How to deal with boss and manager tracking your work productivity down to every task and hour?
Currently in a company where both boss and middle management expects to see tracking of your daily tasks done, and how much time spent on them. And expects every possible working hour from 9-6 (minus lunch) to be packed with work.
Measuring your productivity by this lens basically. So if Task A usually takes you 2 hours to finish, you MUST finish x4 Task A by the end of the day, or else you’ll be questioned on any issues faced at your work, things affecting your productivity, etc
This is abit of a culture adjustment to me as I’m used to working until the job gets done, rather than how many hours I clock in a day. IMO this feels like the boss doesn’t trust his employees, and I also don’t feel inclined to be productive (I just don’t be too productive the first time I’m doing a task) or go the extra mile for him.
What do you guys think? The only reason I’m still here is cos it’s a local media company with a decent brand name with plans for expansion, but I’m seriously considering other companies where there is trust on you getting your own work done, than micromanagement on such a level.
Also, the nature of my work is similar to R&D so perhaps that’s why this style of work reporting doesn’t go well with me
Netizens’ comments
- Sounds toxic AF, but I guess it also depends.. when they are asking you about issues you faced is it passive aggressive, or they are genuinely trying to help you
- Hourly reporting by task/project is common in agencies. You may be asked to do some form of hourly reporting even if you go to another agency.
Ideally the task breakdowns show how much time you spend on tasks so the company knows how much to to bill the client, and not because they don’t trust you.
The system is flawed though as it assumes people can work non stop for 8 hours. In reality people probably take some time in between tasks so they can complete 8 hours of work, but over 9 or 10 hours. E.g. it’s hard to start something 15 minutes of time before a meeting.
And yes, I’ve been in an agency where if I clocked 8 hours, I wasn’t doing enough, but if I told the truth I was inefficient. I left eventually.