‘She goes through my calendar hoping she [can] find things to “manage”’: Manager insists employee fakes their productivity for the sake of seeming ‘professional’, but employee hypothesizes that their manager isn't as productive as she seems

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Sep 5, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

Have you ever dealt with a micromanaging boss in the workplace? How did you combat it? The employee here is struggling to see the use in "faking" productivity and making tedious things a spectacle. Their boss insists that they change their Slack and email statuses like clockwork and show that they're online all the time during working hours, even if they aren't available. Having someone breathing down your neck and looking over your shoulder from behind isn't fun, especially when you're working in a remote setting. We all know that if we have downtime while we're working from home, we're going to take the opportunity to do an errand or two.

Even still, this doesn't seem like much of an issue, right? I mean, we should all be online when we're expected to be. But this boss knows how to make it seem over the top just based on her behavior with this employee specifically. It seems like the boss makes it her mission to critique a Slack dot status or an unupdated calendar. How much of this is an employee issue, and how much is this incessant micromanaging? Scroll below to decide.

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  • "I'm doing my job fine, but instead of trusting that, she's micromanaging calendar labels and Slack dots." 12399
    via Resume Genius for Unsplash

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "Manager obsessed with calendar and looking/faking productivity"

    I swear my manager cares more about how things *look* than whether we're actually doing our jobs.
    via IngridBashful
  • Example 1: My company has this weird rule that if you're doing something non- work related during the day, you can't just label it that.
    via IngridBashful
  • You have to put "Busy" on your calendar so it looks "professional." My manager constantly checks people's calendars and will *correct* you if you don't follow this rule.
    via IngridBashful
  • I get like not putting a nail or hair appointment but "Doctor's Appointment" is totally reasonable to me if you're not going into detail.
    via IngridBashful
  • She went on a rant about "how they don't need to know." I personally don't like the feeling that my day to day calendar is being micromanged.
    via IngridBashful
  • Example 2: She insists our remote schedules must be 100% accurate- even on holidays or off days. One time I left my usual hours showing on a holiday.
    via IngridBashful
  • I figured it was obvious we weren't working, and she pulled me aside to tell me I needed to clear them because it wasn't "accurate."
    via IngridBashful
  • Like...everyone knows it's a holiday. Why are we wasting time policing calendars that don't matter that day?
    via IngridBashful
  • Example 3: The green dot on Slack. She's flat-out said our dots need to be green during work hours.
    via IngridBashful
  • Slack COO 84 Photos Halide Finance WorkFlo... M Gmail Tri
    via Benny Bowden for Unsplash
  • The kicker? I have multiple screenshots of other staff whose dots aren't green for entire days, especially Fridays when everyone's remote.
    via IngridBashful
  • Meanwhile, I keep mine green just because I know she's watching. It's not about work getting done-it's about *looking* busy.
    via IngridBashful
  • It honestly feels like she's obsessed with appearances and "performative productivity." I'm doing my job fine, but instead of trusting that, she's micromanaging calendar labels and Slack dots.
    via IngridBashful
  • She claims that my calendar doesn't NEED to look exactly like hers but if it doesn't she corrects it.
    via IngridBashful
  • Does anyone else deal with this kind of obsession over *looking* busy? How do you keep from going insane with managers like this?
    via IngridBashful
  • OneBigBeefPlease I'm laughing out loud because I'm dealing with the exact same thing at this exact moment. I'm a VP level and half my job seems to be elaborate calendar management. This also shows you how much she's actually working!
    via OneBigBeefPlease
  • IngridBashful Yes I've also found that she tends to be more attentive to my calendar on days she's not completely booked-- go figure. She probably just runs through her mental check list of things to check and then she goes through my calendar hoping she kind find things to "manage." If she is fully booked a day she usually doesn't have time to check my calendar. I usually do shrug when people have full remote days entirely open with no meetings or blocked off time-- like do you think I'm stupid
    via IngridBashful
  • Enjoying TheRide-0606 Supervisors who don't what they're doing often micromanage so they feel important. She's a supervisor not a leader. Supervisors check off work done the way HR and Executives want things done. They don't lead their team to being the best they can be with the most effective results for the organization. Don't take it personal. Adapt. Then move on when the right job comes along.
    via EnjoyingTheRide-0606

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boss workplace-stories toxic-workplace manager bosses work reddit story horrible-management toxic-boss slacking off workplace Horrible Bosses reddit thread bad bosses work advice entitled people toxic-work-environment
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