The Evil by control freaks

More damage than benefit, also for yourself

 

 

 

 

If you monitor change in short intervals the project and even yourself will not profit. This is precisely because those control freaks cannot help but notice with each check only small to smallest progress. This has got 3 consequences: 1. They are convinced that everything is changing way too slow = they are not satisfied. 2. They produce not highly motivated employees but make them unhappy and uncertain. 3. In case they are themselves responsible for the development, they perceove themselves the more they monitor the more as a failure.

Monitoring Frequency Effect (MFE) has labeled an American-European research team this phenonmenon in their in-depth study which was recently published.

Vaz/Mata/Critcher, “A Watched Pot Seems Slow to Boil: Why Frequent Monitorin Decreases Perceptions of Progress”, in: Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2025, vol. 154, Nr. 4, 895-918.

From the practise:

Right! We can observe the MFE and its impact also during everyday life: the more we got onto the scale, or the more we watch our stock rates or the more often we double check the productivity of collegaue and staff the more we feel troubled unhappy and the more we would be allured to establish completely wrong, negative opinions.

Of course: continuous monitoring has its merits and needs to be executed from time to time, particularly in times of crises and threathing moments. For normal everyday life please let´s have in mind once again the dose.

Or at least we shall not forget the big focus and the main targets.