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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/ConclusionNaive9772 on 2025-07-26 15:06:23+00:00.

I'm a fairly efficient employee. I come in, I make a plan for the day, and I do my shit. Yet every day I have a middle manager breathing down my neck.

My direct supervisor, who works with me consistently, doesn't micromanage me. She knows I'm getting my work done. Her boss, however, is all about if I'm "acting" busy. All she cares about is that she walks in and I look tired and miserable. Anything short of that and she isn't happy.

The other day I helped clients for hours and put away at least 200 pounds of donations by myself, among other smaller admin tasks at my computer. It was towards the end of my workday and I finally sit down to have a quick snack (I get low blood sugar and don't like to drive home when I'm getting dizzy). In she walks, and then I hear from my boss that she says I never do anything. My boss disagreed and defended me, but this type of feedback is constant.

We have to use our phones for work across coworkers. This manager herself has been upset when I haven't texted back quickly enough because I was with a client. The other day I was checking my notifications and preparing to make a work related call when she walked in and suddenly I'm wasting company time.

Previous complaints of hers have also included that I closed my office door (was on a confidential call with a client), I wore a nonrevealing dress but it was thick straps instead of sleeves, and that I made a self deprecating joke in passing and that indicated that I'm "not confident enough to do my job." (I'm actually very confident and was using it to deescalate a situation where a client was upset with me.)

I'm leaving this job soon. I'm just genuinely so tired of dealing with this manager.

ETA: It's also ineffective. When I'm working all day and know I need to take a quick walk in the hallway or throw an earbud in while working, that being seen as slacking off is so weird. Why is it better for me to perform busy and end up in an afternoon slump than spare 5 minutes to stay on task after? It makes me walk on eggshells and work less. It's a brain dead move.