I'm experiencing something very similar right now.

I'm experiencing something very similar right now.

I manage a team of four and smt have decided to re-org my department. I will be moved to focus on a different area that is critical to the business. But I will no longer be managing people.

It's a big change and was difficult to accept at first. There were some tears shed. Even though I can't say I have loved being a middle manager (this role is definitely not for everyone) I was always a good manager and my team liked and respected me. And honestly, I don't know how the new role is going to go.

But something I have learnt, is that if smt want to do something, they will do it. I have pushed back against two similar (ill-advised) re-orgs before and it cost me dearly in terms of my mental health. And to cap it all of, even though I was right both times, I came in for criticism in my eoy review for being "inflexible". You couldn't make it up.

So, tbh, I have stopped caring. Smt are a law onto themselves so even if I pushed back, it wouldn't make a difference. I'm just going to go with the flow and focus on things in life - family, my relationship, friends, hobbies - the stuff that really matters.

Plus, I can't say I'm going to miss giving reviews, and the occasionally heavy burden of managing others.

So, in a nutshell, my advice to you is to grieve the loss, accept the situation, embrace the change, enjoy the freedom to focus on your own work, focus on your relationships and passions, congratulate yourself for surviving the re-org (clearly your company does value you) and - most of all - accept that most workplaces are just dumb, and nothing I or you can do will change that immutable fact.