{"id":48374,"title":"Being Micro-managed","description":"Rant alert incoming. Few things get under my skin more than being micromanaged. Honestly, it\u2019s exhausting","content":"

Rant alert incoming. Few things get under my skin more than being micromanaged. Honestly, it\u2019s exhausting. You\u2019ve already got your actual job to do \u2014 the emails, the meetings, the endless Teams messages about nothing \u2014 and then you\u2019re saddled with a bonus job: managing the ego of the person hovering over your shoulder. Nobody asked for this. It\u2019s like work squared.<\/p>

And the worst part? It\u2019s rarely even your line manager. No, it\u2019s usually that colleague<\/em> who somehow thinks it\u2019s their life\u2019s mission to babysit your to-do list. One hour \u201ccatch-up\u201d calls that should\u2019ve been a two-line email. Constant interruptions to \u201cjust check in\u201d while you\u2019re actually trying to work. People who live for the sound of their own voice and assume the rest of us should too. Rent free. In my head. Daily.<\/p>

If I wanted to be treated like a teenager who can\u2019t be trusted to hand in homework, I\u2019d go back to school. I\u2019m here to do my job, tick the boxes, get paid, and go home. Not to endure someone else\u2019s control issues disguised as \u201cbeing thorough.\u201d And yet here we are.<\/p>

So, how do I not storm out of the office with a dramatic resignation speech? Step one: remember that micromanagers aren\u2019t always evil masterminds. Sometimes it\u2019s about control. Sometimes they\u2019re terrified of failing and overcompensate by suffocating everyone else. Sometimes they genuinely think they\u2019re being helpful. (Delusional? Yes. Malicious? Not always.)<\/p>

But still \u2014 it doesn\u2019t make it less maddening. So, my survival kit goes something like this: over-communicate before they even have the chance to swoop in. Send that update email, not because you want to, but because it heads them off at the pass. Frame it as \u201cthis is how I\u2019ll be working moving forward so I can use my time more efficiently\u201d \u2014 aka, please leave me alone. Document everything so you\u2019ve got receipts if it gets toxic. And when I\u2019m really tempted to unleash my inner passive-aggressive teenager, I ask myself: am I about to solve this problem, or am I about to create fresh drama?<\/p>

At the end of the day, micromanagement feels so much bigger than it looks. It\u2019s not just someone peering over your work \u2014 it\u2019s the constant drip of \u201cI don\u2019t trust you,\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019re competent,\u201d \u201cI know better than you.\u201d No wonder it gets under your skin. It undermines, it boxes you in, it makes you anxious, it chips away at your sense of being a professional adult.<\/p>

Here\u2019s the Stroppy truth: if you\u2019re feeling rattled, you\u2019re not overreacting. You\u2019re human. Autonomy, trust, respect \u2014 these are basic needs at work. Micromanagement steamrolls them. So, yes, it\u2019s annoying, but it\u2019s also valid.<\/p>

Me? I\u2019m still deciding whether to take the high road or the scenic route through Rage Town. Maybe I\u2019ll sleep on it. But one thing\u2019s for sure: if there was such a thing as a trauma salary sacrifice scheme, I\u2019d be signing up immediately.<\/p>

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