Five Outdated Ideas Holding Back Businesses

They’re detrimental, not assets

Photo by LYCS Architecture on Unsplash

People who run companies like to think of themselves as agile, using the latest trends. But in reality, they’re more likely to be sticks in the mud, clinging to old ideas that don’t work anymore.

Companies that can adapt to employees' needs are the ones that grow and stay profitable. But many times, companies look at short-sighted, cost-cutting measures, rather than take steps to help their employees.

Here are a few outdated ideas that need to go the way of the fax machine.

“Don’t take any sick time.”

I once worked at a place that wrote up a woman for calling out to bring her sick child to a hospital. The child ended up needing surgery. After two days, she was told she had to come in for her shift, or be fired.

Micromanaging anyone’s time is annoying, but not allowing any sick time makes everyone worse off. Forcing workers to come in sick spreads diseases: “Flu rates would fall 5 percent if paid sick leave were universal,” according to the New York Times. That kind of drop in illness could save lives: last year, 80,000 people died from influenza.

Giving workers a handful of sick days each year does cost money, but people aren’t productive when…