42% of organisations cut management roles last year. Of the managers who stayed, 55% say they are exhausted. And employee motivation fell from 71% in 2024 to 61% now. That is the finding of Korn Ferry's Workforce 2026, a survey of more than 16,000 professionals in eleven countries, published in September.
More work per person
62% say they have much more work than two years ago. 45% are too busy to deliver results that matter, 44% feel stretched beyond their abilities. And AI doesn't make it lighter: 52% say AI has increased their workload. CEOs see it differently. 79% of them see efficiency gains from AI, against 51% of individual contributors.
Where it pinches
A flatter organisation looks more efficient. But the work of the manager who was cut doesn't disappear. It lands with the manager who stays, with a bigger team and less time per employee. That is exactly where motivation drops.
What you can do
- After a reorganisation, count how many people each manager now leads. A team that doubled needs a second manager or fewer tasks.
- Consider an interim manager for the transition. They carry the work while the new structure settles, without a fixed cost.
- Ask your managers what they are leaving undone. That is where work quietly disappears.
Source: Korn Ferry, Workforce 2026, 8 September 2026.
Pearson & Partners locates and qualifies managers, permanent and interim.