Micromanagement in general has a negative implication. Like bullies, micromanagers exercise improper pressure over others through continuous critique and control by means of their unnecessary attention to minute details. Sooner or later, adverse effects of micromanaging apparently take a toll on employee engagement and morale, and productivity declines with a rise in employee turnover. The work environment established through micromanagement is often unproductive and crammed with anxiety. When employees are pushed to understand that their work will never be adequate, they lose enthusiasm and trust in their capability to accomplish the duties vital for their role.
Innovation Diminishes
Employee engagement leads to innovation and enabling employees aid enhancing engagement levels. Micromanagement demotivates employees by restricting them to achieve outcomes employing their own methods. This makes employees feel less responsible for their results and less involved. Micromanagers misspend their teams’ skills and knowledge by manipulating their every single effort. They never make space for employees to assess and enhance their own procedures to build their capability. As micromanagers want their team members to only take orders, their capacity to innovate diminishes. Demanding creativity but leaping in to make judgements and putting pressure to work in a particular approach never creates a work atmosphere that encourages innovation.
Health Problems Occur
In due course micromanagers levy a hefty toll on their employees’ physical condition. Micromanagement raises employees’ tension that can impact both work as well as their personal life. An employee who has a struggle at work may give family and friends trouble outside of work, therefore damages those relations. It can also force them indulge in smoking, drinking, and anxiety-eating. This in turn furthers health issues such as increased threat of heart attack, extreme blood pressure, and insomnia. If the boss is verbally or emotionally rude employees undergo emotional trauma and reduced self-esteem. Being at work without the capacity to make decisions makes employees depressed.
Dropped Morale
Micromanaged people feel a loss of autonomy. They gradually lose the drive to go the extra mile for accomplishing a job and taking delight in what they do. Employees will cap themselves to what is asked by their manager. Basically, they stop attempting, and their engagement levels drop. Micromanagers unintentionally or intentionally deter team members from making decisions by pushing aside their experience and knowledge by taking control over their work.
Wrapping it all up
Managers should use power with clear focus and standards for employees to follow. Once the team learns its duties and tasks, it should be urged to perform its tasks autonomously as required to perform tasks. Through these means, the team develops capability, confidence, and perform independently. Further, their job satisfaction, creativity, and morale increases. While some elements of micromanaging could be essential to accomplish some duties at work, they hardly add anything to productivity or employee engagement.