
Is my manager too much of a micromanaging red flag ? I started a new job and my manager monitors my Teams online status.
I recently started a new job. I would like to share some of the experiences I have had with my manager. I am wondering if these are red flags or if I am maybe being paranoid or thinking too much.
It was quite difficult for me to get into this company and this job. The company is quite great and I was quite excited but some of the experiences I have had with my immediate manager have made me a bit apprehensive. I would like to share them and hear opinions about it.
Here are some things which have happened which I have not liked so far -
- I speak to a Senior Engineer one day and next day my manager asks me if anyone asked me to speak to him.
- I shared an insight about a new tool which we can use on a deployment pipeline on the overall pod (under my skip manager). My manager immediately called me and started asking my status update and replied 'Discussing 1-1' in the group to prevent anyone getting visibility of the idea.
- My manager pings me whenever I go offline and recently he asked me in a passive aggressive way, 'Please monitor your Teams status. It was away for most of today.' I now feel kind of paranoid to never get up as I feel my Teams status is being monitored.

Yes this is straight up micromanagement and insecurity.
Just stand up to him man. The more of such things you allow him to do, the more courage he will get and more he will fuck your life.
Just stand your ground for a few times and he'll understand that you are not the guy he can do this to.

You also monitor your manager's online status and once he goes offline even for a second call him.

You can enable status change I guess in teams for monitoring the status.

Can you help how?

Hmm, your manager is highly insecure. Micromanaging is a very low trait by a manager and irritating for the team. Try to switch company or teams, you can escalate as well but mostly these management people create a lobby to protect even their wrongdoings.

Yes, usually they are empowered by their managers to do it so escalating might not help me.

All the folks advising you to stand for yourself are not giving you a job. As you said yourself it was an encumbered process to get the job.. protect it.. use interventions.. this isn’t the first micromanager neither will be the last.. check with your colleagues how they are managing him etc.,

Well written

If you're on MacOs, use caffeine or some tool that permanently shows you online, similarly for both Linux and Windows. Very easy to setup

This is happening in Microsoft? Wtf. I had a toxic manager like this when I used to work for Accenture, Unfortunately it was my first job.i thought this was the norm in IT. After switching to a start up.I came to know that this type of behaviour was not normal. I would suggest you to change the company or team These types of managers hinder your growth and creativity. They will also take credit for your work and throw you under the bus,if things go south. Avoid confrontation at all costs.Cause he can fuck you over.By giving you bad reviews during background checks if you switch to different company. Play your cards right,see how your peers handle him. And start preparing for interviews immediately, sooner the better.

Hi welt what's work difference between Accenture and Microsoft. Like deliverables
If you have a fixed set of working hours (instead of flexible) then I think the manager has every right to ask why are you Away on Teams for most of the day.
Picture this: It's like you have a 10 to 7 PM job, you walk in to the office, put your laptop at the desk and not to be found anywhere around for most of the day. You come back and pack up stuff and leave. Any manager will start questioning that. It would be dumb of him/her to not notice that actually.
On the other hand if you're having flexible work hours and all that matters is getting the job done for the day no matter what the time is, then I don't see a point in tracking your Teams status since only getting the job done matters.

I agree with this. If you’re away for a long time during your working hours then any manager will question you, unless they are absconding as well 😅 But your manager does seem insecure and is micromanaging and yes it is a red flag but that is the truth of plenty of managers everywhere. I think in the current layoff climate, they could be insecure about losing their job. They are obviously showing all attributes of an insecure manager by restricting your visibility. But I have also seen a different side where my manager knew more about my skip leader and when they showed similar behavior, they were trying to protect me from a backlash. So you never know till you get to know your manager and their intentions. Try and earn trust with your manager and work with them. Don’t make them feel like you are going behind their back. Involve them in your growth and development, seek their suggestions, etc. Building a positive relationship with them might get them off your back.

Usko bol "kya pagal ho kya tum? Ye kya chutiapaa hai?"
That's his real vibe bro