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Many employees often complain that their manager monitors their every move. In other words, that they “micromanage” them. While this practice is often criticized, it is surprisingly appreciated by less experienced employees.
One in five recent graduates say they enjoy being micromanaged, according to a survey conducted by the online magazine Intelligent.com*. These young people appreciate being supervised by a manager who gives them little autonomy. This may seem surprising given the large number of reports that claim that new generations of workers are looking for agility and flexibility in the organization of their work.
However, when they leave school, young people are often apprehensive about flying solo in the business world.During their schooling, they received clear instructions, frequent feedback, and knew the path to successfully completing their degree. When they enter the workforce, the path to success is less clear to them, and they may be afraid of making mistakes and anxious about excelling in their first job.” explains Huy Nguyen, a specialist at Intelligent.
That’s why recent graduates find comfort in the idea of being closely monitored by their manager. 83% of those surveyed say that being micromanaged makes them feel supported by their superiors, while 73% say that this management style helps them stay focused on their professional missions.
Micromanagement, a bulwark against anxiety?
With this in mind, they do not hesitate to contact their superior regularly—by phone, email or video—to ensure that they are doing a good job. 44% of the young people surveyed do this one to three times a day, compared to four to six times for 23% of them. Some even go so far as to contact their line manager outside of their working hours. A bad habit that presents risks for the balance between professional and personal life, both for the employee and the manager. Indeed, 40% of young graduates expect their boss to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is unrealistic.
But how can we explain that young people have such excessive expectations of their boss? By the state of their mental health. Four out of ten respondents say they are often anxious when they work. This deep malaise can lead, in the long run, to physical, mental and moral exhaustion. To remedy this, many young people rely on their manager. Nearly two thirds of them say that their line manager helps them feel less anxious at work.
We can therefore better understand why some young people are not offended by micromanagement. But, as Huy Nguyen points out, this is not the case for everyone.[I]It is important not to generalize and to keep in mind that attachment to managers can vary considerably from one individual to another, depending on their personality, their professional responsibilities and the culture of the company to which they belong.“, he notes. The proof in figures: 57% of young people questioned prefer managers who are neither too vigilant nor too distant.
*This survey was conducted in August 2024 by Pollfish, on behalf of Intelligent.com, among 600 graduates, aged between 21 and 25, who are employed.