Employee wonders if boss’s constant email critiques are normal, sparking debate about micromanagement

It's normal for bosses and seniors to provide feedback on their subordinates’ work and correct mistakes. However, constant "corrections" can sometimes become excessive, hindering productivity. A worker, u/Curious_Air_8527, faced a similar issue at work when their boss began giving feedback on every email they wrote. They turned to Reddit to share their experience and ask for advice on whether this behavior is normal.

"My boss is a bit of a micromanager. I've been at this company for over two years and have always gotten amazing feedback on my communication skills," the worker wrote. "But lately, even though I've continued doing things how I've done them from day one (when I was being praised for my work), my boss has to critique my emails." They added, "If I send an email, not 30 seconds later, my boss will call me (I'm working from home) and tell me how I should've written it. Today, her critique was that I should've added the word 'again' in a certain sentence." The employee, a communications major, has always been confident in their email writing skills, and even the boss asks them to proofread her emails at times. "But the last six months or so, myself and my coworkers can't do anything without her pointing out something wrong with it."

"My boss was out of the office for a couple of weeks, and during that time, communication was very smooth. Meaning we can function just fine without the feedback after every email. It feels like a control thing- she's looking for things to find wrong so she can give her input. Is this normal?" the employee wondered. "It's genuinely starting to affect my self-esteem. I'm 27 and have never had issues like this at any other job with any other boss. It feels as if I'm a child who is being treated like they don't know how to do their job all of a sudden." The employee was curious if this was a usual thing. People in the comments shared their thoughts and experiences.

u/swordstool wrote, "Sounds like your boss got a nasty gram from their boss about their e-mails, so now she wants to make sure everyone she manages doesn't make a 'mistake' like she did and get her in trouble. I would just say, 'Thanks for the advice' each time and not think about it past that." u/Additional-Stay-4355 commented, "This is completely normal. Middle managers are notorious for being micromanagers. It comes from a place of insecurity. She's just noticed that you're doing well and she feels threatened. I've been working as an engineer at my company for almost 20 years and my department manager still nitpicks every little detail of my designs, especially the most commercially successful ones. It gives me a chuckle."

u/eltonbabba remarked, "I had someone like this as a boss. I asked if I should start sending emails for review prior to sending and she said yes. I sent her every damn email to proofread and noted the urgency for review. One day, she just told me to please stop, lol. Back to English replies for all." u/Taren421 shared, "Forward every email you get to her. 'Since I apparently don't know how to communicate to your standards, I figured it would be best to just let you handle this.'"