Stopping Toxic Managers from Weaponizing Microsoft Teams

How Toxic Managers Use Microsoft Teams to Sabotage Employees—and How You Can Fight Back

In today’s remote and hybrid workplaces, Microsoft Teams has become a central hub for communication, collaboration, and productivity tracking. Yet, in the hands of a toxic manager, this tool can be misused to monitor and control team members in invasive ways, creating a stressful and demoralizing work environment. Considering that almost 97% of all fashion industry professionals have either worked at a toxic company or for a toxic boss, we’ll explore how toxic managers might use Teams to spy on or micromanage their team members, along with actionable steps to help employees protect their privacy, autonomy, and sanity.

Monitoring Active/Inactive Status

How Toxic Managers Abuse It:
Toxic managers may obsessively monitor the “Active” or “Inactive” status in Teams to see when employees are online. They might interpret any period of inactivity as a lack of productivity, even if the employee is simply away from the computer or focusing on work that doesn’t involve Teams.

How to Protect Yourself:
Consider using the “Appear Offline” status if you need uninterrupted time to focus on a project. This status makes you look offline while still allowing you to check messages and work within Teams. For longer focus periods, you can also set up “Focus Time” (available through Microsoft Viva Insights if your organization has it), which automatically mutes notifications and displays a “Focusing” status. Both can help reduce pressure from constant monitoring and set a boundary for more realistic expectations.

Expecting Instant Responses

How Toxic Managers Abuse It:
Some managers use Teams to demand real-time responses, expecting employees to reply instantly to messages at any time of day. This creates pressure for employees to stay constantly available, even if they’re in the middle of other work.

How to Protect Yourself:
Set clear availability boundaries by turning off or customizing notifications, especially after work hours. You can set a custom status message to communicate when you’ll respond, such as “Currently in a focus session—will respond after 2 PM.” This message makes it clear that you’re prioritizing focused work without appearing unavailable.

Screen Sharing and Remote Access

How Toxic Managers Abuse It:
Toxic managers may frequently ask team members to share their screens or request remote access, not for collaboration, but to scrutinize their every move. This overreach can feel invasive and controlling, especially when the focus is on finding faults rather than solving issues.

How to Protect Yourself:
When a screen-sharing request feels unnecessary, ask questions to clarify the purpose: “What would you like to focus on?” This can help shift the interaction to a more collaborative, solution-oriented one. Limit screen sharing when you’re only working on sensitive or personal documents, and log out of Teams on personal devices to maintain boundaries.

Tracking Edits and Activity in Files

How Toxic Managers Abuse It:
Some managers check document edit histories in shared files to see who has been working on which files and at what times. This tactic can be used to judge productivity unfairly, based on perceived activity levels rather than actual results.

How to Protect Yourself:
Whenever possible, work on files locally and upload them later, which minimizes the visible activity timestamps in shared documents. Alternatively, use version control to organize updates so that the document shows purposeful milestones rather than minute-by-minute tracking.

Monitoring Call and Meeting History

How Toxic Managers Abuse It:
Managers might review call and meeting attendance records to see who you’re meeting with, how often, and for how long. This could lead to unnecessary questioning or even discourage communication with specific colleagues.

How to Protect Yourself:
To maintain control over your schedule and prevent unnecessary questions, proactively schedule regular check-in meetings with your manager or team to provide updates. You can also book short focus or “project update” meetings with yourself or select colleagues to create designated times for uninterrupted work.

Recording Meetings to Scrutinize Engagement

How Toxic Managers Abuse It:
Recording meetings can be helpful for team members who can’t attend, but a toxic manager may later scrutinize the recordings to analyze each person’s engagement. They may even penalize employees for not having their cameras on or for not speaking up enough.

How to Protect Yourself:
If it’s within your control, ask to limit recordings to essential meetings only. When recordings are made, use the chat to contribute if you’re in a quieter work environment. This allows you to participate in a way that fits your work style without drawing unwanted attention to camera status or airtime.

Using Analytics and “Productivity Scores”

How Toxic Managers Abuse It:
Microsoft Teams analytics, such as “productivity scores,” can provide data on messages sent, meeting attendance, and collaborative activity. A toxic manager may use this data to judge team members, rather than looking at the actual quality of work.

How to Protect Yourself:
Consider disabling read receipts to prevent micromanagement of your message responses. You can turn this off in Settings > Privacy, and it’s helpful for avoiding pressure to respond the moment you see a message. Also, if your activity is tracked through the desktop app, consider using Teams in a web browser. This often leads to fewer status updates and could limit overexposure to tracking metrics.

Policing Breaks and “Away” Time

How Toxic Managers Abuse It:
When managers track every moment you’re in “Away” status, it can create a sense of surveillance that discourages natural breaks. Everyone needs breaks throughout the day, and an overemphasis on this status creates unrealistic productivity standards.

How to Protect Yourself:
Make it a habit to log out of Teams or close the app during lunch or other designated breaks. This reduces visibility and sets a clear boundary that you’re unavailable. Additionally, consider an auto-reply message outside of working hours, so your manager knows when you’re reachable without expecting 24/7 availability.

Final Thoughts: Protect Your Time and Privacy in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams can be a fantastic tool for collaboration, but in the hands of a toxic manager, it can turn into an invasive way to monitor and control employees. By proactively managing your status, notifications, and work habits within Teams, you can safeguard your privacy, manage your boundaries, and minimize stress. Most importantly, remember that a truly productive workplace values results, not constant monitoring. Advocating for healthy workplace practices benefits not only you but also sets a standard for a more respectful and effective work culture.