WORK IT OUT AND SUCCEED
SETTING CLEAR GUIDELINES FOR WORKING FROM HOME HELPS BOSSES TO FEEL IN CONTROL
MICROMANAGEMENT is destroying productivity at work, as employees are increasingly required to account for their time on the job.
In an unfortunate consequence of remote work arrangements, 29 per cent of Aussie workers now spend more of their time reporting to clients or managers, according to research by tech giant Atlassian.
WHERE’S THE TRUST?
Atlassian work futurist Dom Price says the pandemic, and the associated trend towards remote work, is to blame for a lack of trust.
“Pre-pandemic, there were a whole lot of managers in a physical work environment that could see you coming in each day, working, smiling, interacting, having a tea break and at the end of the day they think, ‘You were effective today’,’’ he says.
“They have no idea what you did but there are signals that you were effective. Now, they see you once a day for a video meeting.
“They think, ‘What if, at the end, you just go and make yourself a coffee and relax?’ so they start to fill in the gaps with assumptions – and for some reason they filled that with negative assumptions.’’
Ironically, Price says the increase in micromanagement actually reduces productivity, with workers resentful of the intrusion.
“We are hiring adults,’’ he says. “Trust is a two-way street. We have got these really weird, old habits around lines of sight and presence that we need to get rid of.’’
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT
Goto vice-president Lindsay Brown says while employees have embraced flexible working hours, many bosses fail to recognise work is being done outside the 9-5 window, leading to an increase in micromanagement.
To counter this, Brown advises workers to inform bosses of their non-work commitments, for example, letting them know that they are unavailable during school pick-up and drop-off times but can be contacted at other times instead.
He says both parties must be clear on a worker’s role and the output they are expected to achieve.
“Have that conversation with your leader about ‘What are your expectations of me? What does a good result look like? What do you want me to do?’,’’ Brown says.
Organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber says handing bosses “limited control’’ can help.
“Put it back on them. Hand your manager the ability to have more control but in a way that they’re not overseeing everything,’’ she says.
“Speak quite rationally and factually. If they’re asking you to produce daily reports on what you’ve done, tell them, ‘I’m happy to do this but it’s taking this much time, which over the year adds up to this many hours, which is time away from my (other duties). What would you prefer?’’’
IS IT ME?
Imber recommends workers speak to colleagues to determine whether micromanagement is a problem across the entire staff team.
“If everyone else is getting micromanaged then you know it’s not personal,’’ she says.
“But if no one else in the team is getting micromanaged then maybe there are some extra skills you need (to perform the role properly).’’
TRUST YUR STAFF
Daniel Kniaz recalls the frustration of being micromanaged early in his career.
“I would describe it as a real lack of trust (from my employer) – I would produce a piece of work and, no matter how many times I reiterated it, or optimised it, I would always be told it was not quite right,’’ he says.
“It was pretty disheartening. “When you are micromanaged, your productivity slows down because you are constantly looking for validation and, in a way, you don’t back yourself and your own capacity because you have this selfdefeatist approach where anything you present is going to come back with a whole lot of criticism.’’
Micromanagement became a “contributing factor” in Kniaz’s decision to look for employment elsewhere.
Having since founded digital expense management platform Divipay, Kniaz says he is conscious of his experience not being repeated among his employees.
“No one likes being a micromanager,” he says.
“So I am checking on myself and asking (employees) for feedback.
“My job as a founder is to hire people much smarter than me to do specialised roles so, if I have got the hiring process right, I need to trust in that and let my workers do what they do without getting in the way.’’