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Workplace Dynamics
Micromanagement Takes Many Forms
Control, for its own sake, almost always alienates.
Posted January 3, 2024 Reviewed by Ray Parker
Key points
- Micromanagement, especially in remote work settings, can quickly demotivate employees.
- Managers should focus on achieving desired outcomes rather than micromanaging every minute detail.
- Micromanagement often stems from insecurities in managers.
Two inescapable facts about micromanagement (managerial over-control into the small details of work): It's hardly ever well received and can turn up in unexpected places.
These thoughts were on my mind recently after speaking with a client about frustrations with his remote work environment. A particular point of irritation was that his boss requested that he (and other team members) let him know whenever they were stepping away from the computer.
Not surprisingly, my client found this powerfully annoying.
People like remote work because it offers a measure of freedom, a respite from the nettlesome minute-to-minute oversight that can easily occur in an office setting.
Having to report in electronically every time you go to the bathroom or get up to warm a cup of coffee negates the very thing, the relative freedom people enjoy about remote work.
Invariably Demoralizing
Micromanagement comes in many flavors: overinvolvement in projects, a manager looking over an employee's shoulder too regularly, correcting things that don't need to be corrected, and so on. Most people who've worked for other humans for a while immediately recognize the issue.
There are mounds of research discussing the demoralizing effects it invariably has on employees on the receiving end.
According to one psychological study, data shows that "people who believe they are being watched perform at a lower level."
Micromanagement is a significant reason employees grow disenchanted with a job and start looking elsewhere.
The simple fact is people don't like it. Why would they?
A Focus on Unimportant Details
Micromanagement tends to be practiced by insecure managers who focus on minor details not because they're important but because they're easy to control.
In the circumstance discussed above, my client was quite pleased with working from home until this unexpected amount of control made him feel like he was back in the office.
To perform it well, remote management requires a thorough understanding of what a specific job needs to accomplish (what success in the role looks like). Managers need to know exactly what outcomes they expect and how these will benefit the organization. They need to worry first and foremost about tangible results—not about whether someone may leave their computer for a few minutes to pet their cat.
I'm not at all surprised by the level of frustration the situation described here created. To this longtime manager, tracking an employee's time away from the computer feels less like real management and more like a subtle form of online harassment.
