Why do we experience burnout more often as managers?

Because most often we:

• lack adequate preparation for the position
• lack clear boundaries of responsibility
• find ourselves sandwiched between leading others and the expectations of our superiors

Taking on my first management position was like jumping into the water - with no guarantee that I would stay afloat. University prepared me in theory. I tried to apply that knowledge in practice, the way an engineer applies what they learned at university - and, just like on a construction site or the shop floor, practice taught me something new every single day. Looking back, there were several factors that brought me to the edge - and to a necessary reset.

1. The first months: habits that decide later

Nobody experiences burnout on the day they finally accept that they are not well. That day is reached months earlier — when the manager is full of enthusiasm and ready to take on every task.

It is a combination of factors that quietly accumulate: a tendency to take on responsibility and work, weaker coping and boundary-setting skills, and an environment that itself generates prolonged stress - the so-called diathesis-stress model (Frontiers in Psychology, 2020).

A longitudinal study followed 322 people for their first three months, and again a year later. Role clarity in the third month directly predicted burnout symptoms a year later. (Frögéli et al., 2022).

According to recent research, young managers report higher levels of burnout and lower levels of vitality than older colleagues in the same role (Irehill et al., 2023). They perceive greater emotional demands and less organisational support — and experience the managerial role itself as unclear and conflicting. This is not about generational fragility, but about a combination that forms in the first months of a new role.

2. Role ambiguity as a factor

Role ambiguity — when a person does not know exactly what is expected of them and where the limits of their authority are — has consistently been linked to strain, anxiety and burnout, across decades of research, different industries and cultures. According to recent research on 400 employees, role clarity directly mediates the relationship between workload and burnout (KMAN Counseling & Psychology Nexus, 2025).

3. The sandwich position: responsibility without authority

Along with an unclear role comes the manager's sandwich position. Gallup research from 2022 shows that middle managers report the most burnout of all levels in an organisation - more than executives, more than the people they manage. The main reason is conflicting priorities and unclear expectations from above. (Gallup, 2022; The Influence Journal, 2025). The manager is accountable for the result, but does not decide alone on the deadline, the price or the resources - and when something goes wrong, they are the one who gets the call and has to fix it.

I have found myself in situations where I was held accountable for something I realistically had no authority over. My only mistake at that moment was staying silent and accepting the criticism, which made my sense of the scope of my responsibility grow wider — rather than become more clearly defined.

Control is in our hands

Unlike personality and the organisation itself, which one conversation will not change, preparation and role clarity are things we can act on.

A concrete example: for greater clarity of your own role, insist on a written list — five decisions the manager makes alone, and five for which they call their superior. Young managers do not have the wisdom of hindsight, only the enthusiasm to gain it. That is why they need to be nurtured and guided, not left to chance.

Where this stops

MIKRO HR works to ensure that young managers in construction get clear guidance in their very first months - instead of building it through trial and error, in the silence of burnout.