To think my new manager doesn't trust me?

[rebels95]

Would you find this annoying?

I started a new job last month, working from home. I've worked from home before and had no issues. My new manager seems ok, albeit a bit disorganised and chaotic at times. He can sometimes be impatient but I'm wondering if he doesn't trust me to some extent. I don't know why, as far as I'm aware I haven't given him any reason to doubt me or my capabilities.

Some examples:

• I needed a loo break and was gone around 5 minutes. Came back to 4 missed calls.

• He rang me from a group teams call (not a scheduled call) which I declined due to being on the phone with a client. I sent him a message explaining and that I'd call him back. He told me to join the call anyway and just put myself on mute. This seemed stupid to me as surely he couldn't talk until I had come off the phone anyway otherwise I would have missed what he was saying!

• I put a message in the group chat to say I was going for lunch but ended up staying on for another 10 minutes as a client rang me. Cue my manager saying I'd taken an extra 10 minutes for lunch and to make sure I came back on time. I hadn't!

It's just silly, nit picking at its finest imo but it's doing my head in! Is he a controlling manager or am I just a piss taking employee?

I'm surprised he has any staff left to manage.

4 calls in 5 mins is ridiculous as are all the other examples.

Do you know if he is any better with people who have been there longer?

No YANBU. That's excessive micro-management. If you are getting the work done as expected then he should have no cause for concern.

The thing with a lot of people who WFH is that they do take the piss. And do take an extra 5/10 minutes on a break, they "nip to the toilet" but while they're doing that they'll put a washing load in etc. Lots of managers are getting weary of this. And as you've only been with them a month he's still getting you and how you work, whether you're trustworthy or just another piss taker etc

If you are getting the work done, and clients aren’t complaining about your work, then he is micromanaging. He might be worse as you are new. What’s his response when you defend yourself.

@CosyLemur I don’t think a lot of people do take advantage, I think it’s a minority who give us home workers such a bad rep. I’ve been a home worker for 13 years. The majority of people who work for my organisation are home workers. We have flexible working and are trusted by our managers to manage our working day to get our key priority tasks done within our required hours each week. This means many of us don’t work conventionally and that’s fine. If we have to put the washing on or do an errand it’s fine. As long as the work is done no one cares. And the work does get done, otherwise we wouldn’t still be working like this 13 years down the line. A lot of people in general find it hard to move away from old fashioned working patterns and think anything that is less conventional must be a big piss take.

In the office people stand around chatting in the corridor for 20 minutes, or nip out for a coffee which takes a lot longer than walking a few steps to their kitchen. I know I end up chatting to people in the office for ages who I would never speak to at home. It's nice, and good for moral, but I never get as much done in the office.

If someone is an adult professional they should be trusted to get on with their working day without micro-management. Putting the washing on takes five minutes, why on earth shouldn't someone do that while they're in the kitchen anyway?

I put the washing on. When I'm in the office I don't just go to the loo and come straight back - someone will invariably start chatting to me. No one tells us no chatting in the office.

I’d have a read of your company bullying policy as micromanaging is a form of bullying. Keep a record for a few weeks of the things you have mentioned and see if it is an issue you can raise as informal feedback or genuinely needs addressing via HR as it isn’t acceptable and sounds like they are creating a hostile environment for you to work in.

And your evidence for this is???? I work partly from home and partly in the office. Myself and all my colleagues agree we get more work done at home and use office time more for team bonding and talking through more complicated cases with colleagues.

Be careful. If he said you'd taken an extra 10 minutes for lunch when you hadn't, he could accuse you of other things you haven't done.
He isn't just micromanaging in a weird way and being petty, he's making false accusations, and you might one day have to defend yourself against them.