Micromanagement - Effects

Effects

Regardless of a micromanager's motive for his or her conduct, its potential effects include:

• Creation of ex post resentment in both "vertical" (manager-subordinate) and "horizontal" (subordinate-subordinate) relationships
• Damage to ex ante trust in both vertical and horizontal relationships
• Interference with existing teamwork and inhibition of future teamwork in both vertical relationships (e.g., via malicious compliance) and horizontal relationships (e.g., exploitation of moral hazard created by poorly proportioned effort-reward structures).

Because a pattern of micromanagement suggests to employees that a manager does not trust their work or judgment, it is a major factor in triggering employee disengagement, often to the point of promoting a dysfunctional and hostile work environment in which one or more managers, or even management generally, are labeled "control freaks." Disengaged employees invest time, but not effort or creativity, in the work in which they are assigned. The effects of this phenomenon are worse in "assembly line"-type situations where work is passed from one specialized employee to another, differently specialized employee who cannot perform his or her own task until the previous employee's is complete; in such a situation, apathy among "upstream" employees affects not only their own productivity but also that of their "downstream" colleagues.

Severe forms of micromanagement can completely eliminate trust, stifle opportunities for learning and development of interpersonal skills, and even provoke anti-social behavior. Micromanagers of this severity often rely on inducing fear in the employees to achieve more control and can severely affect self-esteem of employees as well as their mental and physical health. Occasionally, and especially when their micromanagement involves the suppression of constructive criticism that could otherwise lead to internal reform, severe micromanagers affect subordinates' mental and/or physical health to such an extreme that the subordinates' only way to change their workplace environment is to change employers or even leave the workplace despite lacking alternative job prospects (see constructive discharge, supra).

Finally, the detrimental effects of micromanagement can extend beyond the "four walls" of a company, especially when the behavior becomes severe enough to force out skilled employees valuable to competitors: Current employees may complain about micromanagement in social settings or to friend-colleagues (e.g., classmates and/or former co-workers) affiliated with other firms in a field. Outside observers such as consultants, clients, interviewees, or visitors may notice the behavior and recount it in conversation with friends and/or colleagues. Most harmfully to the company, forced-out employees, especially those whose advanced skills have made them attractive to other companies and gained them immediate respect, may have few reservations about speaking frankly when answering questions about why they changed employers; they may even make affirmative efforts to "badmouth" their former employer in an attempt at venting or revenge. The resulting damage to the company's reputation may create or increase insecurity among management, prompting further micromanagement among managers who use it to cope with insecurity; such a feedback effect creates and perpetuates a vicious cycle.