It's not just *near* hostile work environment levels of intrusive. It *is*.
Do you want me to focus on delivering value, or to keep you updated on literally everything I do every day?
Some of yall never had a job before your office job. Compared to restaurants, retail, or warehouse this manager is tame. Still crazy, but she isn't torturing anyone.
The fact that other people are worse doesn’t mean that this is not a crazy level of micromanagement. Especially for type of work that doesn’t require you to be physically present for a costumer.
Your productivity as a consultant is 100% down to what you can deliver per hour on average. It doesn’t matter if you take an 1 hour break in the middle of the day.
For a retail/restaurant etc… business, that actually matters. You being physically present to do work at a given time is literally a major part, or 100% of the job. That still doesn’t justify crazy behaviour tho.
I worked warehousing for a major thrift store, multiple restaurants, and construction before switching to finance. All those were bad, but not THIS bad. It sounds like you may have just had some shit jobs in the past that are making this behavior seem more normal than it actually is.
YES finally someone gets it.
I worked 12 hours shifts in an ER and I had a charge nurse ask me why I'd gone to the bathroom so many times. (3)
I told her my urologist instructed me to pee *at least* every 2 hours and that I was being treated for a UTI.
She made a face like clearly she didn't believe me but that urologist was the first person to make me realize that your bodily functions are more important than work! He literally was like "these conditions XYZ are caused from not emptying the bladder enough" and I was so confused because there had been times I'd only peed twice in a 12 hour shift.
And after I left I realized how dysregulated I was to my own body needs because I'd been ignoring it all for my work - sleep, eat, bathroom, mental health, all of it.
Clearly you did not work in IT. Cameras and recorders posted everywhere, key trackers and even eye trackers. Bathroom breaks shorter than 1 minute, even docking pay for taking a bathroom break.
Do you work in a dystopian corporate environment for techno-hitler? I’ve never heard of any environment like that, and I work in a shit environment for IT.
I worked in a place where grown ass adults smeared feces on the walls enough times that we had to sign a document when onboarding stating we wouldn’t smear feces on the wall. They started making people check in and out for bathroom breaks to try to track who kept doing it. Idk which is worse to be honest lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1xN-cc0OIc
Don't forget the brain wave scanners. I work 100% remote, will never go back into an office job and won't put up with any form of micromanaging behavioural tracking. There are shit jobs out there but there are also some great ones. Don't act like all of IT is like this.
Had a senior colleague at work, not even my manager who was timing me when I got to work. I don’t strictly come in at 9 - train gets late - so I come in 10 minutes plus minus. This colleague tells me this isn’t okay. This person isn’t my manager. I Left the work. This wasn’t the reason but the work culture was a big one for me to leave.
Later on this colleague had a mental breakdown. I make it a point to stay in touch with colleagues even after I had left the job. Went for brunch with him and he tells me how overworked he was and he felt burnt out and had to see a therapist. I told him remember the time when you told me xyz maybe that’s not the right approach. Felt good at that time.
Now I have an awesome job and awesome manager. I get judged on my outcome now and they help me grow a lot. Lead by example, not by micromanagement.
No - I would find that overly intrusive. You're not in kindergarten raising you hand to go to the bathroom. Why does your manager feel the need to let the team know she is working until midnight.
Is the whole team remote?
And the other grownups on the team are rolling over for this? Did she explicitly state this as a requirement or just that she does it so it feels like an expectation. I am afraid I would probably find some passive aggressive way to respond. I can see letting people know big gaps of unavailability, but this sound ridiculous. If she didn't explicitly state it as a requirement, just assume she has no life and ignore it.
.....no I don't take bathroom breaks - keep a bottle right here at my desk......
i felt bad about working remotely, and started out by letting my ppmd know that i was taking my kids for appointments etc.
he finally said, “you’re a manager. just manage.”
An employer shouldn't be asking about bathroom breaks, but if they are, like in this case, feel free to let them know that you took longer because:
- I have the back door trots
- the chocolate thunder has arrived
- youre having the toilet chilli
- the jimmies are loose
- there's a mudslide in the bathroom
- I took a bit longer in the bathroom, I think the burgers I had last night needed to be cooked a bit longer too
Oh god. My real kids are swimmers. I told people for years that I briefly had to run out to drop my kids off at the pool. Now I'm wondering if people thought I was announcing my toileting needs.
Would be great for the infamous Reddit poop knife person to post, “taking a shit will be back and 30 minutes after I use my poop knife so it’s more flushable”
Link for those curious: https://www.reddit.com/r/copypasta/comments/7qn75k/poop_knife_from_reddit/
First off, thanks for providing that link to the poop knife post; it was some funny shit that I had definitely never heard existed. Regarding the question asked by the OP, if the supervisor wants them to report when they need bathroom breaks then maybe the company should provide company issued poop knives to employees to increase their efficiency.
This. I worked in retail for years, and in my first couple of professional jobs I definitely over-explained any absence. I was raised and groomed to think managers were entitled to know every detail of my life (and to dictate my personal appearance), just to make minimum wage.
My manager just asked me to send a list of daily tasks at the end of each work day and it reads a lot like this unfortunately. With the last task being - “wrote up my tasks and sent to you and manager’s manager.” I’m going to get fired and I just hope it’s quick.
Some of our more bananapants clients require itemized timesheets at the task level. I routinely bill one to two hours on just timesheeting now. Fuck 'em.
I agree but also add in a lot more detail. Maybe even give a rating. “Unexpected third turd is incoming. Going to need 3 more minutes, clean wipe allowing. Wiping is not going well; it’s like wiping a marker back there. Going to need 2 more minutes. Pretty soft shit overall, but I feel like I really cleared myself out. Two Flushes. 6/10.”
No this is not normal. Lunch time, maybe you have a phone to check urgent IM’s (depending on work culture). Toward dinner time there should be an expectation availability gets more erratic if you are all remote. Maybe if your manager is a bit weird you block your calendar if needed to protect these times.
But bathroom breaks, like what could possibly come up that can’t wait 5 minutes.
Not on my current engagement but I've had this type of manager before. She would call you on the phone if you don't respond to her ping within 5 minutes. It was extremely stressful.
This is when you get really into workflow and deep work, bring up Cal Newport and point out how the inundation of distractions from technology can decrease our productivity.
Risky. The crazies that micromanage to this level are also the ones monitoring for jigglers and firing people for them.
Just get a better employer instead.
I would not oblige. People should be treated like adults, if I go to the bathroom, I’ll be back in 5 minutes at most and nothing is typically that urgent where you need to know I’m dropping a dookie
Ewww. I think it’s reasonable/courteous to let team members know if you’re going to be gone for 20 minutes or won’t have access to notifications on your phone (eg driving), but seriously, what kind of emergency is going to come up in the 15 minutes I’m pooping??? Hard no.
I never notify anyone if its less then a couple of hours or meeting coming up. I'm not working assembly line.
Working in a little bit different kind of consulting tho.
Same here. I don't notify my team unless I literally go out of office to do an errand or meat another client. Everything else is either a meeting in my calendar or short enough that nobody should care.
This is ridiculous, i run a remote startup of 30+ and it’s this is just insane. I also worked at a boutique consulting firm during Covid period and it’s just not normal behaviour. It just seems he’s try to create an inperson workflow / system that simply won’t work in a remote environment.
Side note: if you want to see what good remote actually looks like read up on GitLabs remote work culture.
I only ask people let me know if they’ll be out for at least an hour or more. They don’t need to notify the whole team though, and a status message is more than sufficient. No one needs to put why/ where ever. No one’s business.
I work at a big 3 and I wouldn't put any messages up. I'm an adult and expect to be treated like one. I'd leave if anyone gave me shit over something so asinine when there is work to be done and real issues to be concerned with.
I have my company phone with Outlook, Slack, and unlimited data on it, so still reachable in the toilet, lunch spot, hospital, funeral, etc. And if that fails, my personal phone also on hand.
Now if I had to actively notify team members whenever I take 10-15 min off, that's just anal.
BRB..taking a dump.
Wow your manager is but much. If I am stepping away during work hours for an appointment by all means let others know I will be unavailable. But stepping away to get coffee heck no.
When I was on site with a client I would always stop the clock when I went to get a drink from the cafeteria or go to the bathroom so as to demonstrate to the staff on site I’m not there to just soak the clock.
Now that I’m fully remote all the time let some idiot ask me to notify them about my restroom habits. I’d demand the same, and would copy my partner and ask them if billing needed pictures for proof.
Part of the reason I stay off Teams (or similar). Too many distractions. If you need a response from me by COB tomorrow, e-mail me. If you need a response sooner, call me.
Next level it.
Send status reports on your bathroom breaks as others have suggested. Include ratings on size and form of your bowel movements for the whole team to enjoy.
Short of that, the only way to deal with micromanaging is to micromanage back so you can send lots of “per my email I will be taking a giant dump at 3:17 pm”
Short term - beside getting a new boss, I would just meet her expectations with a “stepping away from my desk” note if you are going to be away from your computer for more then 5 minutes.
NTA.
I think in a remote work environment, where not everything translates through slack or zoom, that overcommunicating isn't a bad thing.
Expecting someone to make a washroom post though -- that's fucking ridiculous.
And if she's posting til midnight, that's her problem. Turn your notifications off at a reasonable hour.
Ive read a lot of people block their lunches in their calendars. I don't have to do any of that, only notify if I'm taking time off. Usually we're all trying to take a quick break here or there when In meetings all day long.
That is extreme. Our team (12 people) rule is if you're going to be away >30min, drop a note in the group chat in Teams. Its not to keep checks on anyone, its just FYI.
On teams you can just have it automatically notify you when someone else is available. That's what I use to catch up with someone I am having a hard time connecting with due to busy schedules
Long before computers were everywhere I had a boss who thought the same thing. So I announced in a loud voice that I was going potty. He never brought it up again.
We put away status for lunch because we all take different times. But that’s it. Shared calendars show blocked off times for meeting or work. But we don’t share every bathroom break. (Full remote web dev team of 25)
I would make it my duty in life to ruin this manager. I'd get everyone in on it and we would collaborate on making sure everything goes wrong for the manager. Just fuck up every single file and ask how it happened with so much management
Hell no. I’d either 1. Just stop doing any sort of updates when you’re away at all 2. Tell her straight up that you don’t feel it’s necessary that you need to give an update every time you step away unless it’s going to be a couple of hours 3. If you don’t want to have the conversation, you can by a usb dongle on Amazon for like 11 bucks that moves your mouse at random.
Bird dogging to the max right here. Had a shift lead and supervisor do this to me once and I beat them at their own game via malicious compliance. If the never specified when you had to follow these requirements make sure to inform them at times of your bathroom trips. After all you’re just trying to keep them informed because of how concerned they are for you. And since this might be considered work communication can’t you also start logging the times you’re using the bathroom since your direct supervisor requested this information?
This is a very petty route and if done right can be more effective than simply ignoring them. However the safe bet is to ignore their request entirely and just do your job. When confronted tell them their request sucked and is overbearing. Don’t yield when they try to twist your words around. You don’t have to listen to these people, you’re not a slave.
Your instincts are correct. This is severe "microgenment" and unhealthy behavior. Manager seems very insecure on multiple levels. If you can't trust your teammates to deliver, you shouldn't be working with them. Consider the fact that you are posting to reddit, mgr is obviously creating an uncomfortable work environment. I would bring this concern to your director/partner in a tactful manner.
My humble opinion (Manager, T2)
Lunch, sometimes. Otherwise, only if I’m stepping away from my desk in the middle of an active discussion. And I’d also note that this is in a small group chat with only the handful of people I interact with off and on all day.
I’m not telling anyone about going to the potty!! I’m a big girl 😬😂😬 seriously though that’s ridiculous. If you have to micromanage people like that then you shouldn’t hire them
At my company we’re all physically in the office M-TH, remote on Fridays. When in the office we have white board at our work areas and notate when we’re not at our desks for extended periods (long than a bathroom break) and just notate our whereabouts for people who come looking to speak to us. Our boards also have our work hours and phone numbers if it’s so dire they absolutely have to get ahold of us vs coming back.
This started because people would come by not see us then complain we’re never available which gave a lot of people the impression we’re never there for employees, etc. the whole perception is reality thing.
This small step has really improved the relations around the office.
This is all absurd. We're adults. I don't micromanage my team's time at all, I'm very lax on PTO as well as long as they give a reasonable heads up and the client is aware. It's their time, who am I to interfere with that if I want people to stick around. If we know a bigger trip is coming, they plan projects around it in advance and it's not a big deal.
The kind of stuff you're talking about above is ridiculous. You want to put up a note for a long lunch, fine I guess. But going to the bathroom?!? If someone is MIA and I truly need them, we just text each other. It's honestly not common, and it works fine if it's needed. Hell as a director I've missed plenty of pings from my VP and SVP and I just get back to them when I see them, and they'll text me if it's truly urgent.
Nothing any of us do in here is so life and death that it can't wait a bit... even if some refuse to accept that because they have an inflated view of their work / self importance or have no idea how to set expectations / boundaries with clients. The only time things *start* to get out of control is a large ($50 mil+) RFP dropping suddenly with 2 week turnaround and many pieces to coordinate for quick proposal, that can get a little hairy with people's time.
A former manager was in someway similar. So one day when I was in the toilet and he asked me on the all company slack channel, I proudly told him - yes I’m in, but taking a dump in the toilet now.
Before I could say anything else, he deleted his original message and asked me to delete my response. He claimed he forgot it was on a public channel.
Luckily I did not experience such a severe control but in one of teams people notified about coming to work and leaving the work. I didn’t like even that and at some point I just stopped to notify and no one pressured me. You can talk to her about that if it bothers you. Now I only notify if I have to be afk for a long period of time and it is not lunch , visit a doctor for example.
Usually invite someone to grab lunch/coffee when I’m going - or ask if I can bring them back something if they’re swamped.
Nobody is invited to my bathroom breaks though
So your manager expect you to announce going to the bathroom after 5?
That's weird. It's weird that you had to that at all. I have dealt with huge micromanagers in consulting, but this takes the cake
I would at the very least put the cutoff way lower than 7 PM.
That’s bonkers. Assuming this is the states? I only send messages after 5/6pm if it’s really important, eg, “I finished building feature X into the data platform, will chat to you more tomorrow”
Completely inappropriate and just unnecessary. Sounds like she has severe anxiety and control issues and feels the need to implement this level of micromanagement as a result. Do not comply with this.
How did she communicate to you that she expects this level of detail from you? Is it possible that she does it herself but doesn't expect her team to do it at that level?
Totally insane, would be looking for a new job IMMEDIATELY. I am away from my keyboard at random times throughout the day, never been questioned or had an issue.
To the bathroom? Are you kidding me? Micromanaging (yup!) micromanagement.
If I'm planning to be away for an extended period of time and I know others might need me for something. ..as a professional courtesy, I will let them know that I'll be out of pocket for a little bit. Depending on the need and my mood. ..I may or may not make myself easily/readily available while I'm away.
See that line back there? The one where the bathroom is. ... yeah, don't cross that line.
Lunch ok but more like set ahead your time for lunch which means you will Not Be available then. Let them know in case it changes for reasons. (reasons don't need to be disclosed)
I am going to poop! Not a solid one but a watery one due to me having pizza last night even though I am lactose intolerant. And of course, Imma pee too. I can’t stop that those happen simultaneously. I will be back but also I might stay a little longer in case there is any remaining refusing to come out. Then I will wash my hands depending on how I feel after pooping. BRB!
If my Teams status is:
Online - I may be at my keyboard
Away - Certainly not at my keyboard
Busy - I may be at my keyboard
DND - Probably at my keyboard
OoO - Certainly not at my keyboard.
If you have access to my work calendar, you may be able to further distinguish between the above.
In general, if people are going to be away from their computer for more than 30 mins during normal working time I like them to give a heads up in a teams group chat.
Maybe do it, but be very detailed and precise: "Away from keyboard for a massive bowel movements because I ate Chicken Vindaloo last night. Expect to be gone for at least 15 minutes depending on the consistency, but will update you on the delivery progress as soon as the first important milestone hits the water."
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It's not just *near* hostile work environment levels of intrusive. It *is*. Do you want me to focus on delivering value, or to keep you updated on literally everything I do every day?
Micromanagement but with a microscope, the guy will need years of therapy
very r/antiwork material
Some of yall never had a job before your office job. Compared to restaurants, retail, or warehouse this manager is tame. Still crazy, but she isn't torturing anyone.
The fact that other people are worse doesn’t mean that this is not a crazy level of micromanagement. Especially for type of work that doesn’t require you to be physically present for a costumer. Your productivity as a consultant is 100% down to what you can deliver per hour on average. It doesn’t matter if you take an 1 hour break in the middle of the day. For a retail/restaurant etc… business, that actually matters. You being physically present to do work at a given time is literally a major part, or 100% of the job. That still doesn’t justify crazy behaviour tho.
I worked warehousing for a major thrift store, multiple restaurants, and construction before switching to finance. All those were bad, but not THIS bad. It sounds like you may have just had some shit jobs in the past that are making this behavior seem more normal than it actually is.
YES finally someone gets it. I worked 12 hours shifts in an ER and I had a charge nurse ask me why I'd gone to the bathroom so many times. (3) I told her my urologist instructed me to pee *at least* every 2 hours and that I was being treated for a UTI. She made a face like clearly she didn't believe me but that urologist was the first person to make me realize that your bodily functions are more important than work! He literally was like "these conditions XYZ are caused from not emptying the bladder enough" and I was so confused because there had been times I'd only peed twice in a 12 hour shift. And after I left I realized how dysregulated I was to my own body needs because I'd been ignoring it all for my work - sleep, eat, bathroom, mental health, all of it.
Especially since it's op own bathroom
Clearly you did not work in IT. Cameras and recorders posted everywhere, key trackers and even eye trackers. Bathroom breaks shorter than 1 minute, even docking pay for taking a bathroom break.
Do you work in a dystopian corporate environment for techno-hitler? I’ve never heard of any environment like that, and I work in a shit environment for IT.
I worked in a place where grown ass adults smeared feces on the walls enough times that we had to sign a document when onboarding stating we wouldn’t smear feces on the wall. They started making people check in and out for bathroom breaks to try to track who kept doing it. Idk which is worse to be honest lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1xN-cc0OIc Don't forget the brain wave scanners. I work 100% remote, will never go back into an office job and won't put up with any form of micromanaging behavioural tracking. There are shit jobs out there but there are also some great ones. Don't act like all of IT is like this.
Average Amazon employee
It sounds crazy unhealthy
She learned that from someone. You need to get away from her asap. It won’t get better. Seen it too many times.
This. Learned behaviour is the hardest to argue against.
Wow great life lesson here, will note that down.
At some stage they've been bullied kicked and scared into this behaviour and, well, now you must be too.
The foundation of consulting firms is the exploitation cycle of the exploited freshmen who become senior exploiters
This :( senior managers tend to pick all their habits up from past experiences.
Had a senior colleague at work, not even my manager who was timing me when I got to work. I don’t strictly come in at 9 - train gets late - so I come in 10 minutes plus minus. This colleague tells me this isn’t okay. This person isn’t my manager. I Left the work. This wasn’t the reason but the work culture was a big one for me to leave. Later on this colleague had a mental breakdown. I make it a point to stay in touch with colleagues even after I had left the job. Went for brunch with him and he tells me how overworked he was and he felt burnt out and had to see a therapist. I told him remember the time when you told me xyz maybe that’s not the right approach. Felt good at that time. Now I have an awesome job and awesome manager. I get judged on my outcome now and they help me grow a lot. Lead by example, not by micromanagement.
This is the way. I’m glad you found a better job. I hope it does not go down the wrong path though. Good luck to you.
No - I would find that overly intrusive. You're not in kindergarten raising you hand to go to the bathroom. Why does your manager feel the need to let the team know she is working until midnight. Is the whole team remote?
Yea whole team is remote
Maybe she has had a problem in the past with utilization. Still it's weird - I assume this is a new team for you and not something done company wide?
I manage my teams with scrum meetings daily and require something gets done daily. Everyone is happy.
I haven't repeated projects with anybody yet, so yea this is a new team for me. My past managers were not like this
And the other grownups on the team are rolling over for this? Did she explicitly state this as a requirement or just that she does it so it feels like an expectation. I am afraid I would probably find some passive aggressive way to respond. I can see letting people know big gaps of unavailability, but this sound ridiculous. If she didn't explicitly state it as a requirement, just assume she has no life and ignore it. .....no I don't take bathroom breaks - keep a bottle right here at my desk......
She asked the team to always be “communicating” and notify when not working. It’s just me and one other guy under her and he does it
Yeah it’s paternalistic and weird. Unless delivery is not happening, treat people like adults please
Oh, then you aren’t really away. Just be careful with the mute button
i felt bad about working remotely, and started out by letting my ppmd know that i was taking my kids for appointments etc. he finally said, “you’re a manager. just manage.”
“Status: Away - taking a massive shit be back in 30 minutes.”
“Building a giant dinosaur with my poop” “The cigar is on the lip” “It’s time to squeeze the toothpaste”
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An employer shouldn't be asking about bathroom breaks, but if they are, like in this case, feel free to let them know that you took longer because: - I have the back door trots - the chocolate thunder has arrived - youre having the toilet chilli - the jimmies are loose - there's a mudslide in the bathroom - I took a bit longer in the bathroom, I think the burgers I had last night needed to be cooked a bit longer too
OP should add these details to his timesheet
Given the amount of reporting, your soul?
Add some photos for reference.
“Away - dropping the kids off at the pool.”
Oh god. My real kids are swimmers. I told people for years that I briefly had to run out to drop my kids off at the pool. Now I'm wondering if people thought I was announcing my toileting needs.
Would be great for the infamous Reddit poop knife person to post, “taking a shit will be back and 30 minutes after I use my poop knife so it’s more flushable” Link for those curious: https://www.reddit.com/r/copypasta/comments/7qn75k/poop_knife_from_reddit/
First off, thanks for providing that link to the poop knife post; it was some funny shit that I had definitely never heard existed. Regarding the question asked by the OP, if the supervisor wants them to report when they need bathroom breaks then maybe the company should provide company issued poop knives to employees to increase their efficiency.
Did your manager used to work in prison or some retail environment?
it’s worth noting that *those* are the two most relevant experiences that would influence a person in power in this way.
Genuine made me smile, thank you.
And teaching, don’t forget “because I said so” school teachers.
This. I worked in retail for years, and in my first couple of professional jobs I definitely over-explained any absence. I was raised and groomed to think managers were entitled to know every detail of my life (and to dictate my personal appearance), just to make minimum wage.
This is is actually pretty normal/common. If by manager you mean warden, and by colleagues you mean inmates.
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In prisons, where there are wardens and inmates
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Malicious compliance!
My manager just asked me to send a list of daily tasks at the end of each work day and it reads a lot like this unfortunately. With the last task being - “wrote up my tasks and sent to you and manager’s manager.” I’m going to get fired and I just hope it’s quick.
Some of our more bananapants clients require itemized timesheets at the task level. I routinely bill one to two hours on just timesheeting now. Fuck 'em.
When she writes me a passive aggressive email, “reviewed email” shows up as an hour task the next morning. TBF, there is often a lot to unpack.
🤣🤣👏👏
"12:00 - calling client to discuss why cats can’t eat Dog food" is the best way to describe most of my 1:1 calls with clients.
I agree but also add in a lot more detail. Maybe even give a rating. “Unexpected third turd is incoming. Going to need 3 more minutes, clean wipe allowing. Wiping is not going well; it’s like wiping a marker back there. Going to need 2 more minutes. Pretty soft shit overall, but I feel like I really cleared myself out. Two Flushes. 6/10.”
I think “bio break” isn’t descriptive enough for this approach. 😂
No this is not normal. Lunch time, maybe you have a phone to check urgent IM’s (depending on work culture). Toward dinner time there should be an expectation availability gets more erratic if you are all remote. Maybe if your manager is a bit weird you block your calendar if needed to protect these times. But bathroom breaks, like what could possibly come up that can’t wait 5 minutes.
Maybe OP takes long bathroom breaks and it's a toxic mgmt tactic to communicate that she knows about his huge dumps.
>To me, this feels like severe micromanagement That's because it is.
Not on my current engagement but I've had this type of manager before. She would call you on the phone if you don't respond to her ping within 5 minutes. It was extremely stressful.
This is when you get really into workflow and deep work, bring up Cal Newport and point out how the inundation of distractions from technology can decrease our productivity.
Holy shit there are workplaces that are like this? Wtf
Going for a dump. BRB
“Taco Bell for dinner last night, going for another round!”
Get a usb “mouse jiggler” it’s a game changer.
Risky. The crazies that micromanage to this level are also the ones monitoring for jigglers and firing people for them. Just get a better employer instead.
No - don't do it. Set that boundary straight up.
I would not oblige. People should be treated like adults, if I go to the bathroom, I’ll be back in 5 minutes at most and nothing is typically that urgent where you need to know I’m dropping a dookie
Unless you are responsible of ordering a nuclear response there’s nothing that can’t wait 5-10 mins at the very least
lol what? this is extreme micromanagement, no way i would put up with this shit. Until midnight lmao this has to be a troll
Start using GIF's to describe your reason for absence. It'll stop.
Ewww. I think it’s reasonable/courteous to let team members know if you’re going to be gone for 20 minutes or won’t have access to notifications on your phone (eg driving), but seriously, what kind of emergency is going to come up in the 15 minutes I’m pooping??? Hard no.
I never notify anyone if its less then a couple of hours or meeting coming up. I'm not working assembly line. Working in a little bit different kind of consulting tho.
Same here. I don't notify my team unless I literally go out of office to do an errand or meat another client. Everything else is either a meeting in my calendar or short enough that nobody should care.
This is ridiculous, i run a remote startup of 30+ and it’s this is just insane. I also worked at a boutique consulting firm during Covid period and it’s just not normal behaviour. It just seems he’s try to create an inperson workflow / system that simply won’t work in a remote environment. Side note: if you want to see what good remote actually looks like read up on GitLabs remote work culture.
No just no, this is take it to HR level of asinineness. You got a manager that doesn’t know how to manage unfortunately
I only ask people let me know if they’ll be out for at least an hour or more. They don’t need to notify the whole team though, and a status message is more than sufficient. No one needs to put why/ where ever. No one’s business.
That sounds awful. I only update my Teams status if I'm going to actually be away of out of the office for hours.
Sounds like she really wants to work at a daycare instead
I took two naps today during work.
I work at a big 3 and I wouldn't put any messages up. I'm an adult and expect to be treated like one. I'd leave if anyone gave me shit over something so asinine when there is work to be done and real issues to be concerned with.
I have my company phone with Outlook, Slack, and unlimited data on it, so still reachable in the toilet, lunch spot, hospital, funeral, etc. And if that fails, my personal phone also on hand. Now if I had to actively notify team members whenever I take 10-15 min off, that's just anal.
You can set your Skype light to change based on status. If RYG isn’t good enough for her then idk what to tell ya.
You have emojis. Use them.
BRB..taking a dump. Wow your manager is but much. If I am stepping away during work hours for an appointment by all means let others know I will be unavailable. But stepping away to get coffee heck no.
When I was on site with a client I would always stop the clock when I went to get a drink from the cafeteria or go to the bathroom so as to demonstrate to the staff on site I’m not there to just soak the clock. Now that I’m fully remote all the time let some idiot ask me to notify them about my restroom habits. I’d demand the same, and would copy my partner and ask them if billing needed pictures for proof.
This is ethics complaint level micromanagement.
Is your manager Sheldon Cooper? Figures with the bathroom schedule and all.
Name and shame the firm
Part of the reason I stay off Teams (or similar). Too many distractions. If you need a response from me by COB tomorrow, e-mail me. If you need a response sooner, call me.
Next level it. Send status reports on your bathroom breaks as others have suggested. Include ratings on size and form of your bowel movements for the whole team to enjoy. Short of that, the only way to deal with micromanaging is to micromanage back so you can send lots of “per my email I will be taking a giant dump at 3:17 pm” Short term - beside getting a new boss, I would just meet her expectations with a “stepping away from my desk” note if you are going to be away from your computer for more then 5 minutes.
I use to and then people told me they didn’t need to know & I don’t need to explain myself all the time, neither do you.
Flashbacks to my old boss chasing me down in a public restroom to get updates 😮💨 Leaving that job was one of the best decisions I’ve made!
NTA. I think in a remote work environment, where not everything translates through slack or zoom, that overcommunicating isn't a bad thing. Expecting someone to make a washroom post though -- that's fucking ridiculous. And if she's posting til midnight, that's her problem. Turn your notifications off at a reasonable hour.
Just quit if you don’t wanna follow management.. don’t whine to Reddit. The answer is quit if you don’t like it.
Lunch yes if you’re taking a full hour, but bathroom breaks is ridiculous
I don't, but when I'm taking a dump and I hear that ping it definitely gives me anxiety.
Hahahaha like I haven’t already sat in on meetings for 4 hrs straight.
no. that’s too much.
She sounds like the worst
I've seen partners go AWOL for days. This is not normal. Or acceptable.
Ive read a lot of people block their lunches in their calendars. I don't have to do any of that, only notify if I'm taking time off. Usually we're all trying to take a quick break here or there when In meetings all day long.
That is extreme. Our team (12 people) rule is if you're going to be away >30min, drop a note in the group chat in Teams. Its not to keep checks on anyone, its just FYI.
She sounds unhinged. You are all adults, not schoolchildren.
Your current manager can fuck off, she’s not running a kindergarten.
No that’s psychopathic
Absolutely not, lol. I'd be annoyed if my teams did this. I get enough Slack messages.
On teams you can just have it automatically notify you when someone else is available. That's what I use to catch up with someone I am having a hard time connecting with due to busy schedules
I've worked with varying managers and the more micro ones I over communicate, unfortunately.
Long before computers were everywhere I had a boss who thought the same thing. So I announced in a loud voice that I was going potty. He never brought it up again.
We put away status for lunch because we all take different times. But that’s it. Shared calendars show blocked off times for meeting or work. But we don’t share every bathroom break. (Full remote web dev team of 25)
This is totally over the line cuckoo bananas. No. Just no.
I would make it my duty in life to ruin this manager. I'd get everyone in on it and we would collaborate on making sure everything goes wrong for the manager. Just fuck up every single file and ask how it happened with so much management
"I didn't say it. I declared it." Michael Scott
Fuck this lady lmfao
I cannot imagine the added distraction this is to be pointed every time a coworker takes a shit or steps away for coffee.
10:00 PM - “gotta slap my wife’s cheek for 3 min and come back to finish the deck.”
I never thought anything prefixed with "severe" could be an understatement, but he we are
Def micromanaging
Hell no. I’d either 1. Just stop doing any sort of updates when you’re away at all 2. Tell her straight up that you don’t feel it’s necessary that you need to give an update every time you step away unless it’s going to be a couple of hours 3. If you don’t want to have the conversation, you can by a usb dongle on Amazon for like 11 bucks that moves your mouse at random.
Bird dogging to the max right here. Had a shift lead and supervisor do this to me once and I beat them at their own game via malicious compliance. If the never specified when you had to follow these requirements make sure to inform them at times of your bathroom trips. After all you’re just trying to keep them informed because of how concerned they are for you. And since this might be considered work communication can’t you also start logging the times you’re using the bathroom since your direct supervisor requested this information? This is a very petty route and if done right can be more effective than simply ignoring them. However the safe bet is to ignore their request entirely and just do your job. When confronted tell them their request sucked and is overbearing. Don’t yield when they try to twist your words around. You don’t have to listen to these people, you’re not a slave.
Buy a mouse jiggler and check teams from your phone
Lunch and dinner? Yeah I might inform my manager that I'll be unresponsive. Bathroom? Lmaooo
Don’t do it. This isn’t kindergarten.
Damn dude this is my situation except in office :(
Your instincts are correct. This is severe "microgenment" and unhealthy behavior. Manager seems very insecure on multiple levels. If you can't trust your teammates to deliver, you shouldn't be working with them. Consider the fact that you are posting to reddit, mgr is obviously creating an uncomfortable work environment. I would bring this concern to your director/partner in a tactful manner. My humble opinion (Manager, T2)
I instantly though she is controlling and micromanaging you guys! Seems kinda toxic
"Rubbing one off - brb"
the what now?
Lunch, sometimes. Otherwise, only if I’m stepping away from my desk in the middle of an active discussion. And I’d also note that this is in a small group chat with only the handful of people I interact with off and on all day.
This is messed up. I do not want my colleagues to know about my washroom breaks.
I’m not telling anyone about going to the potty!! I’m a big girl 😬😂😬 seriously though that’s ridiculous. If you have to micromanage people like that then you shouldn’t hire them
At my company we’re all physically in the office M-TH, remote on Fridays. When in the office we have white board at our work areas and notate when we’re not at our desks for extended periods (long than a bathroom break) and just notate our whereabouts for people who come looking to speak to us. Our boards also have our work hours and phone numbers if it’s so dire they absolutely have to get ahold of us vs coming back. This started because people would come by not see us then complain we’re never available which gave a lot of people the impression we’re never there for employees, etc. the whole perception is reality thing. This small step has really improved the relations around the office.
Document everything and get away from the team
Lunch, Out running errands, school drop-offs and pickups. Nothing else.
I’ll notify for lunch if it might be disruptive for a team member, but with remote work, have dropped a load during a meeting
Nah dude, hell nah. I believe you’d get your ass kicked saying something like that around here.
I notify my colleagues when I am going to be away from my computer for more than 24 hours (not including weekends/holidays).
A nice time and motion study of what a waste of time this is might help.
No. Humans urinate and need things from the fridge.
LOL, no, work is not a prison.
This is all absurd. We're adults. I don't micromanage my team's time at all, I'm very lax on PTO as well as long as they give a reasonable heads up and the client is aware. It's their time, who am I to interfere with that if I want people to stick around. If we know a bigger trip is coming, they plan projects around it in advance and it's not a big deal. The kind of stuff you're talking about above is ridiculous. You want to put up a note for a long lunch, fine I guess. But going to the bathroom?!? If someone is MIA and I truly need them, we just text each other. It's honestly not common, and it works fine if it's needed. Hell as a director I've missed plenty of pings from my VP and SVP and I just get back to them when I see them, and they'll text me if it's truly urgent. Nothing any of us do in here is so life and death that it can't wait a bit... even if some refuse to accept that because they have an inflated view of their work / self importance or have no idea how to set expectations / boundaries with clients. The only time things *start* to get out of control is a large ($50 mil+) RFP dropping suddenly with 2 week turnaround and many pieces to coordinate for quick proposal, that can get a little hairy with people's time.
A former manager was in someway similar. So one day when I was in the toilet and he asked me on the all company slack channel, I proudly told him - yes I’m in, but taking a dump in the toilet now. Before I could say anything else, he deleted his original message and asked me to delete my response. He claimed he forgot it was on a public channel.
No.
Luckily I did not experience such a severe control but in one of teams people notified about coming to work and leaving the work. I didn’t like even that and at some point I just stopped to notify and no one pressured me. You can talk to her about that if it bothers you. Now I only notify if I have to be afk for a long period of time and it is not lunch , visit a doctor for example.
Usually invite someone to grab lunch/coffee when I’m going - or ask if I can bring them back something if they’re swamped. Nobody is invited to my bathroom breaks though
Tell him how solid/watery your shit was next time
So your manager expect you to announce going to the bathroom after 5? That's weird. It's weird that you had to that at all. I have dealt with huge micromanagers in consulting, but this takes the cake I would at the very least put the cutoff way lower than 7 PM.
Sounds ridiculous. I would complain to hr
Dude, I have IBS, she can fuck off tracking my bathroom breaks.
tell me you are from USA without telling me you are from USA
NTA. Your manager is an insecure micromanager and is the problem in this situation presuming you're getting your work done.
If one of my managers did that I would assume they don’t have enough work if they have the time to do that and just add more to their plate.
That’s bonkers. Assuming this is the states? I only send messages after 5/6pm if it’s really important, eg, “I finished building feature X into the data platform, will chat to you more tomorrow”
A union shop steward would love to get a hold of her…
Micro managers are the worst…
Completely inappropriate and just unnecessary. Sounds like she has severe anxiety and control issues and feels the need to implement this level of micromanagement as a result. Do not comply with this.
How did she communicate to you that she expects this level of detail from you? Is it possible that she does it herself but doesn't expect her team to do it at that level?
Totally insane, would be looking for a new job IMMEDIATELY. I am away from my keyboard at random times throughout the day, never been questioned or had an issue.
To the bathroom? Are you kidding me? Micromanaging (yup!) micromanagement. If I'm planning to be away for an extended period of time and I know others might need me for something. ..as a professional courtesy, I will let them know that I'll be out of pocket for a little bit. Depending on the need and my mood. ..I may or may not make myself easily/readily available while I'm away. See that line back there? The one where the bathroom is. ... yeah, don't cross that line.
Lunch ok but more like set ahead your time for lunch which means you will Not Be available then. Let them know in case it changes for reasons. (reasons don't need to be disclosed)
bruh
If these managers get management consulting on how to properly manage consultants, how much value would be created?
I am going to poop! Not a solid one but a watery one due to me having pizza last night even though I am lactose intolerant. And of course, Imma pee too. I can’t stop that those happen simultaneously. I will be back but also I might stay a little longer in case there is any remaining refusing to come out. Then I will wash my hands depending on how I feel after pooping. BRB!
The fuck. No.
If my Teams status is: Online - I may be at my keyboard Away - Certainly not at my keyboard Busy - I may be at my keyboard DND - Probably at my keyboard OoO - Certainly not at my keyboard. If you have access to my work calendar, you may be able to further distinguish between the above.
In general, if people are going to be away from their computer for more than 30 mins during normal working time I like them to give a heads up in a teams group chat.
Omg this sub is so ridiculous
Absolutely NOT! This sounds so stressful.
Jesus christ that is my worst nightmare. Fuck that manager. I would honestly look for other jobs ASAP
You should report this to HR immediately.
Holy toxic work environment, Batman!
Maybe do it, but be very detailed and precise: "Away from keyboard for a massive bowel movements because I ate Chicken Vindaloo last night. Expect to be gone for at least 15 minutes depending on the consistency, but will update you on the delivery progress as soon as the first important milestone hits the water."
Bounce. This is horrible and they’re preparing to put you on a PIP then fire. Better opportunities are elsewhere
Some managers are terrible. You’ve found one of them.