(Author) Counsel

Advice please - I’m happy with my pay, work/life balance, and feel the job is secure. But I’m micromanaged hard in my private practice firm and can’t seem to care. Has anyone ever gotten out of a rut like that? I’m worried about moving somewhere else and losing the positives of this job.

I would prefer autonomy and not having management that freaks out over every single little complaint and issue.

Counsel Responses:

• Do you disagree with the way you’re being micromanaged? If they have good judgment but are just too hands-on you can try to manage this by proactively saying what you’re doing at the level of detail they manage you at, then you are setting your course but you are also helping manage their anxiety or whatever is driving them.
• I’ve moved for greener grass several times for this reason… and it’s not greener.
• Just do as much investigation as you can before deciding on a new place to land — good luck.
• I spoke to HR, and magically my boss stopped being a micromanager. He did completely gaslight me by saying that he never asked me to do x, y, z, but, it's at least very minimal micromanaging now.

Attorney and Associate Responses:

• One thing I will say is be prepared for the challenges of not being micromanaged anymore. I got micromanaged extensively and hated it but then I changed jobs and had a really difficult time exercising independence because that's something that would have got me fired in my previous job. So going to a new job with eyes open and being willing to exercise more independence than you're comfortable with. Or maybe take baby steps and don't move into a high responsibility role but moving to a lower role and feeling it out.
• Believe me I know your pain and I'm sure that other people dealt with it better than I did. But you do get used to it. It takes a while to get acclimated to a decent workplace once you've been in a toxic one. But like anything else, if you have the right attitude about it you can do it.
• The hard part is accepting the nonsense whenever it becomes a 9 to 7 or 8 and on weekends.
• I am a lot happier now that I don't work for my micromanaging boss I have other problems but my stress level is way lower.
• I left my last job because my new DGC was a nightmare micromanager.

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