'20 to 30 pointless emails daily': Pushy micromanager insists on being included in all client communications, gets schooled with malicious compliance

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Apr 15, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Being a manager is a delicate balance of a lot of factors. You've got to be on friendly terms with those below you in the pecking order without losing your authority, and you've got to be informed of what is happening in your team without overstepping the mark. These are things that sadly, many bosses seem incapable of, and it can become mighty annoying to work with. Sometimes, you just need to be trusted that you can do your job properly.

This is something that one project manager schooled their boss on when their levels of micromanagement became unbearable. Posting to r/MaliciousCompliance, they explained how their manager persistently tried to control their every action, to the extent they expected to be included in almost all their emails. It's fair to say that when they complied with this demand, things didn't exactly go as planned. It serves them right for being a workplace control freak. 

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  • 01
    [ D r/MaliciousCompliance u/baconflavourednipple • 1d You want to be included in EVERY SINGLE EMAIL? M - d 0 0 6 ) r H 9 n A 1 8 8 L 9 9 + E L . & % $ 3
    via baconflavourednipple

    Header Image by Cytonn Photography

  • 02
    A little over a year ago, I found myself stepping into the role of Senior Project Manager for a long-standing client I had been managing for quite some time. The transition into this new position seemed promising until I began to realize the management style of my new boss, someone with whom I had never interacted during my previous role. It quickly became apparent that he had a penchant for micromanagement.
    via baconflavourednipple
  • 03
    One instance that stands out vividly is when he questioned me via Slack (we work from home full-time), about why he hadn't been invited to an internal team call. I explained my reasoning, assuring him that I had everything under control and his input wasn't necessary for that particular discussion.
    via baconflavourednipple
  • 04
    However, his micromanagement tendencies didn't end there. He began requesting updates on my lunch breaks, expecting notifications when I stepped away and returned, despite my Slack status indicating my availability. Furthermore, he insisted on being informed of my daily log-in and log-out times, regardless of his own online status. He even wanted me to outline my daily tasks within my Outlook calendar, hour by hour!
    via baconflavourednipple
  • 05
    The situation escalated when he expressed discontent over not being included in client communication emails, despite receiving comprehensive updates during our weekly catch-up meetings. Despite my efforts to keep him informed through detailed reports and follow-up emails, he insisted that he be included in every single correspondence, citing transparency as his primary concern. I started to feel that I wasn't trusted and started to doubt my ability within my role. I battled with myself and wonde
    via baconflavourednipple
  • 06
    I began including him in every email, whether it was directly relevant to our projects or not. From routine communications with colleagues to mundane requests for IT support or office supplies, his inbox soon overflowed with 20 to 30 pointless emails daily.
    via baconflavourednipple
  • 07
    Remarkably, not a single complaint about transparency surfaced thereafter, only complaints about too many emails. It seems inundating him with every conceivable email served as the perfect solution to his insatiable desire for oversight.
    via baconflavourednipple
  • 08
    PN_Guin 1d A good manager is supposed to help his people do their jobs, not bother them to feel important. Well this one isn't.
    via PN_Guim
  • 09
    puter TDI 1d I know reading A servant leader helped me a lot with my leadership style. Coming to realize I'm there to help my team, not run them was the key. Most of the time that just means addressing issues they ask me to. Sometimes it means helping them to see something they're missing. It never means doing their job for them. I did a talk on leadership years ago and apparently the thing that resonated with a few people was that it largely means doing the work that no one else wants to do.
    via puterTDI
  • 10
    GWJYonder 1d I sort of feel like the ideal Middle Manager is basically what an office secretary seems to have been around 40 years ago, just probably paid better.
    via GWJYonder
  • 11
    skaffen37 1d 20-30 Mails? Lightweight...
    via skaffen37
  • 12
    3am GreenCoffee 1d We had a special projects manager who insisted on being copied on everything. Then she couldn't keep up with the deluge, kept missing things and had no idea what was going on with her projects. She would send us angry emails accusing us of not copying her on everything as instructed. We would forward the relevant email we already copied her on, with a cc to her own manager. Then she would go silent. No apology for the accusations. Personally, if I I, I own it. With her, everyt
    via 3amGreenCoffee
  • 13
    JustSomeGuy_56 1d I was setting up email for a client. My manager demanded he be copied on every email to or from any of our team. I told him that was a bad idea but he insisted. When we added another department to the system, that manager wanted to be copied on all his troops' eMail. (If my manager had it, he had to have it as well). Pretty soon their manager decided that she should be copied on all the eMails. As we rolled it out across the company, every manager decided they needed to see all
    via JustSomeGuy_56
  • 14
    9lobaldude 1d Micro management, the bane of insecure and mediocre managers
    via 9lobaldude
  • 15
    ParkingOutside6500 1d He needed to know everything you were doing so he could take credit for most of it.
    via ParkingOutside6500
  • 16
    attgig 1d Hour by hour status. He just doesn't have enough to do. Start giving him tasks to do for the project. He seems bored.
    via attgig
  • 17
    WeatherKat32621 1d My husband went through something like this a few years ago. He too got the "every e-mail" | like OP. And he did the same thing, except he also included said supervisor about when he need to go drop a deuce, get rid of some coffee, you get the idea. After about two weeks of this, manager backed off and wished to resume just checking his Availability Status. Tee hee.
    via WeatherKat3262l
  • 18
    Ring Peace 1d I had a manager request to be in on every email I sent out, we had a tense relationship with the FD appointing me against her wishes. I dutifully added her in on all my emails that were project related but that wasn't good enough, a delve onto the internet have me what I was looking for. Google found a clever chap that had a VB script that would add someone to bcc, it lasted a week before adding her became unnecessary.
    via Ring_Peace
  • 19
    AGuyNamedEddie 1d Sometimes you just have to push back against unreasonable demands. I had this conversation with a client who wanted me to do a tech job for them. This particular job would take me between 5-7 working days, and it was work that required zero input on their part. They hand over the job, I complete the job, I hand it back. This was about the 20th project I had done for them, but this particular one was run by a micromanager (MM). This conversation ensued: MM: I will need daily rep
    via AGuyNamedEddie
  • 20
    I finished the work in 5 days, the complex electronics assembly I designed worked without requiring a board turn, and it even passed FCC part 15 class B. The only report I provided was one "on schedule" at end of day 3 and "here you are" at end of day 5. Have confidence in yourself and push back when necessary. Remind your boss of this adage: "Don't adopt a dog and do all the barking for it."
    via AGuyNamedEddie

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boss manager job malicious compliance email revenge work client petty revenge emails project reddit thread Reddit
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