Survey: Micromanagers hurting business productivity

Having a boss who is constantly over your shoulder and questioning your actions has a different effect on each employee.

For some, the pressure and scrutiny of a micromanager could bring out their best, however, the majority of employees feel that this type of behaviour has a negative effect on morale and productivity.

In a recent Accountemps survey, published by Robert Half Management Resources, 450 employees were polled about their previous and current bosses and how their leadership style affected their work.

More than half (59 per cent) of respondents had worked for a micromanager before. Of those employees, over two-thirds (68 per cent) said it had decreased their morale and 55 per cent reported a loss in productivity.

Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Motivating Employees For Dummies, explained that employees need freedom to show what they can achieve and not have an overbearing micromanager constantly on their case.

"Bosses micromanage for many different reasons, but no matter how good their intentions, taking a heavy-handed approach typically hurts employee output, job satisfaction and, as a result, retention efforts," he said.

"Personally making sure every 't' is crossed might help avoid some mistakes, but the costs associated with failing to trust your team can have a longer-term impact."

Accountemps offered some helpful advice into how micromanagers can provide employees with a more friendly and warm working environment. This included identifying specific tasks that you can hand over to other workers, allowing employees to learn from their own mistakes and learning to trust team members to do their job to the high standard expected.

If micromanaging is a problem in your business, then you could invest in workflow automation. The software can improve employee work rates by streamlining systems and this will increase the overall efficiency of the organisation.