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micromanagement driving me slightly mad!

2 replies

Winterinthecity · 03/01/2020 14:05

sorry if wrong place to post.

I'm currently in a contract temporary job as a PA (BSO) for a sort of government organisation. Pay is good and work isn't demanding at all, in fact I've had more pressure etc but a job is a job these days!

Been doing this kind of work for the past 2 years as I am retraining which will take 2 years.

In this current job I feel like I'm being micromanaged by my line manager and any requests I have e.g. for working from home (which apparently I'm entitled to do) she immediately shut them down when I joined and then had to backtrack and e.g. allow me 1 hour for lunch as I said I'd finish later to fit this in. This isn't the only request but she always seems to have a hardline stance on this sort of 'rule'. We have 1:1's where she always details my work and what I have/haven't done in great detail and then emails me about it with huge lists. In my previous contracts no one has ever done this, left me to get on with things and everything has been fine.

Another slightly worrying comment was seeing an email she'd sent by mistake copying me in where her and my boss (who's based away from London) have obviously been talking about me and it didn't seem in a nice way either! I haven't brought this up with her as my contract ends at the end of March 2019 but it might be good to have this contract as a stopgap - convenient location etc.

Would you leave this or bring it up? Another line manager who also interviewed me along with this one and seems more 'sympathetic' also works with us, but in another team.

OP posts:
SuperMeerkat · 03/01/2020 14:24

No real advice but sympathies on the micromanagement as this is what i’m enduring right now. I even sit next to my team leader FFS!! The overall team leader is an absolute nightmare and we have to copy her into every email to get ‘permission’. It’s so annoying when I know the answer but can’t do anything to resolve the problem without her say so. Some things have been going on for months as there are 9 of us in the team all having to ask permission for every little thing. Funnily enough i’m job hunting.

Winterinthecity · 03/01/2020 14:31

SuperMeerkat - thanks for the support! It's absolute hell the micromanagement isn't it?! Thing is this manager is more senior than me and always seems to be 'really busy' yet not so busy that she can spend time micromanaging me too!

The thing which makes me laugh is she and the other BSOs (not part of her team) have encouraged me to apply for a permanent job there (there are lots and not badly paid actually!) but I'd rather leave than endure this after March! I keep having wobbles (when this manager seems 'normal') and thinking 'yeah this could be ok here but then realise I'm so thankful it's just until the end of March!

9 team members having to ask permission is awful. At least I know with this line manager that as it's sort of government I can ask for certain reasonable requests. I don't know what I'd do if I had to sit next to my team leader so I congratulate you on this!

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