The End-of-Year Squeeze on Middle Managers

The end of the year often means racing to finish as much as possible, as fast as possible. But this year may be more stressful than usual for one group that had a particularly tough 2025: managers.

According to a Korn Ferry study, 41% of employees said their organizations have created more pressure at the top this year by slashing management layers. Indeed, with all the corporate flattening going on, the number of US managers’ direct reports has increased by anywhere from 20% to 40% since the end of the pandemic, according to one survey. That can cause them to spread the anxiety to staffers or ignore their needs. “Managers are already spread thin,” says Justin Ripley, a Korn Ferry senior client partner in the firm’s Global Industrial practice

The pressure goes well beyond end-of-year projects: Many managers worry about job security. White-collar roles have comprised a substantial portion of layoffs over the past 12 months, and experts don’t expect a rush anytime soon to hire new managers en masse. Most managers already say they are overburdened. Two-thirds report struggling with heavy workloads, and more than half with being burned out. “Given where we are in the global economy, they’re under pressure to push their employees to squeeze whatever they possibly can out of them,” says Dennis Deans, Korn Ferry’s global human resources business partner. 

Deans and other experts say that this year might see managers use different tactics. Some will hire interim staff, either to wrap up big projects or to cover for permanent employees on extended holiday leave. Others will dive deep into the data to determine whether specific roadblocks are preventing teams from meeting their end-of-year goals. Part of this means trying to get everyone to use AI tools. “It’s a great time of year to encourage people to use AI to see if it can help push things toward the end of the year,” says Renee Whalen, a senior client partner and North America market leader for Professional Search at Korn Ferry.

While AI can help streamline the process, managers’ success in their year-end push will depend far more on leadership skills than technical acumen. “It still comes down to: How do you motivate your employees to make a final push?” says Kim Waller, a senior client partner in the firm’s Organizational Strategy practice.

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