Idk if this is the right sub, but I want advice from people who feel the same as me about work stuff.
My boss is a classic micromanager and now that we're back in the office, it's become completely unreasonable. He just sent an email that includes this:
“It’s ok to listen to music while you work. It’s important that you only have one headphone/earbud on so that you can hear your phone or if someone approaches your desk.
It’s ok if you need to occasionally check your mobile device, but this needs to be kept to a minimum.
On this same note, we should not be watching non-work-related videos while we are working. I know that some people have them on as they want to listen to the video — if that’s the case, you can still listen while having your phone face down to lessen distractions.”
I have the TV streaming on my phone all day in the office with over the ear headphones on. I'm also a reliable worker who gets all my work done on time. I virtually never get phone calls and have two eyes to see when someone's walked up to my desk. It's ALSO an incredibly slow time of year, and there is truly not enough work to keep everyone busy all day long.
I work in a graphic design department. This is not life or death work. I'm not super interested in abiding by these rules, but I'm not sure of the best way to go about this. I'm not very confrontational and have gotten by the last 2.5 years by ignoring his more ridiculous rules and just flying under his radar (though obviously, the vast majority of that was remote work). Should I continue to do that- just keep doing what I'm doing and see if he says anything? (Our desks are not near each other, and it's possible he wouldn't notice.) Should I talk to him directly about these rules? Should I go above his head and talk to his boss about this? (His boss is actually pretty laid-back and reasonable. I honestly don't know if these new rules were approved by her or if she's even aware.)
I'm genuinely prepared to quit over this, because I'm an adult and am not interested in being treated like I'm in high school. But I would like to keep the job if I can. Any advice or perspectives would be lovely.