'Invisible & frustrated' | Maligned middle managers - why our corporate pantomime villains need less scapegoating and more support

Astronaut. Doctor. Pop star. Athlete. Politician. What about… middle manager?

It’s tricky to imagine anyone growing up desperate to step into this unglamorous role and face the daunting prospect of corporate no man’s land.

Thanks in part to the likes of Ricky Gervais’ iconic character David Brent, middle managers have become the pantomime villains of the business world, criticised both for doing nothing and for any attempts to act. They are caught between executive expectation and employee frustration. Damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.

And when times are tough, it's often middle managers who feel the squeeze. In recent months, a spate of substantial corporate layoffs and reorgs specified have targeted middle management.