As an employee, I have experienced my fair share of annoying managers. One of the latest was the one that decided to start a WhatsApp group chat for every single topic imaginable.
At first, I thought it was a great idea. I liked having a way to stay connected with my co-workers and the manager about any task, event, or idea. Plus, the group chat was a great way to share updates and collaborate on projects.
But soon enough, the group chat became an annoyance. Every time the manager had an idea, they would start a new group chat. Every time a new task came up, they started yet another group chat. And every time something was supposed to be discussed, they started yet another group chat.
Here are the list of groups
- Toilet breaks too long
- Lunch
- Team Bonding
- Project A
- Carpark space reserved for managers
- and many many more… (Total more than 40)
I found myself constantly being bombarded with notifications from the group chat. It was hard to keep up with all the topics, and often I would miss something important because the manager had started a new group chat and I hadn’t seen it. I was also worried that if I didn’t respond quickly enough, the manager would be annoyed.
I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. Other employees were starting to get frustrated too. We all felt like the group chats were taking up too much of our time and energy, and it was starting to be more of a burden than a help.
Finally, I decided to speak up. I asked the manager to limit the number of group chats they started. I explained that it was taking up too much of our time and energy, and that it was making it difficult to stay on top of all the topics and tasks.
The manager who is an outdated piece of… told me to shut up and do my work.
I know many workplaces outside faces the same problem.