Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em, Sixth Edition , 6th Edition

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Space

GIVE IT

Ponder this: How many of your employees feel like they’re on a short leash?

Give me some space! Anyone who has raised a teenager or remembers being one knows that phrase. We hear it when people feel fenced in, overcontrolled, or frustrated by their lack of power over their own situation. Dilbert, the cartoon spokesperson for office workers, constantly profiles managers as control freaks who give their employees little or no space, either physically (cubicles) or figuratively (space to control one’s own day-to-day existence).

Think about the last boss you had who dictated your every move, held stringently to the policy manual, or was never open to new ways of doing anything. How long did you stay in that job? ...