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Is there anything worse than being micromanaged at work?
Well, yes, there is, but still, it’s incredibly annoying and can lead to a lot of heartburn day in and day out.
And today we’re going to hear from women about how they deal with this in their workplaces.
Take a look at what they had to say.
1. Let’s figure this out.
“If it is a serial micromanager, I say during meetings with them, I have shown you XYZ type work before, do you have any improvements to make — and explain that I can work more efficiently if I don’t have to run everything by them (or whatever is the case).
It may take a few iterations. I am a professional, and there is nothing wrong with reminding a boss of this in a respectful way that is more about me getting work completed than their managerial type. Most managers have been burned before, so putting them at ease with my work is step one.
“I would not be passive-aggressive or weaponize incompetence. Try to figure out what is making the manager behave this way, and tackle it from that angle.”
2. Not a bad idea.
“My last job had a manager that would micromanage.
So, I did all the things he asked until he grew bored of them because he could see the issue he caused by creating a new pointless rule.
Everything works itself out in the end.”
3. See if this works.
“Micromanaging usually comes from a place of being insecure about whether you’re doing your job, so give them ALL the information so they know you’re doing it.
If building trust doesn’t work, you can at least keep them busy enough that their boss will eventually tell them to cut that s**t.”
4. STFU.
“I just tell people to STFU and let me do my job ’cause I’m capable.
I’m usually tactful about it, though.
It works ’cause nobody expects my little 5’0″ ass to say anything.”
5. Lay it out.
“Ask for a meeting with your boss and the offending colleagues. Lay out what’s going wrong, and discuss clear guidelines as a team.
Make sure you bring concrete examples of the micromanaging behavior and how it negatively impacts your and your team’s productivity.”
6. Take the wheel.
“I let the manager take the wheel.
Want to be CC’d into every email? Sure thing. Want to dictate exactly which shade of green this flyer needs? Here are 12 nearly identical-looking swatches that you need to choose from by 3 p.m. Miss that deadline? Sorry fam, working on this other job.
Which one takes priority? Okay cool, ima send an email to the owner of the job I have to defer stating that my manager has prioritized this other job. With my manager, CC’d in ofc — if they have a problem, they can go straight to the manager.
I’m fortunate that I’m not hurting for money, so I can make my manager’s life hell. But I’m of the vengeful sort.”
7. Back off.
“While I do appreciate you ensuring that my work is done adequately, I do not require this level of personal management; but I will be sure to reach out promptly with any questions or requests for assistance.”
8. Temporary respect.
“I’m a young manager at my work, so my older colleagues CONTINUOUSLY try and micromanage me because they’re older.
It may seem petty, but I like to talk to them about what I actually do as my job and the specifics and ask them questions, and they really quiet down when they don’t understand what I’m talking about or know the answer.
I also talk to my boss in front of them about my extra responsibilities and how I’m working on new stuff.
It gets me temporary respect.”
9. Wait it out.
“It doesn’t happen where I work now, but at my old job, my manager super micromanaged me all the time.
” mostly just waited until she was busy with something else, and then I did what I wanted.”
10. Grin and bear it.
“Five years of fast food and retail say I’m pretty good at my “yes ma’am, no sir” responses.
I don’t like it, but if it pays the bills, then I’ll deal ’til I find something better. And I found something better.”
11. It’s on.
“I ask their opinion on every single insignificant thing. If they want to micromanage me, I will make them manage everything. WASTE THEIR TIME.
Oh, I didn’t know if this sentence needed a comma, can you help me? The client asked if today was Tuesday, can you confirm? You seem overly concerned with me handling this very menial task, could you walk me through it step by step?
If someone wants to act like I can’t handle my job, then I make them handle it for me.”
12. Try me.
“Luckily, I work remotely almost all the time. When I was in an office, I replied with, ‘I didn’t ask,’ and went back to my work.
If they want to micromanage me, they’ll need to up their game. I raised a passel of kids and currently have mini goats. … I can ignore ridiculous behavior all day long.”
How do you deal with situations like this at work?
Talk to us in the comments and let us know.
Thanks, friends!
