What exactly is micromanaging?

Anonymous

June 13,2022 at 5:36PM UTC

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What exactly is micromanaging? I worked from home and I have bosses that listen in on our phone conversations with customers. We know of it happening but we don’t know when they are going to do it and the customers don’t know that the employers are listening at all. Also when I first started working for this company my boss was training me on how to do cost quotes and I kept messing up because I really suck at math and I learn in a different way. I stated that to him. During the end of the training I yawned. It wasn’t a loud wide mouth yawn or obnoxious. It was more like a sigh. He asked who yawned and I said oh I did im

sorry. And he got so mad, ended the training, called me on my line, told me to send in all of my work to him no matter what it was, it wasn’t cost quotes but I had to send him every thing that I do, then he told me to go take my lunch break at 11am. I was shocked at how he called me and spoke to me

the way he did. At first I didn’t believe that that even happened and I felt confused. Then it started settling in and I felt scolded and punished. Ever since then I kept a distance from him and never asked him for help or anything. I’m kind of scared of him. Finally, I left work to bring my son to a physical and he got 3 vaccines at this appt. I came back to work but because it’s a call center setting I asked if I could do my work but not be in the queue because my son was cranky this day. The boss again called my phone and said that if I’m clocked in then I am expected to be in the queue but I have a coworker who is not expected to be in the queue and she does the same job as I do. I’m depressed at this job. I don’t give it my all like I used to. I’m anxious when its time to punch in. My boss also happens to be the owners nephew.

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AnonymousJune 13,2022 at 6:35PM UTC
You have burned some bridges and I'm afraid this boss isn't one to forgive.
I would look for a new job and learn that your professionalism is on display at all times.
Sorry you had to learn this lesson.
AnonymousJune 28,2022 at 2:24AM UTC
I yawned, not loud and obnoxious more like a sigh not unprofessional a natural body function, and one time I had a sick child but I was still willing to work just not being in the queue for the rest of the day.
I was in the queue earlier. I wouldn’t call it burning a bridge.
AnonymousJune 13,2022 at 7:20PM UTC
When I used to work at a call center for aetna insurance, all calls were recorded and a quality analyst can randomly pick any recorded call and audit it. Eventually call performance was translated to a performance metric and for every performance period you get a score. If an QA caught a call where you gave incorrect information or had bad tone or rude, or etc, that would be discussed by your manager. Now if you work at a smaller company, they might not be able to afford the fancy systems to fully automate this process. Therefore, that could be a reason why your bosses are monitoring it live. My point is if you switched to a larger call center, they will still record and listen to your calls. Thats just the nature of the job.
However the other part where he wanted all of your work sent to him. You should take a step back and ask, is this requested from all other employees? Also at large call centers, you are required to fully document your call and receive a metrics grade for that too. So it is possible that your boss is attempting to be thorough.
If you do not like this level of scrutiny, maybe try another industry or profession. For example insurance companies have billing departments and claims representatives where their staff are not on call 24/7. Maybe pursue the next step of career interest. Maybe you outgrew your CSR position. I know I did when I moved on. Maybe thats just all that it is. Get your resume and application packages together. and apply
AnonymousJune 14,2022 at 3:31AM UTC
This is great advice.
I used to work in a call center and it was set up the exactly the same way. I took calls for a utility company and I was responsible for handling both customer service and emergency calls at at the same time. It was odd one minute you are playing the role of a 911 dispatcher, trying to get a utility person and 911 notified to get out to the scene and the next moment you could be getting screamed at by a customer on the customer service line . It was constantly busy and there were never not any customers in queue. What I learned is they would normally listen in on one of my first few calls of the day and I could see in the software what calls could potentially be listened to so it helped me to know when I needed to be on my toes. Also, I learned to never ever mess up a call on the emergency line. I outgrew my position and moved on as well to a different position in the company. It's definitely not for everyone. If you aren't a people person and don't like being micromanaged in this manner, it's not a job for you. To the OP, maybe see if your company has another position not in customer service you could do, although based on your relationship with your current supervisor it's probably best to move on to a different company all together
AnonymousJune 14,2022 at 7:45PM UTC
Exactly, I was not a people person at the time. But the job certainly served a purpose in forcing me to be in social situations to help with it. So yes, maybe the OP outgrew the position and it’s time to move on.
AnonymousJune 13,2022 at 8:27PM UTC
Asking to send all your work for review sounds like he's building a case for termination. He will knit pick through it all to create a justification.
AnonymousJune 13,2022 at 10:04PM UTC
In short, micro-managing is when your direct report has no confidence in your ability and insists reviewing everything you are doing. This is usually a personality flaw and rarely can be changed. If you find yourself in this situation start looking for something else. You spend at least 8 hours a day at work, there is no reason to be miserable all 8 hours.