5 Stupid Rules Employees Probably Want You to Ditch

When you look around your finance department, you probably see a group of people that hardly resembles the pool of co-workers you were a part of before you became their leader.

They’re likely younger, better educated, less experienced, more tech-savvy and generationally different in many ways.

And that’s why you want to adapt to the dynamics of the team. When you adjust to the changing demographics, you’re smart to get rid of stupid rules you and your team don’t need. From there, you can make rules they’ll be willing and able to follow.

Stupid Rules Can Lead to Turnover

But getting rid of the stupid rules is the first step.

Otherwise, people who don’t want to work around old-school, that’s-the-way-we’ve-always-done-it rules might pack up their laptops and look for greener pastures.

A great first step in keeping these emerging up-and-comers happy is to ditch certain rules that went the way of VHS tapes and Saturday morning cartoons.

Here are a few of the stupid rules you can ditch right away.

1. Set-in-Stone Schedules

If the pandemic taught us one corporate rule that was destined to be broken, it was we can relax that old 9-to-5 formal schedule rule.

Studies show that on-the-job flexibility ranks a close second behind salary and compensation as the chief deciding factor of most employees when they take a job.

This doesn’t mean you can’t have any rules about time on the job. It’s OK to tell employees to alert you when they’re coming in late or leaving early, and suggest they dedicate core hours (say, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) or days to be in the office for collaboration.

This rule is often hard for long-time managers to let go. But if you do, you’ll be happily surprised: Schedule flexibility that you extend will make your employees more likely not to cut corners on their time at work.

2. Reports for Almost Everything

Making employees submit a report on everything you ask of them is not only a waste of their time, it could also signal that you don’t fully trust them to get their work done.

Savvy employees know this old rule is a common CYA move and in most cases isn’t necessary.

You might tell yourself it’s the only way to track your employees’ progress. But getting face-to-face and asking about progress is not only friendlier, it’s more effective.

It seems less like hovering when you ask, “How are things going with ______?” and employees will be more inclined to give you an honest answer.

3. Getting Approval on Everything

Employees should feel empowered to make their own decisions. Hearing “Why didn’t you clear it with me first?” infers a “me-boss, you-not-boss” attitude and squelches any desire employees have to take chances.

Reserve only a few decisions that you mandate employees tell you about first. When you leave the smaller stuff up to them, employees appreciate that you’re not trying to micromanage their decisions.

There’s no better way to teach them how to make wise ones.

4. Delegating the Grunt Work

This was pretty much a staple of corporate culture in the past. It was always accepted that the rookie on the team was dealt all the dirty jobs no one else wanted to do anymore — or the stuff considered “beneath their pay grade.”

And it was considered almost a rite of passage for the newest employees — like paying their dues.

But in new business environments, that’s changed. Today, employees want to know that you see them as a team, not as rungs on an imaginary ladder. Promoting the idea that some employees can be considered “above” others (even if it’s a legitimate nod to seniority) makes new employees feel undervalued.

Making new employees do all the drudge work doesn’t teach them responsibility. It only teaches them to get it done as quickly as possible — so they can advance and hand it over to someone else or quit so they don’t have to do it anymore!

5. Expecting Blind Loyalty

It used to be that changing jobs every couple of years looked bad on a resume. Even today, you might look at a job-switcher and figure they can’t commit to a job, they can’t get along with colleagues, or they’re disinterested in work.

That’s just not so anymore. That stigma is antiquated as millennials rise in the workplace with expectations to continuously learn, develop and advance in their careers. Unlike past generations, employees no longer need to cling to one company to achieve their career goals. They aren’t as concerned about loyalty to an employer.

But, if you show interest in them, their careers and their development, they’ll more likely show up and stick around.