My boss will call me if I am more than five minutes late into the office. And if I dare take another couple of minutes at lunch, the same applies. While I understand the need for punctuality, surely a few minutes here and there shouldn’t matter? Shouldn’t it be about the work delivered rather than the exact start and finish times? IR, Dubai
Having someone check your movements sounds like something more from a TV drama than from today’s UAE workplace. Yet, enforcing strict punctuality by not tolerating being a few minutes late here and there is just one way managers try to exert control on their team members. Count yourself lucky, as there are more extreme cases out there. I recently read an article which talked about one company using tracking devices to monitor worker productivity.
Your particular predicament is still frustrating and you will likely start to feel suffocated by your line manager if it continues. I think it may stem from your manager having a different understanding to you of what a relationship between a boss and their subordinate should look like. As a result, he or she subsequently advocates a directive and paternalistic leadership style. This results in a focus on enforcing set rules for work to be delivered on time – almost like a parent who tightens the reins on their child as they believe they will focus on their studies, knuckle down and work harder. In some cases this approach works if the individual complies, but usually only over the short term.
To understand where this behaviour has arisen from, ask yourself whether you have turned up to work late on a few occasions or how often you return late from lunch. Does he follow the same military approach with others or is it just you? If not, then have you given him or her any other reason to feel the need to check up on you?
Focusing on the work delivered and providing the freedom to people to deliver their best work, in a way that works for them, is a more contemporary leadership style. It is especially appealing to millennials yet still rather alien to more traditional managers. Autonomy, flexibility and independence are key drivers for many employees nowadays, especially in this region, and being told what to do and monitored constantly is a big turn-off. It may be that you haven’t given any reason for your boss to operate like this, but instead this is his natural management style. It may also come from a very good place, wanting to run a tight ship, feeling more comfortable knowing what is going on.
Rather than resisting, maybe you can try to manage your manager’s insecurity; in the short term think about arriving at work 10 minutes before you need to and getting back promptly from lunch. Show him or her they have nothing to worry about. At the same time, while they are feeling more relaxed and the phone calls stop, actively market the benefits of giving you the space to deliver tasks and the autonomy to make your own decisions. Help clarify that by taking a step back the organisation can get more out of you. If you are in a role where you can link it to results (sales, number of meetings or quality of output), even better, as the boss will then have something tangible to go by.
Focusing on your future may also help you and your boss interact more productively in the present. So initiate a discussion about long-term goals and minute actions. Set up a meeting and explain that you want to start communicating your progress more regularly – and explicitly – about your contribution and about how else you could support the department. That way instead of him or her thinking about what time you are getting back to your desk, they are instead focused on helping you maximise your performance.
Doctor’s Prescription:
Some bosses like to rule with an iron fist, focusing on compliance over and above all else. Others want to see output and give people the freedom to choose how they deliver. Clearly the latter is more appealing to many of us, but if our boss is more old school then we may need win their trust before they give us our freedom.
Alex Davda is a business psychologist and client director at Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School, and is based in the Middle East. Email him at business@thenational.ae for advice on any work issues.
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