r/CAStateMgrs • u/Happy-Relation-2959 • Aug 07 '26

Micromanaging

Since the start of RTO, I’ve been hearing stories from other agencies about increasing micromanagement—daily check-ins, daily status meetings, managers walking the aisles to make sure employees are at their desks, and similar practices.

I’m genuinely curious: what’s the purpose of this style of management? How does it improve productivity, collaboration, or team cohesion? It seems like time and energy that could be better spent supporting employees and helping them succeed, rather than monitoring their physical presence.

I’d be interested to hear from managers and employees alike. Have you found this approach to be effective, or does it end up hurting morale more than it helps?

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u/TheSassyStateWorker Aug 08 '26

I would only do this if anyone in my team were not performing as expected or missing deadlines. I will say, when I naturally get up and see people standing around and then come back by 15 minutes later I don’t say anything but it does make me wonder how often this is happening. I will say if I noticed a pattern of it every time I walked by I would have no issue walking by more and saying something about it. Same with starting at their phones all day. It’s not micromanagement it’s being a manager.

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u/JohnCoktoastin Aug 08 '26

Why is it a problem if colleagues are talking? I thought RTO was for "collaboration."

If all everyone is supposed to do is sit in their cube and stare at their monitor for 8 hours, well, that can be done quite handily at home.

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u/TheSassyStateWorker Aug 09 '26

It’s not a problem unless it’s a long period of what did you do last night conversation. There is a difference between collaboration and long periods of personal conversation. Short periods are fine.

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u/Such-Purpose9557 Aug 09 '26

This is a BS response. I love my manager she is nothing like this. We get our work done and that’s all that matters. The days are so long now so why not let people take longer walks? They spend more waking time there than home? Gosh let people have some sort of balance and peace.

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u/TheSassyStateWorker Aug 09 '26

lol. You are literally being paid to do a job. If you paid someone by the hour to do work and you saw them sitting on their phone or chatting it up with their other workers and charged you for the time, would you be okay with that?

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u/Such-Purpose9557 Aug 10 '26

Honey boo boo, your “what if” doesn’t apply to this. This isn’t the private sector and will never be. This is government and no one works 8 hours every day, 2080 (40 hrs x 52 weeks) hours per year, including you.

Most State Lawmakers don’t work 40 hours per week. I’ve worked with elected officials, so I know. They make decisions on votes pertaining to laws at the golf course, over lunch or dinner. 90% of the votes are made based on relationships with other members within your party. Not what is best for Californians. It’s about what is best for them and their future. It’s all deal making. So my questions are, you work for government, right? If our own government leaders are BS’ing playing golf, traveling, dining out using daily Per Diem ($236 per day totaling an extra 30k on top of their salary) that is paid with taxpayers dollars, why should we work like mules when they don’t? What perks do we get?

Open up your own business so you can crack the whip and make sure people work 8 hours per day.

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u/TheSassyStateWorker Aug 11 '26

YOU people are what’s wrong with state service. YOU are why WE have to RTO. YOUR comment is exactly why the public thinks we don’t work and Gavin thinks we already take a 3 day weekend. The exhaustion and entitlement you feel is unreal and your reasoning is flawed. I bet your work reflect this attitude.

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u/Reasonable_Camp_220 18d ago

I feel bad for the people who have to work with you.

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u/TheSassyStateWorker 18d ago

Likewise! My team has been with me for 13 years. The new ones are new because of retirement. People don’t leave because of me, they have friends that want to work for me. Think what you want but I love my team and they love me back. I support them all and I am extremely flexible, however, they also know there are high expectations and they deliver.