The secret to a successful workplace: Middle managers

iStock; Rebecca Zisser/BI

• Middle managers have a vital job in the workplace.
• However, some companies have scaled back on middle management.
• Workplace experts shared why middle managers can be essential to a business's success.

US businesses are betting that they can thrive with fewer middle managers. They could come to regret it.

Some business leaders think that scaling back middle-manager roles — a trend called the "Great Flattening" — could help them cut costs and operate more efficiently.