by Mohammad Osama
Published Feb 4, 2025
The End of Middle Management? Why This Trend May Be Costly
Business moves fast in 2025, cost-cutting is clearly a priority for many companies. As a result, we’ve seen a trend towards eliminating middle management positions. While this may seem like a quick solution to reduce overheads, it’s crucial to consider the long-term implications. Is sacrificing middle management truly the right move strategically?
The Middle Management Conundrum
The push for a wider span of control—where one manager oversees numerous employees—is often driven by the desire to cut costs. However, research has shown that when a manager’s role involves coaching and mentoring, a span of control exceeding seven direct reports can be counterproductive. This raises important questions: Is cost-cutting via middle management layoffs worth it if the quality of output suffers? Could it negatively impact sales and reputation?
The Role of Middle Management
Middle management isn’t just about motivation, even for self-motivated employees. It’s about providing coaching, guidance, and mentorship. Middle managers are also essential for gathering valuable feedback from front-line employees who deal with on-ground issues daily. A single senior department head overseeing 30+ employees without middle management misses out on these crucial opportunities, and crucially, employee engagement within the wider team.
Finding the Right Balance
Companies must carefully assess the optimal level of middle management based on the input and involvement required to deliver quality products or services, both in the short and long term. This assessment may lead to right-sizing, but completely eliminating middle management is not a sustainable solution.
The Future of Middle Management
The need for middle management will persist, especially with Gen Z employees who value interaction with managers to understand their contribution to the company’s goals. This requires more, not less, management time. Even AI-powered management tools cannot replace the human element of feeling heard and appreciated, and the future of work could do well to remember this.
While cost-cutting is essential, eliminating middle management may not be the answer. Companies in Dubai and the GCC should carefully consider the long-term implications before making drastic changes to their management structure. Finding the right balance is crucial for maintaining productivity, employee engagement, and overall success.
Mohammad Osama’s thoughts on this topic appeared in Arabian Business, https://www.arabianbusiness.com/jobs/job-cuts-burnout-too-many-managers-is-this-the-end-of-middle-management
