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Have you worked in a place where you do unnecessary work to achieve something you already know? The issue is you do not have a say in the matter. You have to do whatever to please your boss; this includes bending backward or jumping through hoops. These repetitive and necessary tasks infuriate people and almost make them lose patience and all reason. Just because your manager has the final say does not mean they are always right.
Jumping through hoops is an unnecessary task or process to achieve results that you already know the answer to. Managers often make employees jump through hoops either because they feel obligated to follow a process or into micromanagement where they do not trust anyone. This significantly reduces the team’s morale and wastes a tremendous amount of time just so you can prove something you already know.
Imagine a scenario where the project you work on falls into some technical issue. The team has come up with three possible solutions to tackle the problem. After some discussions and thinking, you find that one of those options is the best solution. Your team as well find that your solution is the best solution. It seems that the answer is clear. Right? Well, do not celebrate yet.
Out of the blue, one of your managers makes a few comments that none of those options is conclusive, and the team should do more research and present that in the next meeting next week to make a final decision! Wow, are you kidding me? We all know what the solution is, so why make us go through all the unnecessary legwork and time-consuming tasks just so we can get to the same conclusion. Well, you just have to do it because you need to please your boss or, more figuratively, jump through hoops.
4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Have to Jump Through Hoops
In a circus jumping through hoops seem fun, but it is a soul-crushing task that employees have to deal with. Here are some reasons why you should not jump through hoops:
1- It wastes everyone’s time
You are probably busy already with other things that you want to finish. The thing you thought would not take much time to do because you know what needs to be done comes back and bite you because someone has put this extra work on top of the work you have—no one like to work overtime, especially on Friday. Setting your priorities aside for an unnecessary task is not a good way to be productive.
2- The project gets delayed
Of course, it will waste the project time! In any organisation, once a project starts, it is a forward march toward completion. Everything is scheduled to start and finish in a specific time frame. There may be a technical issue where your manager says that you need to do more research before we proceed. That might be the case if the answer is unknown. But if everyone knows the answer, why waste valuable project time.
If jumping through hoops is something that has to be done just to please your boss. The lost time might need to be fitted somewhere to ensure the project is complete on time. This includes overtime and weekends.
3- It affects morale
No one like to do soul-crushing work. You want to work on other exciting things in your organisation, but you just keep doing something that will not change what you have done previously. Your enthusiasm for work goes down very quickly, and eventually, you become disengaged with your work. No one wants to lose their passion for their work just because they must jump through hoops.
4- It encourages rebellious behaviour
On the other hand, instead of losing enthusiasm for work and dealing quietly with your boss, you take an aggressive approach by refusing to do the task your boss has given you. Your boss gives you the jump through hoops task; you discuss why it is unnecessary, but your boss is still not convinced. You become rebellious and refuse to do the work, which fuels the tension and resentment between you and your boss.
4 Reasons Why Bosses Make You Jump Through Hoops?
Are those bosses ignorant or evil? I am sure if you have been in this situation, you think I will never do that to my employees if I ever am in my boss’s position. Let us explore the reasons in detail:
1- They are micromanagers
Those control freaks like to have their say in everything and up in everyone’s business. No one like to be micromanaged, especially when your boss has very little trust in you because they think they know better. They think you are incompetent enough, so they make you jump through hoops just so they can be 100% sure. They care very little about your feelings or how much busy you are, and you just have to bend backward every time they feel like it.
2- They feel that they have to follow the process
Having a process for everything is good. In fact, if you work on very complicated projects, breaking down things into simple steps is a good practice in any project. However, this is not the same if the answer is already known. Some managers are over the top when it comes to following the process, and they only follow the process for the sake of the process. Those people are very difficult to convince, and they just want you to follow the procedure even if they know the outcome.
3- Because they want to keep you busy
Unfortunately, those types of managers exist. They throw unnecessary work at you to stall you. They may not be ready for the project yet or busy with other things. So they make you do so to stall you. On the other hand, they just can not live with the idea of not keeping you busy with something, so they make you jump through hoops. Either way, the motive is not good, and it will likely impact your morale.
4- They just have no clue
You might be right and your colleagues right, but your boss just does not have a clue yet because you have not presented enough evidence to convince them otherwise, so they make you jump through hoops because they think you might be wrong, but in fact, they just do not get the full picture.
4 Ways to Stop Bosses from Making You Jump Through
Hoops
Are we supposed to stay silent or do something to prevent wasting time? Let us look at a few things you can do:
1- Be upfront and say it
The most effective and easy way is to be upfront by saying, “Hey, I think we all know that answer here”, and open the discussion for everyone to speak their mind. If you are among a group, the more people endorse your thinking; it means it is true. After all, no one wants to go through the hoops just for fun.
2- Point out the facts
It is essential to let your boss know the delays that might happen because of their decision. Bring the facts to why their decision is flawed and unnecessary. This can harm other projects and might bring some clashes with the client from taking too long to deliver something that was supposed to be done last week. It is also important to show your boss any evidence that backs up your idea, such as a report, emails .. etc.
3- Reference past situations
It is worth the try to reference past situations where the results ended just fine without wasting unnecessary time. Making sure that things need to be checked more than once is good, but we also do not want to waste time on things that probably will not bring profit and will make people busy if the result is going to be the same.
4- Use reverse psychology tactics
You can point out the flawed thinking of your manager without being direct by using reverse psychology and letting them rethink their decision. Reverse psychology is asking your boss something opposite to what you actually want. You can say, “maybe non of the solutions will work. Do you have anything in mind?” or “okay, this means we just have to put the other project on hold for now, is that okay?” this can force your manager to rethink their decision and possibly back down.
The Bottom Line
What if you eventually have to do all the work and end up with the same conclusion? Can you say to your boss I told you so? This might feed your ego but will increase the tension with your boss. Be the bigger person and just say, “okay, now we are 110% sure”. Unfortunately, dealing with difficult bosses is something we might have to deal with. The best thing we can do is to stay calm and speak our minds when we think that things will do more harm than good.
If you realise that your boss is making you jump through hoops because they are a toxic leader, you should read this article for help: Not Reaching Your Full Potential: 5 Ways Your Boss Is Toxic.
