‘My boss literally tells me what to click and type’ : Singapore worker frustrated as boss micromanages his every move

SINGAPORE: Going to work every day has become a rather frustrating experience for one Singapore worker, who says he has to share a computer with his manager and is constantly being told what to click, type, and even how to phrase his messages.

Ranting on the r/singaporejobs subreddit, the worker said he is currently employed at a “very, very small SME”, where there are only two people in the office: himself and his manager.

“We have to share a computer. And whenever he’s in, and I reach the office in the morning or come back after lunch, seeing him already sitting at my desk makes me drained. Can you imagine having someone sitting beside you and seeing what you’re doing?”

The worker said that whenever a new WhatsApp message appears on the computer, the manager allegedly comes over to see who has messaged him and asks what the conversation is about.

Every time a new WhatsApp message pops up on the computer, his manager will reportedly come over, ask who messaged him and then tell him how to reply.

“He’ll tell me, ‘Okay, reply this way.’ Sometimes when I use my own words, he’ll say, ‘You can phrase it like this. Then full stop. Okay, then the next line… blah blah,’” he wrote.

The level of supervision apparently extends to even the most basic computer functions.

When the worker is preparing documents, his manager allegedly tells him where to click and what to press, with instructions such as “click this, click that,” followed by “okay press Enter, press Backspace.”

The two even end up sharing control of the mouse, something the worker clearly finds particularly maddening.

He recalled one instance where his manager moved the cursor to highlight a section of text before telling him to copy it. His manager then moved the cursor to another page and instructed him to paste it there.

“WALAO EH WTF MAN,” the worker exclaimed. “I can’t even do my work in peace and independently and feel like I don’t even have my own personal space, unless he goes out.”

“I can’t even do my work in peace and independently and feel like I don’t even have my own personal space, unless he goes out,” he wrote.

The worker also mentioned he’d been trying to find another job for months now, but nothing had come through “It’s so hard to find one,” he said. “I’ve been looking for months, and I’m really losing hope. I feel stuck.”

Even so, he holds on to the hope that brighter days are coming. “I can’t wait for the day when I can finally say I want to resign! It’d be so liberating!”

‘Leave ASAP’

In the comments, Singaporean Redditors found the worker’s situation bizarre, with several urging him to start looking for another job before things got any worse.

“Sharing a mouse and keyboard… Teamwork makes the dream work, I guess….Kidding, get out of that place ASAP!” one user quipped.

“Micromanaging at the next level, leave ASAP,” another chimed in.

A third user shared that the post reminded them of a previous job where they had dealt with a similarly controlling boss. “I had a boss like that. I decided to quit in the first month. Why hire a person who has a brain and can think if you’re not letting the person think? Micromanaging.”

A fourth added, “If this company cannot afford a laptop or PC for their staff, run fast.”

In other news, a Singaporean man in his 40s took to Reddit to ask fellow users how he should deal with a colleague who belittled him after learning he had yet to complete a degree.

Sharing his story on the r/asksg forum, the man recounted that he usually dines with a circle of coworkers and had become rather friendly with one individual. During a conversation one day, this colleague asked why he always seemed “so busy,” prompting the man to disclose that he was studying for a degree on a part-time basis.

Read more: ‘I’m surprised they even hired you!’: Man says colleague mocked him for not having a degree at 40