The Effects of Micromanagement on Employees’ Mental Health

Micromanagement is a common leadership style whereby a manager closely observes and controls the work of employees. The movie Office Space (1999) brilliantly encapsulates this management style. The dreaded boss, Bill Lumbergh (played by Gary Cole), constantly pesters Peter Gibbons (played by Ron Livingston) about his work, often about irritating details and useless tasks. Lumbergh’s autocratic approach fuels Gibbons’ increasing dissatisfaction with his job.

The fact is that peering over employees’ shoulders to check up on them wastes time, distracts from work, and results in employee disengagement. This is highlighted in the film, as Gibbons goes into work every day and just stares at the clock waiting for the day to end. The problem isn’t his job, per se. It’s the toxic nature of his superiors who are managing him. And it’s the reason why Gibbons eventually decides to quit.

Micromanagement annoys employees, makes them less productive, and motivates them to leave the company. This management style can also seriously impact the mental health of employees.

Higher levels of stress

Harvard Medical School instructor Jonathan D. Quick co-authored a book titled Preventive Stress Management in Organizations. In it, he says that, “the leadership qualities of ‘bad’ bosses over time exert a heavy toll on employees’ health.” He highlights research showing that a micromanaging boss can lead to a variety of health issues, including chronic stress.

Indeed, if you’ve ever worked for a boss who’s always hovering over you, monitoring your progress, obsessing over minor details, providing you with detailed instructions, and having a talk with you about every mistake you make, you will know that this can really get on your nerves.

Moreover, the stress that this causes can, unfortunately, seep into your personal life. If your manager is giving you a hard time at work, this may make you give your friends, family, and partner a hard time as well. Stress often brings out the worst in us, which can put our most important, personal relationships under strain.

Low self-esteem

If you’re always being monitored, ordered around, and criticised in your work, this can end up lowering your self-esteem. You may feel that your manager doesn’t trust you enough, or believe in your abilities enough, in order for you to get on with the task at hand. Their overbearing leadership style can make you feel powerless and infantilised, like a machine taking orders, unable to use your own resources, knowledge, and initiative to figure things out.

Many micromanaging bosses enjoy being very controlling. As is often the case, these controlling tendencies come from a place of insecurity. In order to make them feel better about themselves, micromanaging bosses may put their employees down and treat them disrespectfully.

Depression

In his book, Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions, author Johann Hari points to the research of Professor Michael Marmot who found that if you go into work and feel you’re controlled without many choices, then you’re much more likely to become depressed (as well as suffer a heart attack). In an interview about the book, Hari said, “Giving people back control over their workplaces is one of the most effective ways to reduce depression.”

If we don’t feel that we have the freedom to make our own decisions to achieve results, then work becomes a lot more meaningless and without purpose. As humans, we intrinsically thirst for meaning and purpose in our work in order to feel valued and fulfilled.

The micromanaging boss may exert excessive control over their employees if they genuinely believe that this is the most effective way to get work done and achieve results. Or perhaps they’ve noticed their supervisor manages in this way and, trusting their authority, presumes this is the best leadership style. But as we can see, micromanagement is not only ineffective; it can also put employees’ mental health at risk. The research into this phenomenon underscores why it’s time for modern work culture to place a much higher value on the autonomy of employees.

About the Author

Sam Woolfe writes for Inspiring Interns, which specialises in sourcing candidates for internships and graduate jobs.