Toxic Leadership and Micromanagement

Life in private sector jobs, at least in India, has always been subject to harsh criticism. Private employers are considered to be unreasonable, cruel, and capitalistic in nature, who are only interested in the output, with the least regard and respect for their employees and their lives and welfare.

This article talks about corporate culture from which every organization must refrain from, especially the upcoming startups. Because corporate culture is a swamp, making an exit from which is a difficult task once you find yourself there for a bit too long. And the bigger problem is that the system transforms you, it makes you like itself. Because your superior dominates you, you assert your authority over your juniors, which may take the form of bullying.

Management of any upcoming company would definitely wish to work towards uplifting their product rather than earning a bad reputation among its employees and industry. To become an effective authority that is respected by the staff, any management must first inculcate the aptitude to listen. In the typical organization that is synonymous with the colloquial phrase lala ji ki dukan (merchant’s shop) being a fawner is the embodiment of an ideal employee. Honesty and straightforwardness should not only be appreciated it must be encouraged.

Corporate culture has probably developed because of the current social and political scenario. With skyrocketing population and educated unemployment being at a record high, private organizations are aware that if one employee leaves, three are standing at their doorstep desperate to get in. Employers use it to their advantage and exploit staff by making them work for remarkably long hours and pay them peanuts in the name of salaries. Who doesn’t love capitalism? Huh!

It is probably too late for the old horses to bring to this realization but the upcoming organizations must understand that efficiency comes with independence and trust. Quality comes with a tension-free and calm environment. Considering the ability to stick on to a chair as the exceptional trait of an excellent employee is the biggest misconception that the self-proclaimed management gurus have. What they fail to realize is that the number of hours spent within a premise or on a chair does not really reflect the quality or efficiency. The number of hours spent sitting on a desk should not be a measuring scale for productivity.

The new organizations that are trying to find a foothold in the industry must understand that if an employee is given some authority, it will automatically reflect in their quality. They should refrain from monitoring the movements of their staff. The working environment must be soothing. It is seen that the employers tend to assert their power and while doing so they tend to micro-manage. They must just manage!

Furthermore, startups must focus on having a systematic approach, proper planning, and the right work ethic. Every employee should be assigned tasks with reasonable respective time frames. How the employee wishes to carry out the allotted tasks should be left to their wise sense of judgment. The employer should be concerned only with the outcome. If an employee wants to take a stroll or have a cup of tea must not bother the employers as long as the employee is providing satisfactory output in the predefined time frame.

The budding firms should free themselves from unnecessary worries regarding employees’ style of working. They ought to have a result-oriented approach. They must not try to impose their style of working. Listening to music while working may disrupt your attention but some background noise enhances my concentration. What suits one might be problematic for the other, and vice versa. Let the employees work in a way that they deem best for them.



Besides, the startups must ensure that they are humane. They ought to realize that a job is a part of life, it is not life. There are many other things in life that are to be looked after. Employers need to be considerate and reasonable. They must remember that they are availing the services of their employees, they have not bought them. Employees are not bonded labor, they are not slaves.

To go far, the organization must strongly adhere to professional integrity, morality, ethics, and etiquette. Respect your employees because, in the end, it is only the quality of their work that will get you repute and more business.

You can also read this article here, at East Post Today.