Things You Should Never Ask Your Employees To Do

Greetings Divas and Gents! As we approach the beginning of yet another work week, I wanted to take a quick survey from my readers. How many of you are employed in a supervisory role where you are responsible for supervising and managing others? I suspect that there are many of you are. Well, a colleague of mine came across an article listing nine things you should never ask your employees to do (Click Here For Article). I thought this article was worth sharing with you all because it is informative, and it should remind you that one of the primary characteristics of leadership is influence. As a leader, you exert a certain level of influence over the individuals you supervise and/or manage. It is never a good idea as a leader to use your influence in a way that would alienate your employees, make them feel uncomfortable, or pressure then to participate in activities and events in a way that they ordinary would not. To this end, I am sharing this article with you!

Among others, the article lists the following things you should never ask your employees to do:

1. You Should Never Pressure Employees To Attend “Social” Events – If it’s not work-related, employees should not feel any obligation to attend. I feel like this item could use a little more discussion…look out for another post!

2. You Should Never Make Employees Go Without Food at Mealtime Hours – Now, I’m not an employment lawyer, but isn’t there a law out there that makes this type thing illegal? Law or no law, it is never good for employee morale to deprive them of food. My rule of thumb is that if you call a meeting between the hours of 7 AM – 9 AM, 12 PM – 2 PM, or 6 PM – 8 PM, you should be providing Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner, respectively. Just my opinion though!

3. You Should Never Pressure Employees to Donate to a Charity – Yes, it’s always good to donate to charitable causes, but you should never use your influence to pressure an employee to do so. Also, you never want your employees to feel that their success is contingent on their charitable contributions…never a good thing!

4. You Should Never Pressure an Employee to Reveal Personal Information in the Interest of “Teambuilding” – I think that this item is self-explanatory. In fact, I know it is, so I won’t elaborate.

These are just a few of the items noted in the article; I encourage you all to check out the entire article to view the other nine items. Although I do not necessarily agree with all nine points, I think it is important for leaders to consider and evaluate different takes on leadership. It’s all part of what I like to call the leadership learning continuum! Again, check out the article and let me know what you think. Have a great week!