How To Deal With Micromanagement At Work

Defining Micromanaging

Micromanaging is a toxic management style that negatively impacts employees by stunting their growth, limiting their creativity, and threatening their sense of autonomy. 

Micromanagers struggle with delegating and require constant updates on work and projects. They fail to acknowledge that their overinvolvement badly affects their team's productivity, happiness, and performance.

Typically, leaders with a micromanagement style don't guide their subordinates or teach them the right way of doing things, choosing to undertake specific projects and tasks themselves. 

While micromanagement systems are inherently flawed, there are rare exceptions where they can benefit a business and its employees.

Why Do People Micromanage? 

People micromanage for several reasons, often due to a fear of losing control, the urgent desire to dominate, and ultimately, a lack of trust and respect for those working under them. In their minds, they work harder and more efficiently than anyone else on their team. 

Those guilty of micromanaging have good intentions and want their teams to succeed. However, their managerial style and distorted views on leadership don't cultivate trust or encourage teamwork. 

What Do Employees Expect From Their Managers In 2022?

It's unrealistic for employees returning to the office to assume that all their work-from-home freedoms will remain completely intact. Similarly, employers can't presume a return to pre-covid normal where employees' movements and activities are logged and accounted for every second of the workday.

Negotiations that combine old conventional routines with greater work flexibilities should occur between employers and employees. 

Will you get to work in your slippers? Probably not. But will you have greater control of your schedule and how you do things without feeling like you're constantly being monitored? These are fair assumptions to have as you head back to the office.

How to deal with a micromanager on An Individual Level?

You might still be under the thumb of a micromanager who struggles to relinquish control despite relaxed workplace policies. So, What do you do?

Keeping quiet and accepting how things are isn't an adequate response. It may only lead to workplace dissatisfaction and a build-up of toxic animosity over time. 

Here's how you can respond to your manager's excessive involvement in your work life. 

Take A Look At Your Past Behaviours 
Before speaking up about your frustrations regarding their micromanaging tendencies, first, look inwards. 

The reason you're being intensively monitored might be attributed to an absence of trust. 

But can that be put down to your boss's toxic character traits or something you've previously done wrong?

Assess your behavior and work ethic over the past few months. Have you missed deadlines while working from home or marked absent during important meetings on several occasions?

Your boss's behavior could be a defensive response to your recent slip-ups or mistakes. 

You'll need to regain their confidence by resolving or improving your weak areas for a return to normal. If you're not sure what these are, it is best to communicate! 

Listen And Show Empathy 
It might be easier to vilify your boss, but seeing things from their point of view is far more conducive. Consider the immense pressure they're under and how your work habits affect their jobs.  

If you're unsure how to be a better employee, have an honest conversation with your micromanager.

Knowing their expectations, you can move forward and make the necessary adjustments in your work - alleviating the stress in your work lives and theirs! 

Think Two Steps Ahead 
The general assumption is that micromanagers need constant communication and as much information as possible from their employees.

To save yourself from being inundated by emails, phone calls, or Slack messages, try to anticipate what your micromanagement supervisor needs, so long as these expectations aren't entirely unrealistic. 

Just Be Honest 
If you know you're a hard worker but feel your wings are clipped, something obviously needs to change. 

Before doing anything drastic, such as looking for new work, speak directly to them. Your boss might not be entirely aware of how their actions affect you. 

Without accusing them, ask them about their expectations of you and provide feedback on your performance. By having a clearer understanding of what they want, it'll be easier to achieve professional goals, earn their trust and for them, to gain confidence in your abilities. 

It might also help to discuss your role and duties in the company. If your manager is new to the role or organization, they might not have a clear understanding of your job - this is good for clearing up any confusion. 

If you're told you're a good and productive employee, voice your concerns calmly and professionally. Your manager might be receptive to your directiveness and initiative but won't respond well to anger or rudeness. 

During this chat, use examples that showcase how your manager is overstepping without calling them out as micromanagers - being typified this way might only upset them.

Provide Workable Alternatives 
Approaching your manager with a list of demands for change isn't a good tactic. Employing diplomacy is more effective for getting some of the things you want.

It's unlikely that a micromanager who's reluctant to change will provide you with the free reign, work freedoms, and flexibilities you believe are owed to you.  

In saying that, it's better to have solutions to problems instead of expecting a complete work transformation skewed in your favor. 

Meet a boss who micromanages halfway and devise alternatives that suit you and them. Communication is key to a micromanagement system. Suggest that instead of meeting daily, or providing updates hourly, meet with them weekly.    

Show That You're Capable 
Actions speak louder than words, and showing your manager that you're capable of self-managing is the most effective way to get what you want.

Hitting your deadlines and constantly producing high-quality work shows your boss that you're perfectly capable of doing your job without their excessive involvement and continual interruptions.

Final Thoughts 

So you’re back in the office, under the thumb of a controlling boss who believes in micromanagement significantly. The autonomy of working from home seems like a distant memory. How do you change the situation? 

Working for someone who micromanages you might be a hellish experience. But there are ways to reduce micromanagement that don't require finding a job elsewhere or making enemies with your superiors.

Dealing with micromanagers isn't easy, but there are ways of handling the situation diplomatically, positively, and professionally.  

Micromanagement styles don't materialize from thin air but out of a lack of trust. You need to ask yourself some tough questions before addressing the problem. Is micromanagement justified at all? Do you need to improve? Or does the issue lie squarely with them? 

Either way, the only way to move forward is to open the lines of communication. Building trust, openly communicating, and compromising is the key to improving a working relationship with someone who makes your job difficult.

If you think that this is the time to make the change then Office Hub is here to help. From coworking spaces to shared spaces - we have it all!