Just realized I can outsmart my micromanager by sending updates before she asks for them

My boss at the warehouse would ping me every 20 minutes asking where I was at with loading. Drove me nuts for 6 months. So last week I started sending her a quick Slack message every hour like 'Bay 12 done, moving to bay 7.' She stopped asking altogether. Has anyone else found a dumb little trick like this to get a control freak off your back?

2 comments

2 Comments

simonl1116d ago

Whoa hold up, I gotta push back on this one lol. I think you just trained your boss to expect hourly updates and now she's got you working to her schedule even harder than before. What happens when you're in the middle of a tricky bay and forget to send that message at 2pm sharp? She's gonna hit you up thinking something's wrong. I feel like a better move is to set a clear boundary like "I'll update you when a bay is fully complete, not every step of the way." That way you're not turning your whole day into a status report for someone who shouldn't need that much handholding anyway.

the_hugo16d ago

Ha! Yeah no joke, next thing you know she'll want a calendar invite for your bathroom breaks. I get the whole "set boundaries" thing but in my experience some managers just can't help themselves. They get used to that info drip and then it's like pulling teeth to break the habit. Honestly though, what happens when you're in the middle of plugging a car and your phone buzzes three times because you missed the 2pm deadline? You're gonna end up dropping a tool or something trying to reply. Might be harsh but your boss probably needs a hobby that isn't watching your workflow tick by the hour.