What is it with managers treating their employees like high school students who don’t know how to act? Presumably, everyone in the workplace is an adult, meaning that they can behave in an entirely respectable manner without being micro-managed, but some employers don’t seem to think so. Maybe it’s a power trip, a need to control the environment, or an inability to give employees the benefit of the doubt. Regardless, if you’ve instituted any of the following rules in your workplace, you might want to rethink your policies because your employees probably hate you.

Rigid Time Constraints

Do your employees get the job done? Do they meet their goals? Do they go above and beyond, even? Then it doesn’t matter if they sometimes get to work 10 minutes late or go over their lunch break by 15 minutes. Once these habits start affecting performance, then talk to the individual, sure. Otherwise, you’re just making your workers feel resentful and underappreciated.

Tech Lock Downs

Not only is it unreasonable to tell your adult employees that they can’t visit certain websites or bring their mobile devices to work, but it’s also demeaning and disrespectful. That’s how you treat a teenager, not an adult who holds down a job and does it well. Pay attention to productivity instead.

Proof of Absence

Is this high school? Are you sure you’re not a principal? Grown people work for you. Treat them like adults. A note from a doctor makes sense if someone’s absent for more than a few days in a row, but otherwise, it’s silly if you refuse to authorize sick time without a note. Let your employees use their time as they see fit. Furthermore, any workplace that demands documentation about deaths in the family is a horrible place.

No Opportunities to Work from Home

If an employee can do the job at home and gets the work done, what’s the problem? You might worry that everyone will want to work from home, but that’s not true. Even if it is, you can still put regulations in place regarding which positions can work from home and how often. You might be surprised at how much your staff accomplishes.

No Freelancing

It’s not fair to tell your employees that they can’t freelance if they work for you. It’s not realistic, either. As long as a freelance project doesn’t interfere with the work your employees do for you, don’t interfere with their ability to make extra money. The only reasonable thing is to ask them not to use any of the contacts or ideas from your business.

Always ask yourself this: would you enjoy working under such stringent rules? It makes much more sense to give your staff some freedom, respect, and trust. Treat them like adults. Put agreements in place that allow you to deal with people who take advantage of the relaxed rules individually.