Although executives, in recent months, have championed flattening their org charts, research finds that middle managers are more important to the bottom line than some might expect. In fact, they’re a “business imperative,” according to a recent analysis from McKinsey & Company. 

“Organizations with top-performing managers yield multiple times the total shareholder returns (TSR) of those with average or below-average managers over a period of five years,” write the report’s authors. 

That might surprise some leaders who’ve opted to scale back hiring middle managers to promote efficiency and cost cutting. Meta announced in March that it would lay off an additional 10,000 employees following prior cuts in 2022. 

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the cuts would “make our organization flatter by removing multiple layers of management” while increasing efficiency. But experts say employers should provide middle managers with more resources rather than pull back. Middle managers often serve as the backbone of companies, supporting employees in ways that upper-level management cannot. 

“CEOs and other C-suite leaders who are surprised by the magnitude of this effect could consider the decades of organizational research finding that managers are one of the biggest factors—if not the biggest—in employees’ experiences and satisfaction at work. Strong managers can truly revolutionize how employees show up to work, how they perform, and how the organization performs as a whole,” according to McKinsey. The authors point to strategies HR leaders should employ to strengthen middle management’s value to organizations: 

— Identify “the magic number of employees a manager can oversee to achieve optimal effectiveness and efficiency.” This number can vary for different organizations.

— Create and reward an identified set of behaviors you want managers to reflect in the organization. 

— Offer managers additional development opportunities and a sense of purpose within the organization. 

— Establish accountability measures that reinforce what an effective manager looks like within your company.

Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@amberbburton

Reporter's Notebook

The most compelling data, quotes, and insights from the field.

Here’s a new Gen Z workplace term for you: “lazy girl jobs.” Young workers are bucking the hustle and burnout trend and going for low-stress jobs that provide more work-life balance. These are typically nontechnical jobs requiring little interaction with colleagues and repetitive tasks like responding to emails or drafting documents from templates.

"It checks off the basics: safety (no physical risk), flexibility, good benefits, a base salary that covers one’s lifestyle expenses, and minimal stress,” write Fortune’s Jane Thier and Rachel Shin.

Around the Table

A round-up of the most important HR headlines, studies, podcasts, and long-reads.

- The pandemic revolutionized the workplace, but “presenteeism,” the inclination to work long hours and always be available regardless of productivity, remains ingrained in many workplaces. BBC

- New research finds that most CEOs and executive boards have increased support for DEI initiatives at their companies over the last 12 months, while mid-level management is not entirely on board. World 50 Group

- Remote workers make their workday breaks more meaningful by swapping phone scrolling for household chores or exercise. Wall Street Journal

Watercooler

Everything you need to know from Fortune.

A.I. at the top. Theoretically, A.I. could one day perform all the tasks of a CEO, but it would have to overcome some major cultural hurdles to become widely accepted as a C-suite replacement. —Geoff Colvin

Part-time problems. About 340,000 UPS drivers are poised to strike on August 1. The union is fighting to increase part-time drivers' wages, among other demands. —Jason Miller

Pennies for protestors. The city of Los Angeles fined Universal Studios $250 for heavily pruning trees that would have shaded Hollywood strikers from intense heat last week. —Chris Morris

Dressing down. Rising temperatures might have some workers thinking about breaking traditional office dress codes and pulling out their shorts. But a recent poll finds that 41% of Americans believe wearing shorts in the office is never appropriate. —Chloe Berger