06-05-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

We’ve changed what it means to be a manager

We haven’t changed how we support them.

[Photo: Getty Images]

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of top leaders and experts who pay dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership, and more.

There is a group of people inside your organization who are being asked to do more than perhaps anyone else right now, and they are doing it largely without adequate support, training, or acknowledgment of how much the job has changed. I’m talking about managers.

Not the C-suite navigating strategy, and not the frontline employees absorbing the day-to-day weight of change. The middle layer. The people expected to translate executive vision, increase team productivity, spot early signs of employee burnout, and hold teams together, while quietly dealing with their own fears about what AI, economic pressure, and organizational uncertainty mean for their futures.

In Modern Health’s recent survey of 1,000 full-time U.S. employees from companies with 250 employees, 82% of senior managers said being a manager is harder than ever. One in four say their direct reports’ mental health has worsened so far in 2026, yet only 37% feel strongly equipped to identify burnout in their teams. We are asking........

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