategy. I help them assemble a detailed plan to make any changes and the critical success factors and actions that need to be completed. They agree that taking these specific steps will help them solve their issues, grow their companies, and make more money.

And then, almost nothing happens.

Unfortunately, most small business owners implement a few easy steps but never take the critical or difficult ones that could make a difference. This has long frustrated me since we worked hard to develop a well-thought-out plan and were both excited to see the result. While it may not work perfectly once it is put into action, I know the plan will move their companies forward from where they are stuck now. I also feel bad because they are paying me their hard-earned cash to help them, and we both had agreed on the actions they needed to take and the time frame they needed to do it in. In the past, I tended to blame the inaction on myself. Did they not trust me enough to take significant steps, or did I just give them bad advice? However, after doing the research, I realize I was not the main reason for their inability to change.

I wrote my new book, “ChangeMasters: How to Actually Make the Change You Already Know You Need to Make” to figure out why small business owners do not make the changes or take the actions that they know will help them reach their goals. Where is the gap between the sincere intent to make these changes and the actions to actually do it? What holds most people back and keeps them stuck on the same path over and over again? Why are they still so comfortable not making any changes and staying on the path that clearly does not work for them—one that is not adding to their happiness or feeling of success? What steps do they need to take to slowly break free and start to make those changes today that will help them in the long run?

In this book, I reveal much of the psychological research around why change is so hard for so many people and the real-life strategies that every small business owner can employ to make the changes they need to make in their companies right now.

It starts with:

Narrowing the one change you want to make.

Identifying how you are currently doing that now.

What is driving the change (emotional, financial, etc.)?

What will happen if you don’t make the change?

What is the smallest first step you can make to start that change?

I am not trying to convince you to make a change but rather help you make the changes you already know you need to make but have not been able to do.

Up Close with Middle Managers

In the first post in our middle manager series, I looked at research related to the challenges facing middle managers. However, I was curious to learn what middle managers themselves have been thinking. I consulted a diverse panel of four:  

• Daniel Cook, director of human resources at the law firm Mullen & Mullen 
• Luke Horrocks, inventory analyst at vehicle salvage company Scrap My Car 
• Lorraine Lee, editorial director at Prezi
• Colleen Acanto, a fast casual restaurant chain manager 

Colleen’s real identity has been withheld to protect her privacy.  

What was your biggest fear as a middle manager during the pandemic? 

Luke: I think we were all quite worried about our jobs and what would happen to the company. No one knew which industry would be affected the most, obviously apart from retail. With the focus of our business being collecting damaged cars, the fact that no cars would really be on the road was incredibly concerning. 

Colleen: I feared my staff wouldn’t show up. Of course, I wanted them to put their health and safety first, but we also had a business that was still open during the pandemic.  

Did you feel burned out, and if so, how did you cope with that? 

Daniel: Yes. Sometimes, at work, I reach my maximum mental capacity to digest information and utilize it productively. This is when I realize that I am exhausted and am facing burnout. Usually, when I am burned out, I feel emotionally frustrated and physically drained. Often, it can lead to severe migraines that affect my work quality and mood. There have been times I’ve felt fatigued to the point where I am forced to take a half day and leave work early. I definitely believe in taking constant breaks during work so I’m able to focus and I reward myself for completing tasks. It motivates me to do more. 

Luke: I never felt burned out during the pandemic. I think working from home gave me some comfort in a strange way. Post pandemic, our business has hit levels we haven’t seen for a long time, so getting back into the swing of things was quite a struggle initially. Long hours to catch up and little social time started to affect me. 

What was an aspect of your management style that you changed during or after COVID-19? 

Luke: While we were hit by the pandemic, we had to focus on different areas of the business than we had before, so I assigned new tasks like going through existing stock or revamping our storage areas. I also started meeting with my team every morning for a general catch-up and to check in on how everyone was coping with the at-home work environment. 

Lorraine: With the shift to remote work, I saw that I needed to become a lot more intentional with general communication and feedback to my team. I recall one time when some managers hosted a virtual happy hour, and one of our quietest employees was really talkative. This was a clear sign to us that he was craving connection and we needed to create more touchpoints for that. 

While making sure your direct reports were taken care of, how did you keep your own boss in the loop? 

Lorraine: In pre-pandemic times, it was easier for your boss to know what you were working on because you were in the office together. You could have watercooler chats in which you'd bring up an exciting idea or connect the dots between different teams. Now, us middle managers need to be our own best advocates. I meet one-on-one with my manager weekly and provide them with a single, easy-to-read document with the most important updates. 

Colleen: I work at a franchise, and the owner isn’t around a lot. There have been a lot of times when I’ve asked how they want to receive information and have needed to get permission to handle an issue that might come up out of the blue. Generally, I feel that there’s no such thing as too much communication, but I’ve also realized that sometimes I won’t get answers and will have to move forward confidently anyway. 

Thanks to my panel of middle managers for sharing their experiences so openly and thoughtfully. It was inspiring to hear that despite a high level of uncertainty, middle managers are committed to caring both for themselves and their organizations, regardless of organizational hurdles or management style. 

In the next post, we’ll begin tackling solutions for supporting the Lukes, Daniels, Lorraines, and Colleens in your organization.

The Plight of the Middle Manager in 2022

Welcome to our blog series on middle managers. Over the next two months, we will focus on the millions who comprise this heroic group. We’ll start with an overview of modern middle manager challenges and follow with some individual perspectives from middle managers. Our final two posts will cover general solutions and technology-specific solutions for supporting the middle managers in our organizations.

When I was 24 years old and working in a junior-level PR job in New York City, I decided to write a book about everything work-related I hadn’t been taught in college. Burnout was top of mind.

As it turns out, I had no idea.

Fast forward 20 years, and many of my generational compatriots are middle managers. They took these roles at a time when burnout had increased so much that the World Health Organization had labeled it an “occupational phenomenon.” And, in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic, late 2021 survey data from Gallup found that manager and middle manager burnout is only getting worse and is precipitously higher than individual contributor burnout.

It's not just the pandemic

It’s easy to attribute burnout to working two years in a pandemic, but the issue is more nuanced and multifactorial. First, let’s consider the role within the organization. A manager in the middle of several layers of hierarchy must maintain relationships with those below them and those above them. “It requires being both a proactive leader to direct reports and an engaged follower to the top management – all at the same time,” wrote Zahira Jaser last year in Harvard Business Review.

Jaser explored other challenges facing middle managers, including the need to create a dialogue with and appease people with conflicting agendas, to amplify the voices of direct reports upwards, and to critically appraise and balance dilemmas.

Do middle managers receive proper training for this complex dance? It depends, but the answer is often no. Ceridian’s 2022 Executive Survey found that while leaders recognize the value of middle managers, they aren’t always great at supporting them.

When Executive Survey respondents were asked how their organizations support middle managers, only half (51%) said their organizations offer management training programs.

A lack of comprehensive leadership development guidance and mentoring often leaves middle managers feeling less secure. Millennial managers are especially vulnerable to getting in over their heads, as they were promoted into supervisory positions much earlier than prior generations. All these factors lead to a profound experience of middle manager burnout.

For the rest of this piece, head over to the Ceridian website.