After years of pressure from the pandemic, the challenges of managing remote, hybrid, and RTO workplaces, and inconsistent organizational support, managers are on the brink of a crash.The coming manager collapse is kicking off a vicious cycle for organizations. As managers struggle, Gen Z sees the toll of the job and backs away, leaving fewer employees to rise into management roles. This puts more pressure on remaining managers.At the same time, several years of manager layoffs have left fewer people taking on these responsibilities. In 2023 alone, middle managers made up over a third of all layoffs. The remaining managers are under more pressure, with growing stress leading to higher rates of burnout.New research from my organization, meQuilibrium, shows just how deep the manager shortage could become. In addition to higher expectations for their performance, managers experience 59% higher emotional demands than their team members. They often face these elevated risks in isolation, being 12% less likely to receive support when they need it. The risks are also known precursors to burnout, disengagement, and quitting. UKG has found that almost half of middle managers would likely quit within the year due to stress.Organizations cant attain their goals for growth without resilient managers who have the skills to support their teams, says meQuilibriums Alanna Fincke, SVP Content and Head of Learning, who first identified the likelihood of a manager crash earlier this year. Employees who dont feel supported by their managers are more than four times as likely to quit their jobs, and twice as likely to report poor overall well-being. When this house of cards falls, it will impact the entire organization.On the flip side, employees who feel strongly supported are more protected from psychosocial risks at work, such as mistrust, conflict, and excessive work pace. These employees are two times as likely to perceive that conflicts are resolved fairly and 2.6 times more likely to receive help when needed. Strongly supported employees are also much more likely to feel like the pace of work moves at a sustainable rate in which they can complete their tasks.The manager role is indispensable for high workforce performance. But if todays managers crash, who will be there to pick up the pieces?Gen Z Says No ThanksNext-generation employees show little interest in the challenges of management. Despite Gen Zs greater openness to change, a recent Robert Walters survey revealed that 72% of Gen Z respondents would choose an individual route to progression over managing others. Sixty-nine percent say middle management is too high-stress and low-reward. (Its not just Gen Z. CNBC reports 42% of U.S. workers say theyd turn down a promotion.)Theres another complication, too. Even if Gen Z workers were looking for management jobs, our research shows many dont yet have the skills to handle the emotional turbulence of change, which is part and parcel of managing teams. Compared to their older colleagues, Gen Z employees experience 34% higher change anxiety and 25% lower emotional stability in the face of change. This anxiety may be spurring them to self-select out of manager roles they could excel in.To stop and reverse the draining of present and future manager talentand prevent organizational growth from stagnatingleaders have to do two things. First, they have to change how their organizations support their managers. Second, leaders need to equip younger employees with the skills to handle change. The following actions are key:Assess and address workplace psychosocial risksPsychosocial risks are characteristics of work design and management that negatively influence performance. They include high workload, poor work-life balance, workplace conflict, lack of control, lack of meaning at work, and inadequate support. These risks are often measured as environmental impacts, affecting teams, business units, and entire workforces.For example, a meQ customer recently sent a psychosocial risk survey to 34,000 employees and contractors. With a 50% response rate, the company gained significant data to identify risk factors across job functions, such as a lack of meaning for finance employees and a lack of control in the manufacturing unit.Tight deadlines are the most common psychosocial risk, according to research by the University of Washington School of Public Health, with 43% of all U.S. workers exposed. Consider an engineering team that feels like the demands on them are too high. These strains typically lead to anxiety and depression, which both endanger attention and focus on the job and put the entire team at high risk for burnout and turnover.Managers are nearly 40% more likely to cite excessive workloads compared to non-managers. Almost as many report insufficient time for tasks, and 34% are more likely to report needing to work at a very fast pace. These risks have both financial and human costs in increased absenteeism and more workers compensation claims. Poorly managed psychosocial risk also leads to elevated mental health risks and a range of negative physical health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and diabetes.A comprehensive psychosocial risk assessment, including mitigation strategies and support, is the clearest path to improving managers performance and experienceand changing how the rest of the workforce views the role.Enact clear policies that support manager health and well-beingExplicit policy decisions can help managers protect and promote their own mental and physical well-being. This might look like mandatory disconnect periods, sabbaticals, or easing access to acute mental healthcare resources. Making sure managers have consistent, supportive check-ins with their own supervisors can help reduce isolation.Leaders can also model and reinforce workplace norms that prioritize health. For example, a leader for an R&D unit might maintain consistent boundaries on work hours to sustain the high cognitive demand of the job. He or she might also begin meetings with simple well-being check-ins, modeling the normalcy of mental health discussions in day-to-day work. With these actions, companies set a positive example for the entire organization and invest in the sustainability of their management pipeline.Deploy evidence-based techniques to build resilienceComprehensive, evidence-based resilience programs equip managers with practical tools to improve team interactions, communication, and collaboration. Digital cognitive behavioral therapy tools can also help managers recognize and replace unproductive thought patterns with more effective alternatives.As managers develop these skills and model them for their teams, they become better equipped to maintain clear communication channels, inspire collaborative problem-solving, and guide teams through periods of change or uncertainty. Ultimately, investing in leader resilience translates to improved team performance, increased productivity, and a more positive work environment that drives organizational success.Focus on Gen ZThe previous steps are meant to improve the experience and perception of the manager role. But organizations also need to train their young employees in the essential skills they lack. In our research, Gen Z employees score significantly lower on core capabilities such as emotion control, stress management, engagement, and positivity.At the same time, we have found the employees most skilled in handling change and challengethe realities that managers deal with dailyhave the highest levels of those very skills: emotion control, stress management, engagement, and positivity. These are the specific, actionable areas to focus Gen Z training efforts on in order to improve their ability to handle management demands.Organizations that take a systematic approach to supporting managers and Gen Z workers can end the vicious cycle. The key lies not in grand transformations, but in consistent, practical steps to embed the fundamental capabilities of resilience and support across the organization. The result will be a more stable, sustainable workforce, capable of handling change and ready to lead through it.