The Ins And Outs Of Micromanagement

If you’ve ever had a manager checking everything you do, watching over your shoulder, and making you feel uncomfortable, you’ve experienced micromanagement. Micromanagement is a habit some leaders develop when they’re too anxious or apprehensive to let go of control. Instead of leading their team to success, they end up turning every workday into a stressful experience where everyone’s too afraid to take the wrong step. If that sounds familiar, it’s time to start recognizing the signs of micromanagement and protecting your workplace.

Micromanagement isn’t just annoying; it’s toxic. It negatively impacts productivity and morale because no one can perform their best when someone breathes down on their necks and pressures them. When employees are micromanaged, they’re more likely to get mentally drained and start dissociating from work. Over time, this leads to burnout, anxiety, and even depression.

But why do managers micromanage? Some of them are so terrified of failure that they feel the need to control every aspect of the work to prevent mistakes. However, this fear often brings the opposite results. Additionally, micromanagers struggle to believe that others can do the job as well as they can. So they interfere, believing that it’s necessary to ensure success. Below, we’ll explore some of the most common signs of micromanagement as well as how you can overcome them to protect your mental health and aim for a more supportive workplace.

7 Signs Of Micromanagement To Keep An Eye Out For

1. Lack Of Trust

One of the most telltale signs of micromanagement is your manager not trusting you. Now, a good manager hires you because they believe in your skills. However, micromanagers may think that only they can do the job properly. So, instead of allowing you to express your talent and show your knowledge, they’re constantly checking you. They’ll ask for frequent updates, examine every little detail, and maybe even try to “fix” your work. This can get exhausting, and it also wastes everyone’s time. Instead of spending your energy on actually working on your tasks, you end up reassuring your boss that you really do know what you’re doing.

2. Unnecessary Check-Ins

Unnecessary check-ins can get annoying as they really disrupt your workflow. Whether those check-ins are in the form of emails, surprise Zoom meetings, or instant messages, they’re signs of micromanagement. We’re not talking about healthy communication but rather about surveillance. These interruptions hinder productivity since every time you stop to respond, you lose your flow. This results in slower progress and overwhelmingness. Plus, if you always anticipate the next message or interruption, you’re closer to burnout.

3. Ignoring Employees’ Decisions

You’ve spent hours on a project, and then your manager checks it and changes everything. If this sounds familiar, it’s micromanagement. Controlling bosses tend to ignore employees’ decisions completely and only consider their own ideas and work as perfect. But when your decisions are constantly overridden, it hurts both your confidence and your decision-making ability. Over time, you will start questioning your own work and spending more hours than needed to check it, worried about how your manager will change it. Thus, all your company is getting are unmotivated and disengaged employees who are afraid to be creative and innovative.

4. Absence Of Autonomy

When a manager refuses to let you take ownership of your tasks, they’re showing that they don’t trust you to do the job you were hired for. This attitude stops you from being creative, as your ideas don’t matter anymore, and hinders you from taking initiative. So, you end up losing your autonomy, causing you to stop trying your best. Not to mention when the workforce’s creativity and initiative are hurt, it’s not only bad for them but for the company, too. Employees feel frustrated and unmotivated, while the company misses out on fresh ideas.

5. Controlling Communication

Controlling communication from a manager means they want to be CC’d on every email and involved in every single conversation, even the ones that have absolutely nothing to do with them. This is usually all about control. Soon, team members will no longer freely share ideas or collaborate because they know that their manager is always watching. There’s always the danger of the employees’ ideas getting disregarded by the manager or even being claimed by them as their own. Where does this lead? If a manager doesn’t trust their team to communicate without supervision, then people will start leaving to seek other opportunities where their contributions will be much more appreciated.

6. Unrealistic Expectations

Unrealistic expectations and constant pressure are serious signs of micromanagement. When a manager starts setting impossible standards for their employees, like making no errors, being always available for tasks, communicating even after work hours, or always being perfect, it’s draining. You end up being so busy satisfying all these requests that you have no time for meaningful work. This constant pressure leads to burnout quickly, and even the most dedicated employees will start to feel tired. Stress gets high, motivation gets low, and people actively start searching for other positions. So, setting the bar high for staffers doesn’t motivate them to work harder; it exhausts them and increases turnover rates.

7. Punishment

One of the most toxic habits of a micromanager is harshly punishing small mistakes. Micromanagers tend to overreact, thinking that even a tiny error is the end of the world, thus turning the workplace into a negative environment. Everyone knows mistakes happen except micromanagers. This makes employees terrified to do something without double- and triple-checking everything, which hinders productivity and innovation. When you’re scared of making mistakes, you don’t take risks or think outside the box. And let’s not forget how exhausting it is to live in constant fear of messing up.

How Should Employees Deal With Micromanagement

Communicate Clearly

Dealing with a micromanager can be exhausting. But before you begin searching for another position elsewhere, try communicating everything first. Tell them, for instance, that you feel overwhelmed by the frequent check-ins that stop you from focusing on your work. Try expressing your feelings more rather than accusing them. Next, focus on outcomes. Highlight how a little more autonomy could actually boost your productivity. Remember, the goal is to make your manager see that trusting you is good for the company, too.

Establish Boundaries

Setting some boundaries is absolutely crucial when dealing with micromanagers. To politely do it, try suggesting another approach next time they ask for a check-in. For example, you can tell them that it’s best to update them on the project at the end of the day or even the week so you can stay focused on the tasks. Similarly, if they ask you why you didn’t run a small thing by them, tell them that you did it to save time for both of you. It’s highly likely that they’ll realize that not every single thing needs their approval.

Document Your Work

If your manager is obsessed with details and wants to know your every move, then all you have to do is keep a record of everything you do. When they start questioning, you show them your organized notes so they know exactly what you’ve been doing. Plus, it proves you’re productive and helps you support your claims about why you deserve more autonomy. How? You use your documentation to highlight your achievements and show that you’re handling your responsibilities effectively. You can even schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss your documented successes and suggest ways you can take on more responsibility.

Seek Feedback

Regularly asking for feedback from your manager can actually save you from lots of micromanagement practices. When you ask them to offer you insights on your work, you’re showing that you’re confident in your performance and open to improvement. So, to avoid receiving emails at random hours with corrections about your work, schedule regular check-ins to discuss your progress. This way, they won’t have any reason to redo a task once you’ve finished it because you will have received their suggestions earlier.

Conclusion

If you’re managing a team, know that balancing guidance with autonomy is crucial for a thriving workplace. Instead of monitoring your employees’ every move, act as more of a guide to them. This helps them know what’s expected and gives them the freedom to make decisions, fostering creativity and confidence. To be a good manager, you must also regularly seek feedback from your people, embrace new strategies, and be open to change. So, keep improving your management skills, and remember to steer clear of the above toxic behaviors.