I have a new boss and I have no other way to describe her other than an irritating, overbearing, obsessive micromanager. I know I’m good at my job – as does everyone else on my team. I’m highly capable. I’ve been thrown into many crises and handled them.
But my boss is constantly craning her head around to look at my screen. I can feel her eyes burning a hole into the back of my head every five minutes. She hovers over my every move, wanting the minutes of every single meeting I’m in, including informal catch-ups she catches wind of. She constantly checks in, especially if I’m working from home, to the point where it feels like it’s the only way she can maintain some semblance of control. I think she’s drowning in the new role.
I honestly think she does it out of sheer inadequacy and a lack of confidence. She is constantly staying later and working on weekends and then will have the cheek to Slack me out of hours. Once, she even WhatsApped me at 7pm on a Friday. I ignored it because I was out, having an actual life. On Monday, when I walked in, she said: “Fun Friday? You must have been really busy!” I’m sorry, just because you have zero personal life, it doesn’t mean I have to, too?
How can I manage up and make her a better line manager without seeming cheeky or crossing the line?
