Featured in People Management
Recent research featured in People Management highlights a growing challenge for organisations – fewer employees see management as an appealing career move.
According to research from Ipsos Karian and Box, only 17% of non-managers said stepping into management looked attractive, while nearly two thirds said they actively did not want the role. At the same time, many employees believe management positions now carry significantly more pressure and responsibility than they did just a few years ago.
The findings reflect something many organisations are already experiencing in practice. Management roles have become increasingly complex, emotionally demanding and operationally stretched, often without the support, development or incentives evolving at the same pace.
Gemma Bullivant shared her perspective with People Management on why management is becoming less attractive, what this could mean for organisations long term, and where businesses may need to rethink leadership development.
Why management is becoming less appealing
For many employees, management no longer represents the clear progression opportunity it may once have done.
Instead, it is increasingly viewed as a high-pressure role sitting between organisational demands, operational delivery and people challenges, often with limited support.
“These statistics do not surprise me, because management is often viewed as a challenging and thankless task,” Gemma explained.
One of the biggest issues is that many managers are promoted based on technical capability or performance, rather than being properly prepared for leadership itself.
“Employees often become accidental managers and are not given proper training or support. They are suddenly expected to have difficult conversations and be on the front line in organisations.”
In many organisations, managers are also carrying significant operational responsibility alongside people leadership responsibilities, creating roles that feel constantly stretched.
“In organisations with stretched workforces, managers are often contributing operationally as well as managing people, which adds significantly to workload and responsibility.”
At the same time, the nature of management itself is evolving rapidly.
“Managers are expected to be agile and take on additional roles as work evolves, meaning they have more to deal with than they are used to.”
This creates a difficult tension where leadership roles increasingly require:
- emotional resilience
- communication capability
- adaptability
- conflict management
- strategic thinking
- people leadership
Trust in leadership is also shaping perceptions
The research also revealed low levels of trust in leadership, with only 17% of employees believing leaders prioritise employees when making major decisions.
This is because employees are often forming their perception of leadership by observing the leaders around them. If leadership appears overloaded, disconnected, unsupported or constantly firefighting, it is perhaps unsurprising that fewer people aspire to step into those roles themselves.
Increasingly, organisations may need to think more carefully about the leadership experiences and behaviours they are modelling internally.
The risk to succession planning and leadership pipelines
One of the biggest long term risks for organisations is what this means for future leadership pipelines.
If fewer employees want to progress into management roles, organisations may eventually face capability gaps at middle and senior leadership levels.
This becomes particularly problematic when organisations already rely heavily on managers to:
- lead change
- maintain engagement
- support wellbeing
- manage performance
- navigate uncertainty
- and hold teams together operationally
Without strong leadership pipelines, organisations risk creating increasing pressure on a shrinking group of managers, potentially reinforcing the cycle further.
There is also a broader question around whether organisations have unintentionally made management feel unsustainable.
For years, many organisations have expanded management responsibilities without always redesigning the role itself. Managers are often expected to deliver operational performance, support employee wellbeing, manage conflict, navigate ambiguity and implement organisational change simultaneously.
Without enough support, development and clarity, management can begin to feel less like progression and more like exposure.
What organisations should do differently
According to Gemma, organisations need to rethink both leadership development and progression pathways more broadly.
“Organisations need to provide clearer progression pathways and stronger incentives for managers.”
That includes practical support such as:
- leadership development
- coaching
- communication training
- people management capability building
- and clearer support structures for new managers
Importantly, organisations may also need to rethink the assumption that progression should always mean managing larger teams or taking on more operational responsibility.
In some cases, employees may want progression through specialist expertise, strategic contribution or project leadership rather than traditional line management.
Managerial reward structures may also need reviewing.
“Managerial pay has also stagnated, meaning becoming a manager does not always come with the pay and progression it has traditionally been associated with. Organisations are not always making it worth their while.”
Managers are often responsible for implementing decisions without always feeling genuinely included in shaping them.
Giving managers greater involvement in organisational direction, decision-making and leadership conversations can help strengthen both engagement and leadership confidence over time.
A broader leadership question
Ultimately, the findings raise a broader question for organisations:
What does leadership actually look and feel like inside your business?
Because employees are constantly observing leadership in practice, not just in leadership frameworks or values statements. And if management increasingly appears overloaded, unsupported and emotionally draining, organisations may need to rethink not just how they develop leaders, but how leadership itself is designed and experienced.
This theme also connects closely to a recent episode of The Strategic Leader Podcast, Every Leadership Interaction Leaves a Trace, where Gemma Bullivant, Fi Craig and Paul Kinkaid explore how leaders shape culture, trust and organisational experience through their behaviour, communication and emotional presence, often more than they realise.
