I read about an interesting study in HBR that concludes that noncompete agreements (standard in many employment contracts) can actually stifle performance. In short, knowing that they are restricted in future opportunities lowers employees’ motivation and desire to improve. One of the researchers in the study maybe said it best in the title of his book: Talent Wants to be Free.

Restricting that freedom means that people don’t have real ownership of their jobs, one of the 12 human principles we identified in Humanize. It’s another example, I think, of our misguided need to control things.

It’s understandable that companies want to guard their talent closely. But if the walls meant to protect human capital diminish the quality of that capital, they may not be worth building.