Employees say micromanagement leaves them feeling down, and can even hurt their productivity. Photo: File.
Micromanaging can produce a toxic work culture that often leads to stress, burnout and high turnover. Emily Douglas talks to a human resource expert who points out the problems and suggests ways they can be avoided.
A survey by Accountemps found that 59 per cent of respondents had been micromanaged by their manager – with that number rising for those in remote work.
While human resource leaders might be tempted to check more on employees working from home than those in the office, the reality is this can have a damaging impact on morale.
The same survey found that 68 per cent of micromanaged employees said the experience left them feeling down, while 55 per cent said it hurt their productivity. So, what should HR be doing to stamp out the toxic practice while also keeping an eye on their people?
Chief people officer at Wunderman Thompson, Robert Stone, says it is important that micromanaging behaviour is addressed and resolved as soon as possible. Left unchecked, it could develop into psychosocial hazards such as burnout, stress, anxiety or bullying.
According to Mr Stone, the key indicators of micromanaging include the following:
- Managers restricting employees by not allowing them to grow and make mistakes.
- Managers wanting all the credit and not acknowledging the efforts of the wider
team. - Managers not open to collaborative ways of working and feedback.
- Managers who set unrealistic timelines for projects.
- Managers who over-communicate and insist on oversight of even simple tasks.
- Managers who ignore employees’ personal boundaries.
On the flip side, employee signals that they could be the subject of micromanagement include disengagement, high turnover, increased uptake in personal leave and a lack of creative and innovative thinking. Stamping out micromanagement is easier said than done.
In the era of remote work, managers may find it difficult to step away from their people entirely. While it’s not advisable to leave people alone, without contact, for days on end, checking in multiple times a day can be just as damaging.
Worryingly, data from Forbes found that 69 per cent of employees have considered quitting purely because of micromanagement – while 36 per cent actually did throw in the towel.
So how can leaders avoid it when their teams work remotely, while also ensuring their people are being productive?
Mr Stone believes that management fundamentals should remain the same whether the employee is working remotely or back in the office.
“The best managers are ones that take on a coaching role and set clear objectives and deliverables for team members,” he says.
“Furthermore, they’re not afraid to hold their teams accountable in a fair and inclusive way. I think that a lot of micromanaging tendencies come from poor planning and communication between team members.”
Mr Stone says the new working-from-home or hybrid models have limited some of the more organic feedback conversations that occurred when everyone was in the office.
“However, that just means there needs to be a bigger emphasis on the more formal catch-ups,” he says.
“Micromanagement can lead to myriad problems down the line – most concerningly, in high turnover.
“I will go as far as saying that micromanagement is the biggest driver of a negative organisational culture. You’ll lose trust in your employees, which will ultimately see a huge decline in output and productivity.”
Mr Stone says people who think they might be guilty of micromanaging should take a step back and breathe.
“Move your conversations to coaching conversations rather than simple feedback conversations,” he says.
“These conversations should be ‘always on’, not just a project wash-up or an annual review – and feedback, when given, should be always two ways.”
Emily Douglas has a wealth of editorial experience, having written on human resources, people management, strategy, and technology since 2015 after studying at both University College London and the University of Geneva. This article first appeared on the Key Media website.
