Ask HN: How to avoid stressing yourself because of a micromanager?

(assuming there is no option to switch team or leave the company)

Try understanding what your manager actually needs from you. If it's a big company and you are an IC, your main goal is not directly related to your company's declared goals, but it's very simple: make your manager feel safe; and the way to achieve it is to understand what actually makes them feel safe, and help them get it.

Micromanagement often means that the manager does not feel they can trust their reports to do the work the way they want it. In many cases I saw in the corp context, some proactive reporting – that is, filing issues in the issue tracker and updating their statuses before someone pings you and asks to do it – and making sure the manager knows what you are doing helps build trust and removes the need to micromanage.

A question to ask yourself: does the manager micromanage the whole team, or only you?

In the past I would volunteer for a military deployment to CENTCOM. That’s when senior management realizes they dun fucked up, because something has gone horribly wrong. I get some time away and the employer cannot terminate the employment.