You can only push people so far.

Today is very nearly the 10-year mark of me running my design and branding agency, Aloa.agency.

And I’ve had to manage many people along the way, with a team as large as 14 at times (and now at about 9).

When we judge companies, we judge them by their work quality—by their output.

But every business owner knows about the very real human side of running a company.

People get sick, family issues come up. And also? People get bored, frustrated, and tired of beating their head against the wall.

Human beings are not machines. There’s only so far you can push them. You can’t keep grinding people into the ground and expect them to be happy and productive.

You can’t be negative or overly demanding and expect them to deliver great work. Yes, as a business owner, you are helping people out by providing a livelihood. But they are helping you out just as much by building your company.

They don’t owe you anything. And quite possibly, you owe them more than you think you do.

If you are paying someone millions of dollars with stock options, you have every right to expect the world of them. But if you are paying someone at or below market rate for their services, you should expect them to do what you’ve paid them to do, no more and no less.

If you don’t heed this advice? People will quit. Or worse, quiet quit.

Always keep the dignity and financial situation of your team in mind. And gratitude goes much farther than condemnation.