Managers' decisions always affect staff, even those decisions that managers may consider harmless or insignificant. Moreover, these decisions often have a cumulative effect. They prove deleterious to the workforce until, at some point, people have enough and move on. Truly effective managers get their work done through others, and if you have to depend on others to perform, then you should have their best interests at heart. Management tends to forget this, particularly when they start looking at budgets and trying to squeeze more profit out of the bottom line. Negative policies, like lowering pay, laying off workers because their salaries are out of sync with other workers or even taking away small perks like free soda, never motivates employees. The quality of the work environment and behavior toward staff contribute heavily to their motivation and performance.

Read more about motivating your workforce:
- read the blog at TechRepublic