Middle management: endless stress, all the blame, none of the glory

Middle management is presented as a trap of constant stress, guaranteed criticism and the impossibility of pleasing everyone, with a toll on personal life that often outweighs the financial reward.

The myth of the promotion hides an segarro reality. Being that "middle link" in a company, the go-between for management and the team, usually means being the lightning rod for everyone's frustrations. You become responsible for your subordinates' mistakes, but you rarely get credit for their successes. It is a position where glory is conspicuously absent, but criticism and problems rain down.

## The juggling act of pressure

Trying to please a superior who demands results and a team with its own needs is an impossible balancing act. If you side with management, you risk your people seeing you as a traitor or a mere errand runner. If you side too much with the team, your boss will consider you soft, incapable of enforcing targets. It's a no-win situation.

## The invasion of personal life

The so-called "right to disconnect" becomes an ethereal concept. WhatsApp messages and calls outside working hours are the norm. Even if the theory says the company phone is for work only, the reality is that if you don't answer, they will track you down on your personal phone. The pressure to be always available, to never "switch off", generates a latent stress, the constant expectation that something could go wrong at any moment.