What Is Micromanagement | Signs, Impact & How to Deal With It

Studies show 59% of surveyed people thought that they had been micromanaged at some point in their career, while 36% of people actually changed their job. Interference in every task and frequent checking cause frustration among employees, reduce productivity, and erode trust.

The role of managers is to provide support and create a healthy environment so employees can perform their best, but micromanagers do the opposite. In this article, we have provided a complete guide to what micromanagement is, how to recognize it, and ways to stop it.

What is micromanagement?

Micromanagement is a management style in which managers or supervisors watch their teams work to an extreme degree. Managers interfere in even the smallest details of tasks and check frequently.

This, in turn, causes frustration among employees and extinguishes autonomy. It decreases productivity and shows a lack of trust in employees’ ability to handle tasks, and managers become the only ones who make the final decision. The worst thing about being micromanaged is that it leads employees to seek jobs elsewhere and can even lead to stress and anxiety.

Are you being micromanaged?

If you are reading this and in a dark place as a result of micromanagement, please ask for help as soon as possible. When you are being micromanaged, the worst thing is the drain in self-confidence. Putting your hand up and asking for help can be incredibly difficult. But help is available if you are in this situation, the best thing is to start a discussion with your HR team confidentially and tell them what you are experiencing.

Why do people micromanage?

According to Harvard Business Review, there are two main reasons why managers micromanage.

• Feel more connected with lower-level workers
• Comfort in the old job.

It means the reason is that the micromanagers want to feel more connected with the junior or low-level employees, or they feel their old job is more comfortable than supervising. Because supervising feels more difficult and unfamiliar for them

How does micromanagement impact a business?

When a manager is involved in every task, employees feel no space to work in their own way. This may be a good approach for the short term, but it has negative effects on the business in the long term. Micromanagement impacts business in several ways:

• Damage employee morale
• Delay projects
• Discourage creativity
• Reduce ownership
• Increase stress
• Hinder growth
• Increase employee turnover

In short, overmanagement not only damages the employees’ morale but also harms business growth and productivity.

Signs of micromanagement

Here are some signs you can use to identify the micromanager in a workplace:

• Often requests frequent updates on tasks or projects and wants to be kept constantly informed.
• Many micromanagers often believe they are the only ones capable of making decisions, which is why they need everything to be approved by them.
• Instead of assigning tasks to others, they try to complete them themselves
• They over-complicate instructions and give unnecessarily detailed or confusing directions, making employees overly dependent on them.
• They believe that their decisions and opinions are only correct and don’t try to understand others’ perspectives.
• Often establishes unachievable deadlines and has high expectations.
• Detail-oriented.
• They need to be copied into every email and want to be included in all communications, fearing decisions are being made without their input.

How to manage a micromanager

After identifying the micromanager, it’s time to take immediate steps to deal with them. The goal is to limit or reverse the harm they cause to people and the company itself.

First, try to understand why it’s happening, if the manager is happy in their role or feeling uncomfortable or insecure. Another approach is to get ahead. is another way to deal with a micromanager. That means, if you know that your manager constantly asks for updates, try to update them on important topics before they ask you.

At last, if all these steps do not change the level of micromanagement, escalate the issue and speak with your HR team about how you’re feeling and the impact on your wellbeing & work.

Replace Micromanagement with Effective Performance Review Software

Micromanagement not only damages employee morale but also affects the company’s growth. Many employees change their jobs after being micromanaged.

But now businesses are using software to automate manual tasks, because these tasks consume a lot of managers’ time instead of helping their people grow. This is where solutions like Zelt performance review software can help managers to set clear expectations, track employees’ goals, and provide feedback without interfering with every task. It helps teams to stay confident and allows managers to focus on results rather than micromanaging.