Boss Demands Employees Working From Home Check In Every 5 Minutes During Their Workday
Micromanaging at it's finest.
DC Studio | Shutterstock The beauty of working from home is the trust you're given to complete your work during your designated hours. Usually, good managers and bosses allow their employees the freedom to manage their time as long as they get their work done. Except, maybe not all bosses.
In a TikTok video, a content creator shared an anonymous submission from an employee whose boss had sent an email to the entire staff outlining the requirements for working from home. One of those requirements included a constant check-in throughout the workday.
A boss demanded that remote employees check in every 5 minutes during their workday.
In the video, she shared a screenshot of the email the unnamed boss sent to their employees. The boss claimed that all employees should be reminded about the 5-minute check-in rule that exists within the company.
"I noticed there's a delay in your response on our chat earlier today. We have a 5 minute rule. I just wanted to check in to make sure everything is okay and to remind you of our policy," the boss began in the email. "If you're stepping away from your desk for a break or any other reason, such as going to the bathroom, please notify the team so we're aware of your availability."
The boss explained that employees constantly checking in during their workday helps everyone to stay aligned and ensures that nothing is missed. However, the major problem with this kind of micromanaging of your employees is that it tanks productivity.
Instead, resentment tends to brew between the employees and their boss, especially when they feel that they're not being trusted to do their work and handle the business that needs to be taken care of by the end of the day.
Micromanagement tends to be more harmful than helpful for employees.
In a Monster.com survey, nearly 3 out of 4 workers said micromanagement is the biggest red flag in a workplace; almost half, 46%, said they’d leave a job because of it.
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"Micromanagement is awful," explained CEO and founder of HR consulting firm Reverb Mikaela Kiner. "It’s annoying and disempowering at the same time. Micromanagement comes from disorganization. Building those skills for managers — to delegate but also check in and monitor progress in an appropriate way — can really decrease micromanagement.”
While managers need to make sure tasks are completed and work is progressing, forcing employees to "check in" every five minutes is not the way to go about it. There are definitely better ways to inspire workers to put their best foot forward and boost productivity. If anything, frequent busy tasks, like these five-minute checks, take them away from the things that need to get done.
Career coach Victor Lipman insisted that leaders who micromanage their employees usually end up stifling their creativity, dampening their motivation, and reducing overall productivity. Guess what happens in addition to tanked numbers. Employees start to look for jobs elsewhere.
The key to effective remote work is simply trusting your employees to do what they need to do. They get their work done, and they earn the privilege to work from home. It's as simple as that. Once you try tightening the leash, that's when things start to fall apart. Trust in a workplace is integral to success, and if managers and their team don't have that, then it doesn't matter how much you try to track their activity; they'll never give you more than minimal effort. And they'll definitely jump ship the second the opportunity arises.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
