"I feel like my boss is such a micro-manager! He refuses to give us an inch of leash.”
Dear Kool Kanya,
I thought getting a job would mean adulting, but my work life feels like I’m five years old again!
The problem is that my boss doesn’t understand the concept of professional space. He’s very respectful when it comes to our personal space. But when it comes to work he wants to hover over us like a cloud, monitoring our every move.
How could simply give us a brief and let us work our way through it, but no! At every stage, we find him nipping at our heels and demanding that we “Make this change!” or “Add this thing!”
Look, we are not averse to input once we go through the process of working on a project. But it seriously stalls our work, and delays the final product. And then we are told off for not doing something on time as well… There’s no winning with him!
I feel like I have no control over what I do, and that there is no space to take any initiative. I can’t take the perpetual interruption, and nor can I handle being railed at for not doing something on time.
What should I do?
Love, Tired Of Being Micro-Managed
Dear Tired,
Yikes! It sounds like you’re stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea! Your boss has absolutely got to take a step (maybe three steps!) back.
Kool Kanya thinks you’ve made the right decision by recognising that you need work boundaries. Like we need personal space in our relationships outside of work, we need space at work too.
Professional space is so very important because it helps you work better, and produces better results. Supervision is good but it stops being good when there is not a single second where you might work in peace.
If not checked, a lack of professional boundaries could affect your mental health negatively.
Here’s what you need to do—you need to sit him down and have an honest conversation. He needs to know that his constant butting in is destroying the possibility of putting work processes into place.
Make a rough outline of your work processes, and point out how his interruptions at various points are slowing you down.
You should also make it clear that you are not averse to work. But redoing a single project over and over, instead of entirely in one go means that your next project is delayed. Make it clear that him giving you breathing space will let you do more work, which is to his benefit.
At Kool Kanya, we believe that honest communication is the best way to set off positive changes in your workplace!
We hope your situation gets better.
Let’s raise our power together!
