A ‘disaster for purpose’: experts explain how factors such as lack of decision-making power contributes to critical purpose gaps between front-line and C-suite
Canadian employers face a growing leadership challenge: frontline managers, the critical layer of leadership closest to employees, are increasingly struggling with stress, burnout, and a critical lack of purpose.
According to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2025, 71% of leaders report heightened stress, 40% of frontline leaders are considering leaving their roles, and only 29% of employees trust their immediate managers.
In sharp contrast, C-suite executives are seven times more likely to feel a strong sense of purpose at work, according to the report.
Poor communication kills manager sense of purpose
The gap between senior executives and frontline leaders is fueled in part by communication breakdowns, explains Lieke ten Brummelhuis, associate professor of management and organization studies at Simon Fraser University.
“What a lot of frontline leaders probably are fed up with is a lot of [communication] that doesn't really necessarily cut to the chase of what actually is going on,” says ten Brummelhuis.
“Not being direct and honest and just saying it as it is – that can really harm a trust relationship between people.”
Indirect communication backfires, ten Brummelhuis explains, because frontline managers often sense when executives provide vague, unclear responses rather than transparent communication. This misdirection leads to mistrust and alienation, she says, and when compounded by broader trends such as remote work, can contribute to the stress, demotivation and loss of purpose.
As Gee Chima, head of HR at Specsavers Canada, explains, for their award-winning purpose-driven engagement strategies, clear communication is not optional, and it also makes business sense.
“It's better to just assume that you're dealing with intelligent people and just tell them as it is,” Chima says.
“Involve them in giving information, because they might actually have a solution to the things that the executives are struggling with.”
Impact of remote work on employee purpose
The shift toward remote work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated frontline leadership dynamics, explains ten Brummelhuis, noting that while remote work opened up opportunities for many groups of workers including women and those with disabilities, it has also had knock-on effects on engagement.
“So that has advantages, but it also means that you have less face-to-face communication, which does have a certain richness that you're not going to get with text messages or emails,” she says.
“And that face-to-face communication is really important for building trust.”
Chima further emphasizes the human need for connection, positing that remote work has made employees more isolated, less connected with coworkers, and ultimately losing some sense of purpose – especially for employees who don’t have strong personal support systems.
“People in general, we are collective animals. We need other people around us,” she says.
“I think if you have a close-knit group of friends, or if you have a tight family or neighbourhood, that can all buffer against losing ties at work. But if you don't have that buffer, then you definitely risk getting demoralized.”
DDI's data reveals that stress among leaders rose significantly during this transition. Rather than forcing employees back to the office full time, ten Brummelhuis emphasizes that hybrid work models can offer a balanced solution, recommending at least two in-office days per week.
For Canadian HR leaders, this means that flexible hybrid work policies are not just about productivity – they are essential to restoring trust and mitigating the loneliness that undermines purpose.
Giving frontline leaders real decision-making authority
Another major source of frontline manager dissatisfaction stems from limited control and decision-making authority, ten Brummelhuis explains; when middle managers lack meaningful authority over their teams and decisions are overridden from above, it erodes their sense of purpose and accelerates burnout.
“The difference between an executive leader and a frontline leader is having real impact or not, as in what kind of control do you actually have as a middle manager?” she says.
“Are you still a puppet on a string, or do you actually have a say to make a difference? And if that is not the case, then people burn out really quickly because they have all these work demands at the same time. They don't really have a true say in how they do the job or what decisions are being made, and that can be a disaster for purpose.”
DDI’s report notes the widening gulf between senior and frontline leader engagement; ten Brummelhuis suggests employers close this gap by giving frontline leaders more ownership over decisions and clear, consistent pathways to see the impact of their work.
For Chima’s team, this means giving employees regular opportunities to identify with the company’s purpose through internal story-telling around personal successes. Linking employees openly with the company’s wider values promotes connection and purpose, she explains, noting that “Seeing results of your action is really important for human beings, but also having real control.”
Preparing new managers for the reality of leadership
Many frontline leaders enter management roles with unrealistic expectations about autonomy and influence. As ten Brummelhuis points out, “Especially the first time managers, I think, often have the wrong type of ideas of what it means to be a manager, and that you actually have less control than you think, and that you still report to people above you.”
Organizations that invest time into properly preparing new managers, setting realistic expectations, and providing mentorship and training are better positioned to foster resilient frontline leadership, she says. This preparation is especially critical given DDI’s findings that leadership bench strength remains alarmingly low globally.
Specsavers invests heavily in recruitment, Chima shares, with store-level partnerships prioritizing purpose-driven hiring practices.
“It's really around demonstrating the fact that we are a purpose led organization, really showing the value that we bring to our patients and building that meaningful connection,” says Chima, explaining that recruitment is an important aspect of that strategy.
“I think recruitment is always going to be a challenge, particularly when you've got a niche,” she says.
“It really is about ensuring that we are a purpose-led organization, ensuring that people can understand what we're about.”
Addressing shifting values toward work and life
Today's younger generations increasingly view work as just one part of a broader life, not as a defining identity. As ten Brummelhuis observes, “There is a trend, especially in the much younger generations, and I'm talking children as young as 10 years old, where we see a trend that they value work a little bit less, and just want to be happy in life.”
With this cultural shift in mind, HR leaders should offer opportunities for employees to reflect on their roles and career aspirations, ten Brummelhuis suggests. Offering resources that help employees evaluate their work-life priorities and purpose could improve engagement among those who wish to find deeper meaning at work, while recognizing that not every worker will view career achievement as their primary goal.
“It could almost be like a work-life balance workshop that is offered on a voluntary basis, where employees can just sign up if it's of interest to them.”
Chima echoes this approach, noting that acknowledging shifting employee priorities makes basic business sense.
“As an employer, you don't want a quiet quitter, right? You want people who actually want to be there and put in the effort.”
Increasing manager purpose: actionable steps for employers
To close the purpose gap among frontline managers, ten Brummelhuis recommends that HR and business leaders focus on building trust through transparent communication, genuine decision-making power, realistic preparation for management roles, and hybrid work strategies that preserve human connection.
“Making sure that you build a trusting relationship obviously helps, by having in person moments,” she said. “And then transparent communication, just honesty, involving people in decision making and keeping them in the loop of what is actually going on.”
Chima stresses that gathering feedback and acting on it is crucial to preserving both trust and purpose: include all levels of the organisation in data gathering and be honest about action you can or can’t take.
“One of the things that is really critical for leadership at all levels is if you're going to ask for colleague feedback, you have to take action on it,” she says.
“You've got to own it. If there's something that's not working, all we can do is change it and fix it. there's always going to be things that come up, that we're not able to action, but as long as you can explain the reason why, people are happy to accept that.”
