To think hierarchy doesn't work at work?

Micromanaging is a big no no. I had a manager who did this and it was tedious and slowed down everything.
But management is a hyerarchy. Your manager is responsible for what you do, decisions you make etc. And the manager above them is also responsible for work/decisions they make.
I mean do you expect the whole workforce to have a vote or something? Ultimately managers make final decisions. Perhaps you could give it a try?

Humans respond better to respect, than they do to being dominated and treated like crap

Yep. ALL of the shit managers I've worked for have been power hungry and treated those (or some of them) that worked for them like shit.

Some people just aren't management material. I have been a manager and got far more out of my staff through treating them with kindness and supporting them. There will always be 1 or 2 that take the piss but on the whole, supporting your staff pays off hugely. Having said that, I am not management material. I hate having to organise other adults and it annoys me when they don't do their jobs to the best of their ability (differing levels of ability are a totally different thing).

Hierarchy is sometimes important in the workplace, as it shows who is accountable and responsible for making things happen properly.

My current job is experimenting with 'matrix management' - where you have 'assignment managers' for each project you are involved with, and 'career managers' who look after your annual leave, sickness and development. All gets quite confusing - my current career manager is on the same grade as me, which meant that when we both applied for the same promotion role I felt I was unable to get support from my career manager, because we were competitors.

When I managed large public-sector teams I used to say to team members - 'you don't work for me, I work for you. We're all working for the general public and my job as manager is to make sure you have everything you need to do your jobs properly'. Worked quite nicely.

People who enforce hierarchy via micro-management, have petty rules, invest too much in their own authority are usually inadequate managers, anxious about their own abilities, and these will occur in many and any settings. Hierarchy at work is not always bad, and sometimes it is necessary. Poor management is always a problem, whatever the set-up.

Exactly. Hierarchies are sometimes needed because some people have more responsibility than others, and a wider overview of what’s needed in an organisation. Whether or not they are good managers, and the fact that everyone is intrinsically of equal worth as a person, have nothing to do with it.

Someone has to be accountable, but that doesn’t mean they need to be reminding everyone they are the boss. The best managers are those who treat everyone like human beings, but have an open door where problems can be raised for the managers to resolve. It everyone is on the same level that’s fine until some problems arise.

Whenever I resent anyone higher than me I think would I want their job? Their pressure and stress? I let go whatever it is that bothers me, I do the job and ignore any resentment I may have because there’s no way I could work at their level

Do you make a habit of pointing out everyone’s typos?

No, she doesn’t trust the team. They haven’t demonstrated their competence to us sufficiently that she knows she can leave them to it.

I had a really paranoid manager who was a head of dept. He insisted everyone copy him into every email as he didn't want stuff going on behind his back. Absolute nightmare of a man who ran the department into the ground. He was also not very bright.

Well you would, wouldn't you, unless YOU were the one in a senior position!! Somebody has to be 'in charge', being responsible for allocating work, praising or criticising others' work, and ultimately 'the buck stops with her'.

Agree with this.
It's like saying your best friend in your 12 year old. But They can't be because someone needs to be in charge i.e be the parent.

Unless it was a commune or a collective then there was a hierarchy, you may not have been aware of it but there was

if it's a company - someone/people owned it
if it's a charity - there's a board of trustees
if it's a local authority - there's councillors

Unless everyone in the entire organisation sat down every morning and agreed every action that day, there was a hierarchy

Life's too short to be miserable at work.
Good luck!

Usually managers start micromanaging when employees start taking the piss! I manage a large team. I only micromanage one person as he literally doesn’t do anything if left to his own devices! He has recently been diagnosed with ASD and ADHD. He needs micromanaging or he will waste endless time and then try to log it as overtime! He will always act like he is happy to help with any job but will not actually do anything unless micromanaged. Also takes a lot of sick leave whenever asked to come into the office. We work mainly from home. He has just taken 43 days off as we were in office 2-3 days a week over this period for some specific work. This I think will end only when he gets a disciplinary.

Completely agree. I had one absolute idiot of a manager who said “your job is to make me look good”. No one could do that mate. And another (on reflection he was a raving narcissist in the true definition) who wanted me to find him and say good morning every day, kind of reporting for duty as he was senior to me. I worked in financial services back office.

I've never included verbal warnings.