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Is Micromanaging A Form Of Bullying? Here Are 3 Things You Should Know
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# Is Micromanaging A Form Of Bullying? Here Are 3 Things You Should Know

Heidi Lynne Kurter
Senior Contributor
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Creative strategies, engaging workplaces.

Jun 29, 2021,11:30pm EDT

Updated Dec 10, 2021, 09:34am EST

This article is more than 3 years old.

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Micromanaging takes a devastating toll on an employee's mental and physical health, confidence and ... [+] self-esteem.

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While not everyone believes micromanaging is a form of bullying, it undoubtedly has a negative impact on one’s mental health, work performance, and confidence. Dima Suponau, cofounder of Number For Live Person, believes micromanaging is a form of bullying because it’s about seeking control. As such, employees feel disenfranchised, humiliated, belittled and their mental health deteriorates.

Both bullying and micromanaging take a mental toll on the target. Here are some of the ways victims suffer:

- Health issues such as depression, anxiety, sleep problems and fatigue
- Increased stress that affects all areas of their lives
- Deteriorating self-esteem and confidence
- Lack of motivation
- Fear of losing their job, being demoted or retaliated against

Regardless if micromanaging is intentional or not, it’s defeating, disempowering and frustrating. Unfortunately, micromanaging is common in the workplace as a result of poor leadership and it wreaks havoc on everyone involved. Nora Robinson, PR representative at Refresh Remodeling, said, micromanagers often resort to bullying tactics with the belief that it makes workers more productive, but it’s because they don’t know how to manage their team effectively. Oftentimes, these bosses view burnout as the price for productivity. A survey conducted by Trinity Solutions revealed

- 79% of employees had experienced micromanagement
- 71% said micromanagement interfered with their job performance
- 85% reported their morale was negatively impacted
- 69% considered changing jobs due to micromanagement
- 36% actually changed jobs

Here are three things you should know about the impact of micromanaging your employees.

Diminishes Employee Confidence And Motivation

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Micromanagers focus on mistakes and weaknesses rather than highlighting achievements and efforts. No matter how hard an employee works, they never feel like their work is good enough. This makes employees feel humiliated, destroys their confidence and motivation, and leads them to become disconnected. Marques Thomas, CEO and founder of QuerySprout, believes micromanaging is abusive because it negatively impacts the mental health of those on the receiving end. Janelle Owens, HR Director at Test Prep Insight, describes micromanagement as “a result of employees being stripped of their duties and indirectly told that they’re not good enough and can’t be trusted.”

A consequence of micromanaging is that employees believe they’re not competent and their skills aren’t valuable. Suponau said, when micromanaging leads to a decline in performance, self-confidence or physical health for the person being controlled, it’s not healthy. Furthermore, it disrupts productivity by preventing people from working independently as well as collaboratively.

It Creates An Unhealthy And Toxic Environment

Too often, micromanaging is justified as perfectionism when really it’s a form of manipulation to control others. It creates a codependent relationship where the employee is fearful to do anything without their boss’s approval. Jason Brown, founder and CEO of Approved Costs, asserted, “intentional or not, it produces an intimidating environment within the workplace causing employees to become incompetent.”

Branka Vuleta, founder of LegalJobs.io, said, “micromanagement is a form of dictatorship where you don’t get to question ways and methods, but instead have to comply with everything the manager wants without question.” Similar to bullying, micromanagement is due to an imbalance of power. Micromanagers believe over-controlling is an effective way to produce a desired result when really it’s a form of intimidation. This is undoubtedly a symptom of a toxic workplace.

Harry Chambers, author of My Way or the Highway: The Micromanagement Survival Guide, defines the six typical behaviors of a micromanager:

1. Dictates, controls and manipulates others’ time. While micromanagers guard their own time, they’re notorious for disrespecting others by perpetuating crises, mismanaging meetings and trying to manage others calendars
2. Controls the process of how work gets done by dismissing others’ knowledge, experiences and ideas
3. Uses their power of authority to control others
4. Requires frequent and unnecessary status updates and reports
5. Bottlenecks processes due to making everyone seek their approval before moving forward
6. Unable to delegate; when they do, they hover or pull it back at the first sign of trouble

Devalues Employees Skills, Abilities And Expertise

The key to hiring is to hire people you trust and giving them the freedom to utilize their skills and abilities to carry out tasks and make decisions. The worst thing a manager can do is waste time peering over the shoulder of others, telling them what to do or waiting for something to go wrong. Not only does this jeopardize growth, but it prevents people from taking risks, asking questions and thinking creatively which decreases innovation and leads to burnout. It’s only a matter of time before even the most talented and driven employees begin looking elsewhere.