Drawing on a scientific perspective, the authors challenge many widely accepted assumptions in today’s leadership training. They question oversimplified models, trendy management fads, and overly optimistic rhetoric, emphasizing the importance of sound judgment, maturity, and critical thinking. Otherwise, organizations risk becoming trapped in empty slogans, excessive bureaucracy, and symbolic political posturing.
For those engaged in leadership, governance, or organizational development, this book offers profound and insightful commentary. Read it—and reflect.
—Pär Boman, a leading figure in Swedish business, Chairman of the Volvo Group, and CEO and President of Handelsbanken

This book examines and analyzes an important and pressing issue: the ever-expanding bureaucratic apparatus and mounting legal requirements, which place a heavy burden on both public and private institutions. Unless effective countermeasures are taken, core operations will be forced to bear these burdens. Consequently, the book’s analysis is highly illuminating, and its recommendations are both valuable and timely—for example, urging leaders to streamline their all-encompassing responsibilities and focus more intently on specific needs.
—Per Eriksson, Swedish scientist and Emeritus Professor in the Department of Electrical and Information Technology at Lund University. He served as President of Lund University from 2009 to 2014, President of Blekinge Institute of Technology from 1989 to 2000, and Director-General of the Swedish Innovation Agency from 2001 to 2008.

At work, do you feel shackled by endless regulations and seemingly meaningless digital discipline, compelled to comply with standards, processes, policies, rules, and the like—none of which appear to serve any purpose other than systematic traps designed to consume your time and erode your autonomy? You are not alone. Alvisson and Normark’s co-authored book makes this point with remarkable clarity. The condition they describe is one of excessive “post-infantilizing management,” which treats knowledgeable, highly capable adults as if they were naive children. Kant once predicted that the Enlightenment would liberate people from the oppressive weight of senseless traditions and rituals; yet today, professional careers are increasingly structured around “modern” unfree rites. Only our own minds can free us—from within—by cultivating thoughtful reflection, developing maturity, and assuming responsibility in organizations that seek to nurture rather than undermine these very qualities.
—Stewart Clegg, Professor at the University of Sydney, Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Social Sciences, Fellow of the British Academy of Social Sciences, Honorary Member of the European Group on Organizational Studies (EGOS), and recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award. Widely regarded as one of the most influential contributors to the fields of organizational studies and project management, he has been honored with numerous distinctions, and is also among the foremost contemporary theorists of power relations.

★ A masterful collaboration by leading authors! Mats Alvesson, a towering figure in European management studies and professor at such world‑leading institutions as Lund University, City, University of London, the University of Gothenburg, and the Technical University of Munich, as well as a Foreign Fellow of the British Academy, joins forces with Dennis Nørmark, a highly acclaimed anthropologist—one of the most frequently cited scholars in Danish media and an international best‑selling author—to sharply expose how overmanagement and bureaucratic red tape are reducing adult professionals to “dull children.”
★ Following his landmark work The Meaning of Return, published by Oxford University Press, and the global bestseller Bullshit Jobs, this book introduces the groundbreaking concept of “post‑infantilization management.” It strips away the façade of bullshit jobs and digital discipline, critiques the pitfalls of “infantilizing,” “helicopter,” “captive,” and “nanny‑style” management, dissects how workplace rules severely erode individual autonomy, and reveals the strong link between the rise of managerialism and declining productivity. It is a wake‑up call for all professionals shackled by ineffective systems, and an indispensable guide for corporate executives and HR leaders seeking to restructure organizational ecosystems.
★ Backed by authoritative endorsements and offering a cross‑disciplinary perspective of compelling force! Pär Boman, a luminary of Swedish business and Chairman of the Volvo Group and CEO of Swedbank; Per Eriksson, former President of Lund University and Director General of Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency; and Stewart Clegg, recipient of the EGOS Lifetime Achievement Award and one of the most important theorists of power relations today—along with other distinguished scholars and business leaders—unanimously recommend this work.
★ Drawing on an interdisciplinary lens that bridges management studies and anthropology, and grounded in real‑world cases from knowledge‑intensive sectors such as academia and healthcare, this book delivers insights that are both profound and practically actionable, combining academic rigor with a gripping narrative drive. It squarely addresses the pressing challenges of organizational bureaucratization and excessive control in today’s workplaces, urging managers to become “enablers” rather than “controllers,” proposing a path forward through the “return of judgment and critical thinking,” and restoring vitality to organizations.

Today’s organizational structures are becoming increasingly complex, governed by a multitude of hierarchies, conventions, and rules. As the leadership — those administrative professionals with extensive managerial experience — grows in size, the space for employees at the heart of the organization to think outside the box and take personal responsibility continues to shrink.
How can we address this issue and empower employees to exercise greater judgment? In the age of AI, the ability to choose, judge, and decide is increasingly a critical competency.
Drawing on case studies from universities, healthcare, and other sectors, this book demonstrates that the proliferation of management, policies, and specialized expertise often backfires. The author offers solutions for rethinking how work and organizations are structured, advocating what they call “post-infantilization” or “anti‑helicopter” management. Focusing on key debates surrounding organizations and bureaucracies, the book presents an alternative vision for the future of work and management.

Mats Alvesson
Mats Alvesson is a renowned Swedish management scholar, serving as a professor at the University of Bath School of Management, Lund University School of Economics and Management, City, University of London’s Bayes Business School, and the University of Queensland Business School. Previously, from 1985 to 1991, he taught at Concordia University in Montreal, Linköping University, and Stockholm University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a full professor in the Department of Business Administration at the University of Gothenburg, and from 2023 to 2026, he held the Hans Fischer Senior Research Fellowship at the Technical University of Munich. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Lund University in 1978 and received an honorary doctorate from Lund University in 1984. In 2022, he was elected a Foreign Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2024, he was awarded the Herbert Simon Prize, while in 2025 he received the International Leadership Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He has authored more than 30 books, including “The Art of Less: How to Focus on What Really Matters at Work” (Bloomsbury, 2025), “Knowledge Work and Knowledge-Intensive Firms” (Oxford University Press, 2004), “Understanding Organizational Culture” (Sage, 2002), “Back to Meaning: A Social Science with Something to Say” (Oxford University Press, 2017), “The Triumph of Emptiness” (Oxford University Press, 2013), “The Life of Managers” (Cambridge University Press, 2016, co-authored), and “Corporate Culture and Organizational Symbolism” (de Gruyter, 1992). He is also the author of “Theoretical Perspectives in Qualitative Research” (original edition, 2009, SAGE Publications), which has been published in mainland China and Taiwan, and “The Wise Fool: Thinking Traps at Work” (original edition, 2016, Profile Books), which has been licensed for publication in China. Mats Alvesson has also published numerous articles in leading journals in the fields of management and organizational studies, and is one of the most highly cited European scholars in these areas.

Dennis Nørmark
Dennis Nørmark is a highly respected and sought-after anthropologist, writer, speaker, and consultant. He has served as Vice Chairman of the Board of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) and as a visiting lecturer in anthropology at Aarhus University. He has frequently appeared on Nordic television and radio programs and is one of the most frequently cited anthropologists/ethnologists in Danish media. His popularity stems from his deep expertise, his understanding of diverse groups and cultures, and his ability to convey this knowledge in a vivid and accessible manner—skills honed through his extensive experience in the theater as an actor, playwright, and director. He has previously served as Chief Consultant at a market-leading consulting firm and now sits on professional boards in the media and education sectors. Each year, he delivers over 100 lectures and actively collaborates with Danish and international organizations, including Novo Nordisk, Leo Pharma, Deloitte, Coloplast, Oticon, Aarhus University, Roche, Maersk, Novozymes, and others. For many years, he also served as a science and social commentary reviewer for Jyllands-Posten and continues to write columns for Politiken. He is the author of several books on cultural work and management, including the international bestseller “Fake Work: How We Ended Up Being Busy Doing Nothing” (Gyldendal Publishing), as well as “Back to Work,” “Cultural Intelligence for Stone-Age Brains,” “The Price of Freedom,” and the co-authored “I Wish My Boss Were a Chief.” His debut novel, “Harare,” was met with unanimous acclaim from critics and readers alike, earning him the 2025 Harald Mogensen Prize for Denmark’s Best Crime Novel and the Glass Key Award in 2026 for the year’s finest Nordic crime fiction.

1. How It Used to be Simpler
2. Excess of Professional Administrators and Knowledge Workers
3. The Colonization of the Lifeworld
4. The Rise of Managerialism and the Decline of Productivity
5. A World of Imperfections and Vulnerabilities
6. The New Unfreedom
7. The (False?) Need for Regulation and Improvement
8. Judgement as the Key Principle
9. Post-Infantilized Management
10. Conclusion and Perspectives