A promotion into management may not be the step up the corporate ladder that it once was.

As companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft flatten corporate structures and downsize middle management, some managers have more work and more direct reports than ever before.

The average number of direct reports per manager was 12.1 in 2025, according to recent Gallup data. That’s up from 10.9 in 2024, and a 50% increase from 2013, when Gallup first collected this