Micromanagement destroys employee motivation

Micromanagement is the constant hovering, instructing, and basically berating the employee by the boss. This is enough to drive almost any employee crazy. Most micromanaging bosses don’t see their employees’ eye rolls as they leave. As a manager, it’s important to strike a balance between managing and micromanaging.

To manage employees, you need to give them guidance and suggestions, then let them go and complete the project using your own experience. However, many managers feel that if they do not have full control of all aspects of the project, the project will not be completed successfully. So they hang on the shoulders of their employees or bombard them with emails asking for progress updates. The purpose is to avoid damaging mistakes, but mistakes made in employee trust and morale are much worse.

Reasons Managers Micromanage

The basis of micromanagement is a lack of trust. The manager does not trust the performance of the employee. There could be many reasons why the manager feels this way. Perhaps the employee has made mistakes in the past. If this is true, the manager may not feel comfortable giving the employee a new assignment. The manager may feel that he or she is the only one who can do the job correctly. This mindset says that no one else will be good enough, therefore the employee’s efforts will never meet the manager’s standards. Whatever the reason the manager feels he needs to be close to the employee, there are some devastating effects that result from micromanaging.

The effect of micromanagement on employees

A report from BlessingWhite, a human resources consultancy, states that a third of US employees said they were being micromanaged. The effect of this is an extremely unhappy workforce. Employees may feel a lack of confidence in their work, which will make them feel resentful. If you’re a micromanager, your employees suffer from a lack of motivation as a result.

Think about it, wouldn’t you lose your motivation if you felt like no matter what you do at work, it’s not good enough? Low morale will stifle employee creativity. The manager will soon discover that there is a breakdown in communication with the employee. Most employees do not feel comfortable bringing this problem to the attention of their managers. Instead of facing the problem, the employee often takes the option of avoiding it. The manager will experience that emails and phone messages are not returned as quickly.

Also, the employee will have problems with their problem-solving skills. Being micromanaged will cause them to question their ability to make good decisions. Ultimately, employee engagement is reduced before the employee ultimately leaves the company. This may explain why a particular department in your company is experiencing high employee turnover.

Stop the micromanagement process

Improving your ability to trust your employees will help you stop micromanaging them. The best way to increase confidence is:

• First, give your employees an assignment with instructions on how to perform the task. Ask the employee to repeat the instructions in their own words. Listen carefully to make sure they know your expectations.
• Second, give the employee a date to return and give a progress report. Then give the employee the opportunity to ask questions if they need further instructions.
• The third step is the hardest part, leaving the employee alone. Let them use the instructions you gave them along with their own expertise and experience. At the time of the progress date when the employee returns, provide positive and negative feedback, give additional instructions, and then assign a new progress date.
• The fourth step is to keep repeating this process until the deadline.

Later, when the time comes to do a similar project, you will have more confidence that the employee will do the task correctly. As a result, you and the employee will benefit from a better relationship.