Micromanagement and Poor Upper-Management
Pros
I had the pleasure of working with a fantastic manager and an incredible team during my time at Hibu. My manager was the best supervisor I have ever had and I will miss being able to work on her team. The supportive and collaborative environment fostered within our team made the work rewarding and enjoyable.
Cons
There were frequent instances of unprofessional behavior, such as senior leaders constantly using their phones during meetings and even leaving important discussions to address personal matters. One instance that sticks out is when a senior leader ran out of a meeting where I was presenting key strategic recommendations to yell at a worker at her house via her Ring doorbell camera. The insistence on being in the office one day per week for "culture" felt arbitrary, as the time was spent largely in cubicle isolation without meaningful interaction or engagement that could not have happened over Microsoft Teams. When concerns were raised by many members of the team—senior leadership told us that we should not mind coming into the office because we have team breakfast once a quarter and to "stop grumbling and be grateful.” Micromanagement was a significant challenge within senior leadership at Hibu. While my immediate supervisor and many middle managers trusted their teams to perform independently and deliver high-quality work, the same could not be said for senior leadership. They insisted on personally reviewing every detail—whether it was a pixel adjustment, ad copy revision, strategic decision, or website change—regardless of the scale of the task. This approach not only undermined the trust in the team's expertise but also created significant bottlenecks, delaying projects and hindering overall efficiency. It was frustrating to feel that, despite being hired as capable professionals, we were not empowered to carry out our responsibilities without constant oversight. When I requested to work fully remotely due to relocation, I was told by senior leadership that I would be required to separate from the company. This was incredibly odd to me, as other members of our team are fully remote. Despite my attempts to compromise, including offering to move to a part-time arrangement since the position did not consistently require 40 hours per week, my proposals were rejected. The inconsistency and lack of fairness in policies, coupled with a disregard for employee feedback, made it difficult to feel valued or respected by senior leadership. When I raised these concerns with HR, there was no follow-up or acknowledgment, further highlighting a lack of accountability. Additionally, the absence of an anonymous feedback mechanism for employees to share concerns about upper management reflects an unwillingness to address or even acknowledge the challenges faced by independent contributors. This approach fosters a culture where significant issues are ignored rather than addressed, which is ultimately detrimental to employee morale and organizational growth.
