Burned out middle manager? Try fractional work

Middle managers are at a crossroads right now. With the “Great Flattening” reducing management layers, many managers face an uncomfortable choice: stay put and risk layoffs, burnout, and declining mental health, or try a different career strategy entirely. Fractional work presents a new solution to this growing career dilemma. In a fresh spin on part-time work, fractional workers perform a “fraction” of a full-time job, often for multiple companies at once. For companies, middle managers “going fractional” actually solves several problems. First, fractional middle managers form a workforce that scales upward to meet business needs but can be reduced in a downturn without mass layoffs. Fractional managers can be especially useful in the wake of a layoff when important skill gaps emerge, as part of digital transformation toward AI, and as AI makes small companies more powerful. These market forces are likely to create more fractional opportunities for middle managers in the coming years. Middle managers are also desirable candidates for fractional work thanks to their valuable skill sets. With years of experience on execution, coordination, and strategic planning at companies large enough to have multiple reporting layers, managers have a strong command over their function and industry best practices that will be an asset to hiring teams. Moreover, the middle manager role already requires high EQ. This skill makes managers well-suited to juggling–and delighting–multiple clients instead of multiple internal stakeholders. Three ways to find fractional work as a middle manager If you’re a middle manager interested in fractional work, you have the flexibility to build a fractional practice around your experience, interests, and market demand (at the risk of crudely summarizing ikigai). Here is how middle managers can break into the three categories of fractional work by level. 1. Pursue fractional middle management work The first path for middle managers is through fracti