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 data. While 66% of managers oversee fewer than 10 employees, 22% of them lead teams of 10–24, while 13% manage 25 or more employees.

“It isn’t happening in every organization yet, so there’s a certain percentage of organizations that are affecting the overall average,” Jim Harter, chief workplace scientist at Gallup, said. “But, if you’re going to flatten an organization more than it currently is, then there are some parameters that make it work.”

For more on how this is affecting managers, and what HR can do to help, keep reading here.—MC

A White House official recently touted a plan to let Americans tap into their 401(k) savings to buy a home, but a formal proposal didn’t materialize as expected.

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told Fox Business News on Jan. 16 that the administration planned to “allow people to take money out of their 401(k)s and use that for a down payment.” He said President Donald Trump planned to roll out a final plan to this end at Davos.

Trump ultimately did an about-face on the proposal when asked about it at Davos, telling reporters he wasn’t “a huge fan” of letting 401(k) plan participants use some of their savings to put down a deposit for a home. “I’m so happy with the way 401(k)s are doing,” he added.

For more on how the plan might’ve affected workers, and the options currently available to 401(k) plan participants, keep reading here.—CV

Congress may not agree on whether or not to extend Affordable Care Act enhanced subsidies, but they sure do seem to agree on not liking PBMs.

Pharmacy benefit managers got a special shout-out in a recent bipartisan spending deal, which called for overhauling how the system currently works. The bill passed in the House on Jan. 22.

One element of the bill, led by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), would prevent payments to PBMs from drug rebates, something PBMs have been criticized for—and sued over—in the past. Perhaps in anticipation of continued pushback against rebates, Cigna’s PBM Express Scripts also eliminated them last November. Previously, CVS’s Caremark had moved to a cost-based model in December 2023, and UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx introduced a similar reimbursement model in March 2025.

Similar reform was included in a prior December 2024 spending bill that fell apart after alleged pressure from then-President-elect Donald Trump and unofficial advisor Elon Musk.

For more on the response to the bill, keep reading on Healthcare Brew.—NO

The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s weekly news quiz has been compared to getting a company-wide shout out from your boss. It’s that satisfying.