Lately, I’ve been thinking about how often managers are expected to “absorb” pressure from above and shield their teams from chaos. I had a week recently where I was juggling three escalations, a surprise budget cut, and a reorg announcement—none of which I could really talk to my team about yet. I stayed calm for them, but behind the scenes, I was running on fumes. It’s part of the job, sure, but it can be incredibly isolating. Do you feel like you have real support from leadership when things get tough—or are you white-knuckling it through the chaos alone?

like
Posting as :
works at
You are currently posting as works at

Middle managers are the emotional punching bags of corporate America—expected to protect everyone but themselves. No wonder so many burn out or check out.

like

It’s unfortunate when you are kind of going it alone in those situations. You are being handed down a lot of stuff to deal with and often can’t do or say much for your team. Really does too often feel like we are the middle men, caught in between and there isn’t much for support, just people saying to deal with it.

boo hoo... get a life. middle management aren't respected.

Related Posts

Which cloud MasterCard use for big data?

like

Hi members, feel free to post and ask about anything

like

Looking to enter provider-side consulting. I used to work in financial services management consulting and went back to school for premed in preparation for medical school. Now I'm looking to get back into the market.

Any tips for employment in the current market?

like

Is there a reason some of the biglaw websites look like they were made in 2006? Surely that reflects poorly on a company

like

Currently making 56k as a first year Tax Staff, what percentage or ranges should I be looking towards ? Regionally known firm.

like

Hello London folk. There’s a lot of great chat about diversity in adland on fishbowl, but it’s all very US based. So I’ve just started a bowl on diversity in London specifically - 9qo8f

like

Hi buddies,

Hope you all doing good. How many sick leaves were provided by cgi?? And is there any specific limit of taking sick leave with respect to financial year? Kindly clarify!

Hi there. Has anyone here invested in a manual car wash? If so, how profitable is it realistically and also what to look for when buying one? Thanks in advance:)

like

Talking to the opposite sex at the gym: yes or no? (Or same sex)

like

What health insurance bkd has? Any 401k match?

like

Thinking about buying first home. ~$600k. How was your VA home loan experience? In a competitive market, was it a weakness? Is it an issue with lenders? Do I need a RE agent well versed with them? THX

like

Fish fam - quite new to all this and would appreciate your support. if I am based in a high income tax state but work on site in a lower income tax state. Can I claim the paid taxes back from my home state or do I always pay income tax based on where my home office location is?
Thanks

like

It’s called, “Reasonable Assurance"

Post Photo
likefunny

What is a reasonable pay increase + bonus? This will be my first pay increase. I make 70k and I will be starting my second year at big law (immigration). I had 2 years of prior experience before joining the firm. My manager rated me highest in all areas and mentioned she recommended me for promotion but it may not happen until next cycle since there are limited number of promotions to give. I will get a pay increase regardless so I want to negotiate in case I don’t get a “good” increase.

likehelpful

Accenture 🐟

How difficult is it to get the top of the range listed in the job postings? Also, are what are standard sign on bonuses?

like

Hi Guys
Got a mail about CBO Party upcoming Tuesday
What generally happens in this meet ?
It's my year and hence curious to know

like

what's the best app/site for planning an itinerary? I'd like to list all the things I want to see and be able to plan out the order by day. surely this must exist. tripit seems very manual/lacking.

like

What area should I stay near in Venice Italy? Only going to be in town for 2 nights

like

Is anyone willing to provide a referral to McKinsey please?

like

Ok environmental scientists - what are the best eco-friendly changes we can make today?

like

Additional Posts in People Managers

I have a direct report who is smart, passionate about her job and can be really innovative. However she carries this enormous weight of responsibility, for needing to do everything, do it right, make sure it's perfect, not trusting colleagues to help. It creates dread and panic and overwhelming workload and a terrible attitude for her and I am speaking with her this week to start to shift her mindset. Any tips in navigating how to let go of this heavy idea of "responsibility"?

likehelpful

For the past 25+ years, I've been a devops engineer, cloud architect and team lead on many projects. I would like to make a career move into IT Management (i.e. DevOps Manager, Director of Cloud Ops, etc.). When it comes to skills needed, what should my focus be on and how would that translate onto a resume? I would love to still be hands-on to utilize my tech knowledge.

like

I have issues “delegating” or simply assigning tasks, which as a Manager is a whole thing. Like I feel “bad” asking my people to do things that i know i can do but shouldn’t because it’s not up to me. When I assign a task i try to be super clear with instructions, give examples, help them get started…but I still feel bad. Idk. Anyone goes through this?

like

Anyone have suggestions on a team building exercise or consultant/coaching to build/improve energy. I feel 2020 was such a big drain on everyone’s energy and spirit just looking for ways to start the year out on a more positive note. TIA

like

Newer manager here (18 moths). Recent org announcements and hiring holds have put major stress on my team. Some are hyper focused on all the bad, how do I get buy-in that this is temporary and we still have a job to do? I feel it’s more important than ever to show value vs being task takers.

like

Looking for info about the engineering culture at Netflix from the perspective of someone who identifies as a woman or non-binary person and is also a person of color. Do you feel safe and included? Would also love some input from someone in a leadership position, do you feel supported as a leader?

like

Does anyone else just not even want to be a people manager anymore?! The amount of work this is taking, I’m just so over it. In addition to them piling on my work (which is a full time job) the people management stuff is just as much a full time job that no one in management seems to take into account. I have tried countless times to explain this but I end up burnt out, everyone suffers including me. I just left one role bc of it and now this new role, same thing. I’m over it.

like

We interviewed a great candidate, extended a verbal offer and she accepted. We sent the written offer a few days ago but she hasn’t opened it or accepted (it’s expiring tomorrow). Have you ever had to follow up? How did you handle it? My company is small with no HR, so I have to handle the hiring myself.

Hi! Any career coaches who offer a full support throughout job search?

-Experience: 8 years of project/program management and/or communication
-Companies of interest: Google, Microsoft, Facebook
-Location: Washington DC or VA

It feels very telling that there are so few people in this group. Any thoughts on that? It feels like the vast majority of people managers only want the title and don’t want to worry about their people.

likesmart

Looking to apply for a manager role in my CS team. Any tips for the interview?

4 years of CS experience, no management experience

Whats your biggest challenge as a manager?

What do you enjoy most?

How do you manage your friends/people who used to be in your team?

Any interview tips appreciated! Last time failed the interview cause did not show a proper action plan. Find it tough as I do not know what challenges my manager has

like

One of my top talents just put in his two weeks notice and I had nothing to offer him to stay. I told upper management this was going to happen! I’ve spent months asking for a promotion for him, trying to push his career forward and got no traction. I know i did my best. He knows i tried. I still believe i work at a good place but i feel like we’re losing focus. I feel my boss is leaving soon. It’s a mess.

like

What is your toughest challenge hiring someone in their early 20’s?
For lots of different reasons I get the impression that younger people aren’t equipped for the employer, employee relationship.

like

I got into Management a year ago and now I miss developing. How do software engineers turned managers feel about their switch over to people management?

What was your salary as a first time manager (and where were you based)?

like

I’m a manager and one of my direct reports makes more than me. It really bothers me. Anyone else been in this situation before? What’s the best way to handle it?

like

You're a new manager with direct reports. One of your directs is very determined. You consider yourself a good manager so you want to help them grow. They are killing it and taking on an enormous of workload, and executing flawlessly. Do you let them continue killing it? Ask how they're doing? Or warn/advise them on how to avoid burnout?

like

Hi. People Manager here. I've been one for 12 years now and I encourage my team to not be "yes" people. At this time, it feels like my manager wants me and my team to be yes people for her. How do I deal with this? I've never been a yes person and I don't preach this to my reports. I don't know what to do. Help?

New to Fishbowl?

Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
  • Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
  • Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
  • Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.

Already a user?
Login here

Share

Embed this post

Copy and paste embed code on your site

Preview

Download the
Fishbowl app

See what’s happening in your industry
from the palm of your hand.

A phone with Fishbowl app

Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile

Download app

Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Already have an account? Log in

Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl

By continuing you agree to Terms of Use(New) and Privacy Policy(New)
Messaging rates may apply

Already have an account? Log in

For account settings, visit Fishbowl on Desktop Browser or

General

Legal