Love 'Em or Lose 'Em, 5th Edition

NINETEENSpaceGIVE IT

Ponder this: Are your employees on a short leash?

—NOTE—

If you’re wondering how to hold on to your younger workers, read this chapter!

Anyone who has raised a teenager (or remembers being one) knows the phrase “Give me some space!” People who feel fenced in, overcontrolled, or frustrated by their lack of power over their own situation usually say it. 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 ...