An expert article for managers, leadership teams, and organizational decision-makers.
Written by an experienced middle manager.
Includes data from recent studies and real-world insights — with a practical example using TimeSpin.
Introduction: The Silent Overload of an Invisible Layer
Middle management is often described as the “sandwich layer” — strategically responsible upward, operationally involved downward. For years, this role was romanticized as the “backbone of the organization.”
But reality tells another story: it is now one of the most structurally overloaded layers in modern organizations.
Studies show what many managers have long felt personally: middle managers consistently work more hours than contracts or work models suggest.
For years, there were no precise metrics showing how much time actually went into meetings, coordination, project work, decisions, or ad-hoc tasks.
Only now — with modern time-tracking systems like the haptic solution TimeSpin — do organizations finally get precise, objective data.
And data changes everything.
The Workday: A Mix of Steering, Availability, and Constant Context Switching
Most middle managers face an extremely fragmented daily routine:
- Team check-ins
- Project steering
- Technical and business decisions
- Client-side questions
- Unexpected escalations
- Administrative tasks
In parallel:
- Leadership follow-ups
- Deadline pressure
- Floods of emails
- Constant context switching
- Permanent availability expectations
The numbers confirm the overload
According to the DGB:
- 44% of employees in Germany regularly work more than contractually agreed
- In home office, this rises to 50%+
For leaders, the gap widens even more:
- Skilled workers: 2.7 hours overtime/week
- Managers: 7.8 hours/week
- Managers earning >120,000 €/year: 10.53 hours/week
A study from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg focusing on middle management reports:
- 45.2 average working hours/week
- 60% report “high” or “very high” workload
- 11% of male managers work over 56 hours/week
The overload is measurable — and systemic.
Why Middle Managers Are Hit the Hardest
**1. The Sandwich Position
**Bridging leadership expectations and operational reality.
2. Lack of Clear Processes
Undefined tasks always “get stuck” at the middle.
3. Digital Always-On Pressure
Micro-overtime accumulates unnoticed.
4. Doing Too Much Operational Work
Many managers spend 30–50% of their time on operational tasks.
5. Lack of Transparency
Without proper tools, time allocation is guesswork.
Subjective Feeling vs Objective Reality: Before and After TimeSpin
A mid-sized company illustrates the true gap:
“I thought I had a good sense of my time usage — but only with TimeSpin did I see how wrong I was.”
The haptic dodecahedron cube from TimeSpin
tracks time simply by rotating it.
Each face represents a task or project.
Manager Benefits:
- Intuitive, instant task switching
- Real-time tracking
- No need to remember entries afterward
- Full cloud sync
- Exports for accounting, controlling, ERP
- Automatic analytics
Suddenly, the workday becomes visible — objectively.
How Big the Gap Really Is (Real Data)
Before TimeSpin (subjective estimate)
- Overtime: 4–6 hours/week
- Project time: “rough guesswork”
- Operational tasks: underestimated
- Focus time: nearly invisible
After TimeSpin (objective)
- Actual overtime: 7.8–10.2 hours/week
- Project time: precise to the 5-minute level
- Operational tasks: up to 40% higher
- Meetings: 30–40% of weekly time
- Ad-hoc interruptions: for the first time, measurable
Conclusion:
Feeling ≠ Reality.
Not due to poor skill — but due to an extremely fragmented workday.
Why Haptic Time Tracking Outperforms Purely Digital Tools
Digital tools often fail because they require:
- Too many clicks
- Too much discipline
- Too much retrospective documentation
- Too little intuition
The haptic TimeSpin cube fixes this:
You rotate it — and time logs correctly.
No friction. No cognitive load.
Impact on Accounting, Controlling, and Project Planning
Companies using TimeSpin report:
1. Accurate Project Billing
Actual time, not estimates.
2. Reliable Forecasting
Budgets based on reality.
3. Clean Exports
Excel, DATEV, Sage, ERP — no post-cleanup needed.
4. Management Transparency
A realistic picture of workload distribution.
5. Recognition of Overtime
Objective numbers replace subjective perception.
External Sources (Selection)
- DGB-Index Gute Arbeit – Overtime Report
- Compensation Partner – Working Hours Monitor 2019
- Fifka/Becker – Middle Management Study (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg)
Conclusion: Only the Right Data Shows How Much We Really Work
Middle management is one of the most overloaded roles in modern organizations.
Studies prove it, but daily reality makes it undeniable.
Only with haptic time tracking tools like TimeSpin do companies get:
- Overtime visibility
- Process bottlenecks
- Operational overload data
- Real meeting-time metrics
- A clear picture of fragmentations
With this data, subjective stress becomes measurable progress — enabling:
- Realistic goals
- Better work-time models
- Data-driven leadership
- Sustainable relief
Bremen, 18.11.2025 — by TimeSpin.net
Top comments (1)
Such a great Tool love it