They're not thirteen

When you treat people like children, you get children's work. Yet that's exactly

how a lot of companies and managers treat their employees. Employees need to

ask permission before they can do anything. They need to get approval for every

tiny expenditure. It's surprising they don't have to get a hall pass to go take a

shit.

When everything constantly needs approval, you create a culture of

nonthinkers. You create a boss-versus-worker relationship that screams, "I don't

trust you."

What do you gain if you ban employees from, say, visiting a socialnetworking site or watching YouTube while at work? You gain nothing. That

time doesn't magically convert to work. They'll just find some other diversion.

And look, you're not going to get a full eight hours a day out of people

anyway. That's a myth. They might be at the office for eight hours, but they're

not actually working eight hours. People need diversions. It helps disrupt the

monotony of the workday. A little YouTube or Facebook time never hurt anyone.

Then there's all the money and time you spend policing this stuff. How much

does it cost to set up surveillance software? How much time do IT employees

waste on monitoring other employees instead of working on a project that's

actually valuable? How much time do you waste writing rule books that never

get read? Look at the costs and you quickly realize that failing to trust your

employees is awfully expensive.