Companies are increasingly eliminating middle management roles, putting millennial managers at significant risk. This “unbossing” trend is driven by cost-cutting, Gen Z’s aversion to traditional management, remote work, and heightened performance pressures.
Lara Milward, a neuro-leadership coach, noted that millennials in their 30s, juggling homeownership, family, and career, are particularly vulnerable. “This generation might take the hardest hit,” Milward told Business Insider.
Joe Galvin, Vistage’s chief research officer, attributed the trend to the normalisation of remote work, tech advances, and generational shifts. “Technology and pandemic-driven changes have transformed communication and management,” Galvin said.
Middle management redundancies surged in 2023, with these roles making up nearly a third of layoffs, up from 20% in 2018. Millennials, aged 28 to 43, are often the ones affected, having been hardest hit during the Great Firing of 2022.
Chris Lovell of SoFi Technologies highlighted that millennials and some Gen Xers are taught to follow traditional career paths, are impacted the most. Millennials’ disinterest in corporate hierarchies, burnout from downsized teams and increased workloads contribute to this trend.
Gen Z’s emphasis on boundaries, mental health, and autonomy is shifting workplace culture. Joel Wolfe, president of HiredSupport, warned that millennials’ perceived inflexibility makes them more vulnerable to redundancies.
Shoshanna Davis, founder of Fairy Job Mother, expressed concern while talking to a website that unbossing affects Gen Zers in early careers, reducing essential guidance and mentoring. “The future of work dynamics is uncertain,” Davis said. “If this is purely cost-cutting with no replacements, what incentive do employees have to perform?”
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