‘My boss tells me what to click and type’: Employee frustrated by boss who hovers around his workstation all day

SINGAPORE: An employee has claimed that his boss’s constant micromanaging has become so excessive that it now feels like an invasion of his personal space, with the manager allegedly hovering around his workstation for most of the workday.

In a post on a local forum, the employee said his boss either sits beside him or stands directly behind him, watching his screen while telling him “what to click, what to type, and what to do next.”

“It feels like I have zero space to work independently,” he wrote, frustrated by the behaviour. “I can’t even focus properly because I constantly feel like I’m being watched. Sometimes I just want a few minutes of silence to gather my thoughts or zone out for a moment before continuing, but that’s impossible when someone’s hovering over you all day.”

According to the employee, the constant supervision has become far more exhausting than the actual job. Rather than helping him work better, it leaves him feeling tense, distracted, and unable to think for himself.

“I can’t work with someone standing behind me all day. Seriously, just leave me alone and let me do my work at my own pace, in peace. If I need help, I’ll ask. I always wish he’d go out to the site instead of staying in the office, goodness.”

“Have you considered that you might be part of the problem?”

Most commenters who joined the discussion urged the employee to start looking for another job

One wrote, “Yeah, just leave, not worth the micromanage. Else, just tell your boss if you intend to resign; have a 1:1 talk with him; say you understand he’s trying to teach, but let you fly alone is way better. You can’t improve with him towering over you.”

Another shared the same view, commenting, “Constantly stressed out by the persistent micromanagement. Leave asap? Not worth your energy.”

A third quipped, “Let him see you type out your letter.”

That said, not everyone believed the boss was the one in the wrong.

One commenter argued there could be more to the story and suggested the manager’s behaviour might have been influenced by the employee’s own work habits.

“As much as I would like to agree with those who say you’re being micromanaged, have you considered that you might be part of the problem? Sometimes people are overly confident and believe they do not need guidance or support from others. However, the reality is that there have been mistakes and shortcomings, and what you think is not necessarily how others see the situation.”

“Your boss appears to be giving you a lot of patience and guidance because you are still relatively new? I also have some Gen Z juniors who do not like to follow instructions, and I do not have patience like your boss and fired them instantly.”

In other news, a Singaporean man has sparked discussion after venting that he is baffled by how defensive and downright bitter some parents become whenever he says he has no plans to have children.

Posting on the r/asksg forum on Thursday (Jul 2), he said the reaction cuts across generations.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, or even Boomers, people who are parents, especially those with 2 or more. Whenever a childfree person tells them you don’t want kids, they get so triggered, so concerned, and look down on you,” he wrote on the r/asksg forum on Thursday (July 2).

Read more: ‘Misery loves company’: Singaporean man claims parents resent childfree people