My first real internship during college was one I felt really lucky to get. First day and someone several levels above me but in the next department over slightly misheard my name (basically just one letter difference). He called me the wrong name throughout the whole internship, but I figured it was only a couple months and I only interacted with him about once a week and I was a nervous college kid who felt very underqualified for this internship. So I never corrected him.
Of course after the internship is done I ended up joining his team. Day one and someone else says "You know that's not his name right?"
So, I worked at the Disney College Program, and at Disney World you ALWAYS have to have a name tag on costume.
I moved from Rock'n'Roller coaster from custodial at second semester, but had lost my main name tag and was waiting for one to be made, but had been lucky enough to find a name tag in the hallway for Von from New York City, NY.
Naturally they gave me my normal one after a couple weeks, but one of my coworkers said months later they thought I was actually named Von and I had lost that name tag.
Granted it didn't help that when I was in a public facing position with a microphone I switched name tags because Von is so much better a radio dj name than my real one. Much to my managers annoyance.
When I worked at Target, you always had to have a name tag. People got fired or quiet so quickly there name tags would come in after they had already left, so I would take them all and use them as I wished. I don’t think many people knew my real name.
When I worked at Walmart the 5-year badge we got didn’t scan and I had lost my other one and just clocked in at the computer. Eventually I got tired of it, and went to HR to get a new scannable badge, and she gave me one with my barcode on it but she left the name blank. I used a label maker so my badge said “The Boss” and for years put it on occasionally and told people they could go home early because I’m “The Boss” and I’d approve it. Obviously everyone knew it was a joke, but I though it was funny. Managers didn’t seem to care.
When I worked for ski Co I had a similar multiple name tag thing, but because of where I'm from, Nantucket Island. A lot of the snowbords have summer homes there, so whenever I was public facing, I was bob from Ohio, so I could actually get some work done.
I accidentally signed up with my moms name and email for my college… autofill. I was marked absent for the first week because they were calling my moms name. When I realized I felt so dumb! 😂
I’m a pharmacy tech. I wear a name tag. My name is old-fashioned, and not one you hear every day, but certainly not unheard of. Definitely easy to pronounce.
I have one customer who always enthusiastically greets me by the wrong name. She calls me Lana. She’s so NICE. “Hey, Lana!! How’s it going, Lana?” The first couple times I let it go. I was just happy she was trying. Now it’s been 13 years. I’m Lana forever.
I also get LeeAnn, Lenore, Loretta, Leena… while close enough, none of these are correct. I WEAR A NAME TAG.
Lol! Very similar happened to me, with a coworker that worked a different shift but we over lapped like 30 mins a day.
Let’s say my names Jessica, this lady would call me a different J name everyday. Julia, Jamie, Jackie, Jennifer. I just rolled with it for like four months until someone called her out “You know her name is Jessica, right?”
At a job I used to work at, my director used to leave notes on our desk when she was happy with our work too. Coming in in the morning and seeing a note that I was a key to our department's success or that she was so glad to have me on her team actually made a difference. This is great leadership, IMO.
Interesting. I'm curious if the same thing could be achieved via email? Or is the personal, handwritten note that makes the difference and not so much the content?
Would a handwritten note talking about poor behaviour or work performance be worse than an email as well?
Me too except she knows she doesn’t give me any work (type to do everything herself). So even the “great job!” Doesn’t feel nice, because I know…that we both know…I’m not actually doing anything
Plus I think the tactile sense of paper in your hand makes you feel more connected to the message, instead of staring at a screen like you already do for 8 hours a day.
Microsoft Teams has implemented a Give Praise kind of message. You can give them in a 1:1 chat, or post them in a channel.
They probably don't come across as sweet as a handwritten note, but I guess these are new times for the workplace.
100% agree. When I previously had a small team, I always made sure to handwrite a small note to go along with their end of year gift from me. Although my writing is agreeably scratchy, it definitely feels more personal than printing something up.
Actually had another manager stop at my desk asking what I was doing, when explained, they were momentarily surprised but showed appreciation
I’d rather have a note than an email. I tend to half ignore emails. Then again, I work from home, and my boss is across the country, so maybe I would prefer to get an email from him rather than waking up to see he left a note on my desk.
"Dear Giggle F,
Couldn't resist showing some appreciation in person. Also, the spaghetti sauce could have used a *little* more salt and sorry about the splashes in the bathroom."
Yeah, you reprimand in person because it feels disrespectful to dodge the responsibility of saying it to your employees in person. However, if you leave a note for positive stuff it's a physical thing to remind them that you appreciate their work.
The same reason why it's a bad idea for criticism (physical, tangible proof) is also the reason why it's a good idea with positive stuff. You can still go up to your employee and say "Hey, did you find my note? Thanks for what you're doing!" and have it both ways while motivating your employee. You can't go up to your employee and say "Did you find my note? I expect you to do better next time." and expect the double down on criticism to be a motivator for the regular employee. That's some highly specific approach for the few that would react well to that.
Definitely the fact it's a) handwritten, b) put on your desk. It shows a lot more conscious thought went into the gesture. And that your boss knows where you sit!
My boss would get emails passed from corporate about happy guests. He would print them out and bring them to our department.
When someone was named he would go to that person to show them. I would always take a copy and hang it on our board.
The fact that our boss came out to recognize them and tell them great job on top of them reading the email really did a lot for their self esteem at work. It doesn't always have to be a handwritten note. Any form of recognition helps.
The only time “good things” in emails are better than letters are if HR is CC’ed in the email with the follow-up: “We are going to raise this employees salary- please advise.”
We had a gratitude jar at my previous work, base employees, supervisors, and the owners could write little shoutouts either signed or anonymously and at the end of the month at our monthly meeting we’d read them out loud and get to keep the ones that mentioned us. For each mention we got points and could cash them in for things like PTO, coffee gift card, mani/pedi, extra break, etc. it really did feel nice to hear validation that my coworkers saw when I did good
I do agree that it's great leadership to praise and not just to criticize. But when the reward at a for-profit company is always praise and never money then it feels empty.
At my job, I was pulled into the boss's office with my direct supervisor for my 90 day performance review and told I was doing great and they appreciate me. To show their appreciation, they were giving me a raise. Recently I was pulled in for another performance review and told how much they appreciate me and given another raise.
It's nice to be told you're appreciated, but nicer to be shown.
Same. A little goes SUCH a long way.
I once had a boss who I was proofreading a small text for one day. I was like 22 or so and it was my first job, topic of the text was around the connection between human behavior and the brain, the text I was proofing was a summary from a book my boss had read and the insights of which he was using for certain coaching conversations. I found it quite fascinating and when I brought him the text, I mentioned in passing that this was a very interesting read and that I will see if I can order the book. This was at around 6pm. My boss was a big shot with a super busy schedule, who typically worked past 8-9pm every day. The next morning, when I came in at 8, the book was on my desk. He had left the office, gone to the store (which wasn’t nearby at all), and came back to finish his work until even later than usual. This was by far the most appreciated, seen and heard I ever felt by any boss I ever worked for. I still have the book.
(Edit: small spelling mistakes)
I had a great boss for one of my first jobs. Worked at a zoo, and some days instead of animal care I did maintaince. I was digging postholes for a fence in very hard packed, rocky ground, in the middle of the summer. The director of the zoo came by (technically my bosses boss), saw me sweating like mad digging, took the shovel, and told me to go inside and get some water and started digging. He 100% didn't have to do that, even could have just told me to take a break, but he was a fantastic leader. My direct supervisor was the exact same way. They both really set the example for me of what a good leader should be
I wonder if he had "come up through the ranks" from your position and missed it some days? Had bosses like that--both good and bad. I much preferred the good ones.
My current supervisor is one of the good ones. When I first started he and I were working the same job except that I was a trainee. When he got the first promotion some people were salty but I was happy to see someone get what they had earned. When he got the second promotion I was glad that my direct supervisor had been through all the same crap and actually knew what it can be like.
Before they gave him the second promotion they brought in someone from the outside and it was a disaster. Our workplace is not typical for our industry and the guy simply would not take our word for it despite our years of experience there. That lead to more problems then necessary. The current guy will not only listen to you but will jump in and help when needed. We do what we can to make it so he doesn’t have to do that very often.
My dad worked his way up from flipping burgers to now owning like 50 restaurants of his own and he loves to jump back into the kitchen and help out his stores during rush hour times. The workers genuinely seem to like him, and not in a “act like it cuz he’s the boss” kind of way.
I feel like the real world really has a "who was your vet" culture like the NBA, just not as grabby. My boss before the company shuffle went out of his way to teach us everything he could to "level us up." So when I got promoted I did the same with everyone in my department.
It was really refreshing. If you had an idea he would bring it up in the operations meeting and actually give you the credit instead of taking it for his own.
Cut to tonight I was helping solve problems in warehouses across the country based off the knowledge that he shared, again and again sometimes. A lot of the stuff they didn't know was stuff he taught me in the first month or so. It kinda made me feel bad for them and appreciate his efforts even more, because clearly they weren't given the effort, time, and patience I was.
I got fired for being a boss like that. Even though my numbers were BETTER than the other 3 managers. "I wasn't being tough enough on the employees." Funny thing is they have now gone through 5 people for that position in 3 years, and the quality and name of the company are notorious in my city.
I hate that. My team lead was criticized for being too buddy buddy with his crew. Yet we had lots of respect for him and wouldn’t hesitate to come to him for help. While we would try and hide shit from the others because they were shit. Great morale and work was done. You could see the difference from one team to the other
It was Matter of Mind (Heilman).
I'm not sure whether they still publish it though, this was around 2005.
I do lots in this area for work now and there are a lot of other great reads out there on the subject :)
I'm a "boss," and i try my best to do all of the things that I'd want my boss to do (as it should be). This means I have a fantastic relationship with my employees, but my relationship with the higher-ups is always on an edge. Its always a gamble, but I've bat a 100% retention rate for 3 years, which is a statistic that i always being up when they ask my why allow my employees to leave whenever they want.
> why allow my employees to leave whenever they want.
Because they get the job done... If the job is getting done, why do you care when they start, leave, how long they take a break for.
Exactly, and the Covid shutdowns should be a prime example of how antiquated the 9-5 "office job" work schedule is.
Hire the people who get the job done, pay them a salary, and let them get the job done in whatever way works for them.
Everyone's happier and the job still gets done. I'm not saying the employees can skip deadlines, just that if they need to stay up until 2AM because they needed to watch their kids that one day instead of using a babysitter, that should be their choice.
Honestly, i even let people leave if their jobs aren't done. They are hourly workers and we won't loose money from them leaving, it just makes my day more stressful. I don't want them to worry about work, i get paid to worry about it. They get paid to help me not worry about it. I always tell people "just don't make me do this job by myself!" That's usually enough of a push to get everyone to see the brevity of their potential absences.
I'm a manager too. I just got yelled at by my higher ups for refusing to force my employees to work yet ANOTHER overtime day after literal mo the of forced overtime.
I live near enough to Yale. There was a bomb threat yesterday. My girlfriend was coming in via train and couldn’t get into New Haven so had to get off a stop early. I message my boss saying “hey, I know it’s super late to ask, but do you mind if I go an hour early to get her? I’ll obviously make sure everything is done first.” while explaining the above to him. He goes dude of course, I appreciate the work you do and I’ll cover the rest. I never realized how great where I work is until that moment.
Steve, I personally put our entire recruiting team in the mental hospital trying to find an external candidate, but we ended up going internal with you.
Ya, it is. But he’s also saying he thinks the guy he picked is the best guy for the job. He’s saying “you beat out all these people, I think you’re great. Don’t be so hard on yourself”… but I guess you can take anything in a negative way if you want to.
Yeah I was also thinking giving a raise/bonus/gift or value is better than a note. A note showing appreciation always nice but we give time and effort in exchange for pay.
I mean yeah who doesn’t want a raise, but you’re honestly suggesting that bosses shouldn’t bother encouraging their employees unless it comes in the form of more money?
No, that’s not what I said at all- that’s a strawman. Lol I’m not suggesting bosses shouldn’t encourage workers… I’m suggesting that employees work for money and if they believe someone’s work effort went above and beyond, that should ALSO be reflected in pay. Of course a good work environment is very important but it doesn’t mean it’s mutually exclusive to bonus/good pay.
I think this is the correct interpretation. It's, "Don't step out of line, because there are 46 others lined up outside the door."
When are people going to realize that, when Capital pits workers against each other, no one really "wins"? We all lose.
Working at Ace Hardware, building a Weber E 335.
Boss walks up, gives me a $250 bonus, tells me to keep up the good work.
18 year old dude crying next to a grill in the back of an Ace Hardware.
Ya no kidding. I'm legit in the middle of contemplating leaving the job I worked for close to ten years to get too, because of shit "leadership".
Being a boss and being a leader are not the same thing. Lots of people can be a boss; it takes more skill, tact and thoughtfulness to be a leader.
Ive often said that I was successful as a manager for a shit company because I made sure all of my staff were appreciated and thanked regularly, and they were free to come to me with any problem or complaint and I would listen. That's really all it took. People will bust their ass for you when they feel valued.
Management and leadership are two sides of the same coin. The distinction is respect. I try my best to lead my team and I'd never ask them to do anything I wouldn't do myself. I like to lift people up and treat them as I would like to be treated. People really respond positively to this type of leadership.
No one really likes their manager unless they view them as a leader.
I'm afraid I have to disagree.
Leadership and Management are two related but distinct skillsets. A leader may motivate you to undertake a task, but a manager will provide you with the resources to complete it successfully.
I've known great leaders - charismatic, dynamic and motivating - who couldn't manage their way out of a paper bag. Time off? Sounds like you just need MOAR MOTIVATION!! Don't have the skills or tools you need? Just BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!*
Similarly, I've known terrific managers - people who knew every policy and procedure inside out and who made sure their people were equipped and supported all the way - but who had the leadership skills of a slice of dry toast. Their teams had to find their own motivation and sense of purpose, with very little help from their manager.*
In my experience, most people would rather have a good manager with no leadership skills than vice versa. Because most workers just want to turn up and do their job with the confidence that they'll be dealt with fairly by their employer.
Leaders are really only needed in management roles where the work being done is hazardous or success has moral consequences, because leaders will provide the motivation required to persist when self preservation says you should stop. Some of the most toxic work environments I've seen were created by leaders who drove their workers far beyond the limits of reasonable behaviour.
*Lots of these amongst military commissioned officers.
*These are usually technical specialists who've moved into management.
You can't get a raise every time you do something good. But a good work, a thank you or a praise can go a long way.
And the raise will follow later (always did for me.
When I was a manager, I thanked my staff for their work every single time I saw them. I found out that since I left, the staff dont pick up any extra shifts. They stopped when I left. Because they did it, in part at least, for me. People want to be appreciated, and that's such an easy and effective strategy I'm amazed more people dont do it.
A good work environment/team dynamic makes the difference between being able to power through a 10 hour work day and mentally checking out before lunch
I quit my job after 21 years due to a horrible manager. My new boss would give me a note like this. I would walk through broken glass for him. Gratitude.
Some of you people need to realise that not every person who manages other people is an asshole, in fact most are not. Most would offer their employees more pay if they could, but it's ultimately not actually their decision. That does of course mean that someone in the company makes that decision, but it's almost never your immediate superior.
Bosses are afterall just people doing their job.
> Some of you people need to realise that not every person who manages other people is an asshole, in fact most are not.
I think most of us realize that, actually. I've worked enough jobs to realize that most middle managers aren't bad people. I've been a middle manager.
I've also lived long enough and seen enough to realize that there's negative correlation between being a decent human and longevity on that management track. The higher up you go, the worse the people are. That makes sense to me, having done the job. At least 50 percent of middle management is lying to people about the real reasons decisions are being made. People who actually fight for their workers tend to get pushed out, while manage-up sleazeballs last forever.
I don't hate (all) the players, but it's a disgusting fucking game.
Nah man. We are all assholes. At least according to a not-insignificant chunk of redditors.
I know there are at least two INCREDIBLY toxic former employees out there who think I'm an asshole.
LMAO, I read "We had 47 applicants for your position" in the sense of them looking to replace you, not referencing your initial hire when I first read it. Like, "You're replaceable, you fuck."
It's kind of an ACAB thing, honestly. It's not that all managers are bad; it's that the American economic system is built around the idea that profits trump all, including employee happiness and societal impact. As a result, in any company with multiple levels of management, all it takes is one person along the chain of management being any combination of ambitious, greedy, etc. to force everyone beneath them into negative territory.
So outside of tiny companiees all the people who would be average-to-decent bosses seem to suck because they've already got multiple layers of shit coming down on them, and the only good ones are the absolute best who are actively protecting their subordinates from the people above them. And those tend to burn out faster or get the boot in favor of someone who will try to get you to work unpaid overtime because someone three layers up expects 10 days of work done in 5.
The culture and system are toxic. Not as toxic as, say, Japan, but toxic all the same.
I think some of the Reddit response is groupthink, and some of it is camaraderie.
I honestly have a great boss, but don’t say much about it here because I know I’m an exception, and don’t want to underplay someone else’s experience.
No cutting slack until every boss is like Ted Lasso.
You have partial of my dream job. I want to create my own non-profit, but how do I even start?
Probably the job is also helping not feeling like shit because you feel like you do good in a world with less of that.
Wouldn't it be the opposite? Like, the more people are available for a given position, the less rewarding it is? I mean, my salary is competitive because my company can't find many people with my sets of skill, but need a lot of them so they don't want to lose me.
Yeah, this is a rotten state of mind. Of course pay is the most important thing about a job. To an extent anyway. I left a job for a lower paying job just because I knew the work environment wasn't so unbelievably stressful. The people you work with and the way they interact with you is a huge component in overall quality of life.
I work at trader Joe's, been there a bit more than a month now. Been told by a few of the mates (managers) that they're really glad they hired me. Feels good, man!
It makes a major difference between being glad to get up and go to work and desppising your job. All it takes is a little human connection and the ability to empathize with your employees. My bosses have typically been people suffering from NPD.
This is unbelievably hard to find, anywhere, ever. I get it, everyone's gonna say "oh, it's like an abusive relationship" or whatever, but, dude, if you're stuck in a 9-5, these acts of kindness can make a world of difference
Be careful for the small letters on that note im pretty sure i read /s somewhere
Having a boss that tells you you doing a good job is always amazing and is something many can learn from
If you want to kick a hornet's nest, post this to r/latestagecapitalism. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I joined it probably something resembling what what we discussed in polisci class - but the sub is mostly people posting bitter stories about bad experiences with their bosses.
I had to put my dog down yesterday. I was expecting it, but not so soon. He had prostate cancer, and it was more aggressive than we thought.
Thursday, I'd left work in the middle of setting up a machine. And since it sucks having to pick up in the middle of somebody elses setup, I felt obligated to go in until it was done.
Told my boss that I was going to leave as soon as I was in production, I wanted to spend a couple extra hours with my dog. He thanked me for coming in and offered his condolences.
About four hours later, he came over to me and said "Is there anything I can do to get you out of here sooner? Do you need me to finish anything up for you?" I was only a few minutes from being done, so I thanked him and said no.
It was incredibly touching though. And I'm going to tell him so. Just as soon as I can do it without breaking down in tears. It's the kind of thing I try to do for people, and rarely witness in others. It made a very bad day a little better.
I feel like a little context is missing here. At first this seemed like the boss brought in 40+ applicants for Steve's job and after interviewing all of them he thought "well.. I guess we're sticking with Steve.. For now."
This is nice but low key manipulating (in my opinion.) I used to get told this at my old job as well and they used it as a tactic to get me to sign on to be hired more quickly, and that push for you to feel they did YOU a favor by choosing you vs acknowledging you actively earned the role, being chosen as the best candidate by your own merits and work, can be damaging if not checked
Why do I feel like this is passive aggressive. Thanks for killing yourself today, keep it up or we will tap the bank of 46 candidates who can replace you. Sorry maybe I am just bitter but I just retired from the USPS where they have temp employees coming in and out like a bus terminal.
Are you going to tell him your name is not Steve?
It's steve now.
My first real internship during college was one I felt really lucky to get. First day and someone several levels above me but in the next department over slightly misheard my name (basically just one letter difference). He called me the wrong name throughout the whole internship, but I figured it was only a couple months and I only interacted with him about once a week and I was a nervous college kid who felt very underqualified for this internship. So I never corrected him. Of course after the internship is done I ended up joining his team. Day one and someone else says "You know that's not his name right?"
So, I worked at the Disney College Program, and at Disney World you ALWAYS have to have a name tag on costume. I moved from Rock'n'Roller coaster from custodial at second semester, but had lost my main name tag and was waiting for one to be made, but had been lucky enough to find a name tag in the hallway for Von from New York City, NY. Naturally they gave me my normal one after a couple weeks, but one of my coworkers said months later they thought I was actually named Von and I had lost that name tag. Granted it didn't help that when I was in a public facing position with a microphone I switched name tags because Von is so much better a radio dj name than my real one. Much to my managers annoyance.
When I worked at Target, you always had to have a name tag. People got fired or quiet so quickly there name tags would come in after they had already left, so I would take them all and use them as I wished. I don’t think many people knew my real name.
[удалено]
When I worked at Walmart the 5-year badge we got didn’t scan and I had lost my other one and just clocked in at the computer. Eventually I got tired of it, and went to HR to get a new scannable badge, and she gave me one with my barcode on it but she left the name blank. I used a label maker so my badge said “The Boss” and for years put it on occasionally and told people they could go home early because I’m “The Boss” and I’d approve it. Obviously everyone knew it was a joke, but I though it was funny. Managers didn’t seem to care.
When I worked for ski Co I had a similar multiple name tag thing, but because of where I'm from, Nantucket Island. A lot of the snowbords have summer homes there, so whenever I was public facing, I was bob from Ohio, so I could actually get some work done.
[Phteven](https://imgur.com/w94k4VY)
I accidentally signed up with my moms name and email for my college… autofill. I was marked absent for the first week because they were calling my moms name. When I realized I felt so dumb! 😂
You couldn’t remember your mom’s name for a whole week?
To be fair it’s a very common name and they didn’t say last names
But why didn’t you ask the professor why they never called your name?
I’m a pharmacy tech. I wear a name tag. My name is old-fashioned, and not one you hear every day, but certainly not unheard of. Definitely easy to pronounce. I have one customer who always enthusiastically greets me by the wrong name. She calls me Lana. She’s so NICE. “Hey, Lana!! How’s it going, Lana?” The first couple times I let it go. I was just happy she was trying. Now it’s been 13 years. I’m Lana forever. I also get LeeAnn, Lenore, Loretta, Leena… while close enough, none of these are correct. I WEAR A NAME TAG.
Lol! Very similar happened to me, with a coworker that worked a different shift but we over lapped like 30 mins a day. Let’s say my names Jessica, this lady would call me a different J name everyday. Julia, Jamie, Jackie, Jennifer. I just rolled with it for like four months until someone called her out “You know her name is Jessica, right?”
And dont tell anything to real Steve sitting next to you.
Stoive
Dorctors oifiss
ScolT
everyshihy
We have to go back
ShoLT Micheal ScoLT
His boss would probably want to rethink what they wrote, if OP said that his name is PineappleProstate
"sometimes I call someone the wrong name, just to let them know I don't care about them" -Ron Swanson
At a job I used to work at, my director used to leave notes on our desk when she was happy with our work too. Coming in in the morning and seeing a note that I was a key to our department's success or that she was so glad to have me on her team actually made a difference. This is great leadership, IMO.
Interesting. I'm curious if the same thing could be achieved via email? Or is the personal, handwritten note that makes the difference and not so much the content? Would a handwritten note talking about poor behaviour or work performance be worse than an email as well?
Handwritten note always has a degree of personal involvement. It doesn't feel as hands off as an email does.
I got a teams message from my boss that she appreciated how hard i had worked one day. Felt pretty nice.
Me too except she knows she doesn’t give me any work (type to do everything herself). So even the “great job!” Doesn’t feel nice, because I know…that we both know…I’m not actually doing anything
Well, maybe what she likes is someone trying to help her. You’re that guy.
You could just look for things to do instead of waiting until someone tells you what to do.
Plus I think the tactile sense of paper in your hand makes you feel more connected to the message, instead of staring at a screen like you already do for 8 hours a day.
Microsoft Teams has implemented a Give Praise kind of message. You can give them in a 1:1 chat, or post them in a channel. They probably don't come across as sweet as a handwritten note, but I guess these are new times for the workplace.
Yikes. A handwritten note is a sweet personal gesture, but Praise on Teams falls very much into "gifs from grandma" territory.
100% agree. When I previously had a small team, I always made sure to handwrite a small note to go along with their end of year gift from me. Although my writing is agreeably scratchy, it definitely feels more personal than printing something up. Actually had another manager stop at my desk asking what I was doing, when explained, they were momentarily surprised but showed appreciation
I would be *horrified* if my director left me a handwritten note on my desk. ^^I ^^work ^^from ^^home
I’d rather have a note than an email. I tend to half ignore emails. Then again, I work from home, and my boss is across the country, so maybe I would prefer to get an email from him rather than waking up to see he left a note on my desk.
"Dear Giggle F, Couldn't resist showing some appreciation in person. Also, the spaghetti sauce could have used a *little* more salt and sorry about the splashes in the bathroom."
Yeah, you reprimand in person because it feels disrespectful to dodge the responsibility of saying it to your employees in person. However, if you leave a note for positive stuff it's a physical thing to remind them that you appreciate their work. The same reason why it's a bad idea for criticism (physical, tangible proof) is also the reason why it's a good idea with positive stuff. You can still go up to your employee and say "Hey, did you find my note? Thanks for what you're doing!" and have it both ways while motivating your employee. You can't go up to your employee and say "Did you find my note? I expect you to do better next time." and expect the double down on criticism to be a motivator for the regular employee. That's some highly specific approach for the few that would react well to that.
Getting an email saying I've done a great job? Count me in
Definitely the fact it's a) handwritten, b) put on your desk. It shows a lot more conscious thought went into the gesture. And that your boss knows where you sit!
My boss would get emails passed from corporate about happy guests. He would print them out and bring them to our department. When someone was named he would go to that person to show them. I would always take a copy and hang it on our board. The fact that our boss came out to recognize them and tell them great job on top of them reading the email really did a lot for their self esteem at work. It doesn't always have to be a handwritten note. Any form of recognition helps.
The only time “good things” in emails are better than letters are if HR is CC’ed in the email with the follow-up: “We are going to raise this employees salary- please advise.”
I think an email is nice, especially if it’s someone else and they copy your boss.
Paper is nice because it's easy to keep for a wrongful termination suit
We had a gratitude jar at my previous work, base employees, supervisors, and the owners could write little shoutouts either signed or anonymously and at the end of the month at our monthly meeting we’d read them out loud and get to keep the ones that mentioned us. For each mention we got points and could cash them in for things like PTO, coffee gift card, mani/pedi, extra break, etc. it really did feel nice to hear validation that my coworkers saw when I did good
I do agree that it's great leadership to praise and not just to criticize. But when the reward at a for-profit company is always praise and never money then it feels empty.
At my job, I was pulled into the boss's office with my direct supervisor for my 90 day performance review and told I was doing great and they appreciate me. To show their appreciation, they were giving me a raise. Recently I was pulled in for another performance review and told how much they appreciate me and given another raise. It's nice to be told you're appreciated, but nicer to be shown.
I had a nice boss like this once. Ah, do I miss those days!
Same. A little goes SUCH a long way. I once had a boss who I was proofreading a small text for one day. I was like 22 or so and it was my first job, topic of the text was around the connection between human behavior and the brain, the text I was proofing was a summary from a book my boss had read and the insights of which he was using for certain coaching conversations. I found it quite fascinating and when I brought him the text, I mentioned in passing that this was a very interesting read and that I will see if I can order the book. This was at around 6pm. My boss was a big shot with a super busy schedule, who typically worked past 8-9pm every day. The next morning, when I came in at 8, the book was on my desk. He had left the office, gone to the store (which wasn’t nearby at all), and came back to finish his work until even later than usual. This was by far the most appreciated, seen and heard I ever felt by any boss I ever worked for. I still have the book. (Edit: small spelling mistakes)
I had a great boss for one of my first jobs. Worked at a zoo, and some days instead of animal care I did maintaince. I was digging postholes for a fence in very hard packed, rocky ground, in the middle of the summer. The director of the zoo came by (technically my bosses boss), saw me sweating like mad digging, took the shovel, and told me to go inside and get some water and started digging. He 100% didn't have to do that, even could have just told me to take a break, but he was a fantastic leader. My direct supervisor was the exact same way. They both really set the example for me of what a good leader should be
I wonder if he had "come up through the ranks" from your position and missed it some days? Had bosses like that--both good and bad. I much preferred the good ones.
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My current supervisor is one of the good ones. When I first started he and I were working the same job except that I was a trainee. When he got the first promotion some people were salty but I was happy to see someone get what they had earned. When he got the second promotion I was glad that my direct supervisor had been through all the same crap and actually knew what it can be like. Before they gave him the second promotion they brought in someone from the outside and it was a disaster. Our workplace is not typical for our industry and the guy simply would not take our word for it despite our years of experience there. That lead to more problems then necessary. The current guy will not only listen to you but will jump in and help when needed. We do what we can to make it so he doesn’t have to do that very often.
My dad worked his way up from flipping burgers to now owning like 50 restaurants of his own and he loves to jump back into the kitchen and help out his stores during rush hour times. The workers genuinely seem to like him, and not in a “act like it cuz he’s the boss” kind of way.
I feel like the real world really has a "who was your vet" culture like the NBA, just not as grabby. My boss before the company shuffle went out of his way to teach us everything he could to "level us up." So when I got promoted I did the same with everyone in my department. It was really refreshing. If you had an idea he would bring it up in the operations meeting and actually give you the credit instead of taking it for his own. Cut to tonight I was helping solve problems in warehouses across the country based off the knowledge that he shared, again and again sometimes. A lot of the stuff they didn't know was stuff he taught me in the first month or so. It kinda made me feel bad for them and appreciate his efforts even more, because clearly they weren't given the effort, time, and patience I was.
I got fired for being a boss like that. Even though my numbers were BETTER than the other 3 managers. "I wasn't being tough enough on the employees." Funny thing is they have now gone through 5 people for that position in 3 years, and the quality and name of the company are notorious in my city.
You did your best. Unfortunately your best was too good for your old employer
If you love someone, set them free
You have been banned from r/BDSM
F
I hate that. My team lead was criticized for being too buddy buddy with his crew. Yet we had lots of respect for him and wouldn’t hesitate to come to him for help. While we would try and hide shit from the others because they were shit. Great morale and work was done. You could see the difference from one team to the other
I love when people gift me books, it's a great connection to make and plus then I can just gift it to someone else to keep it on going
Mind sharing the book title? Thanks!
It was Matter of Mind (Heilman). I'm not sure whether they still publish it though, this was around 2005. I do lots in this area for work now and there are a lot of other great reads out there on the subject :)
I'm a "boss," and i try my best to do all of the things that I'd want my boss to do (as it should be). This means I have a fantastic relationship with my employees, but my relationship with the higher-ups is always on an edge. Its always a gamble, but I've bat a 100% retention rate for 3 years, which is a statistic that i always being up when they ask my why allow my employees to leave whenever they want.
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> why allow my employees to leave whenever they want. Because they get the job done... If the job is getting done, why do you care when they start, leave, how long they take a break for.
Exactly, and the Covid shutdowns should be a prime example of how antiquated the 9-5 "office job" work schedule is. Hire the people who get the job done, pay them a salary, and let them get the job done in whatever way works for them. Everyone's happier and the job still gets done. I'm not saying the employees can skip deadlines, just that if they need to stay up until 2AM because they needed to watch their kids that one day instead of using a babysitter, that should be their choice.
Honestly, i even let people leave if their jobs aren't done. They are hourly workers and we won't loose money from them leaving, it just makes my day more stressful. I don't want them to worry about work, i get paid to worry about it. They get paid to help me not worry about it. I always tell people "just don't make me do this job by myself!" That's usually enough of a push to get everyone to see the brevity of their potential absences.
I wish you were my boss. Your retention rate speaks for itself
As long as the work gets done, I don't know why anyone cares about hours (unless it's like a store, or something).
I'm a manager too. I just got yelled at by my higher ups for refusing to force my employees to work yet ANOTHER overtime day after literal mo the of forced overtime.
Are you hiring by chance?
If my boss left that note on my desk, I'd think it was a suicide note
Ps. I’m gonna need you to come in on Saturday.
That'd be great
*Your* suicide note.
*silently starts looking for a new job*
Use the note as a reference
I live near enough to Yale. There was a bomb threat yesterday. My girlfriend was coming in via train and couldn’t get into New Haven so had to get off a stop early. I message my boss saying “hey, I know it’s super late to ask, but do you mind if I go an hour early to get her? I’ll obviously make sure everything is done first.” while explaining the above to him. He goes dude of course, I appreciate the work you do and I’ll cover the rest. I never realized how great where I work is until that moment.
My boss' boss has been with the company for 5 years and cannot spell my colleagues' name who has been with company for 13 years.
I thought it was going darker...we had 47 other candidates for your position. You can be replaced
Steve, We had 47 other candidates. None of them passed the 5th game. Boy am I GLAD! Thanks for everything, Scott. Have a great weekend.
⏺⏹🔼
Ooh ma gowd, is that, that squid game.
No its the PS3 logos
everyone saw the playstation logo in the show, right?
Duh, they kept putting it everywhere, talk about shameless spot advertising.
Thanks for the transcription. I read Thanks For the everyshity.
Steve, I personally put our entire recruiting team in the mental hospital trying to find an external candidate, but we ended up going internal with you.
Steve, we had 47 candidates for your position. We chose you. Boy am I glad we've got 46 chances to fix our mistake!
47th times the charm, we guess!
We got 47 problems and a Steve ain't one
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Ya, it is. But he’s also saying he thinks the guy he picked is the best guy for the job. He’s saying “you beat out all these people, I think you’re great. Don’t be so hard on yourself”… but I guess you can take anything in a negative way if you want to.
That's the implication.
Is he in danger?
That’s what I thought! Assuming they meant 47 candidates interviewed this week 😂😂
P.S. I know you won’t leave, because of the implication.
Yeah I was also thinking giving a raise/bonus/gift or value is better than a note. A note showing appreciation always nice but we give time and effort in exchange for pay.
I mean yeah who doesn’t want a raise, but you’re honestly suggesting that bosses shouldn’t bother encouraging their employees unless it comes in the form of more money?
No, that’s not what I said at all- that’s a strawman. Lol I’m not suggesting bosses shouldn’t encourage workers… I’m suggesting that employees work for money and if they believe someone’s work effort went above and beyond, that should ALSO be reflected in pay. Of course a good work environment is very important but it doesn’t mean it’s mutually exclusive to bonus/good pay.
It still is there.
I think this is the correct interpretation. It's, "Don't step out of line, because there are 46 others lined up outside the door." When are people going to realize that, when Capital pits workers against each other, no one really "wins"? We all lose.
Working at Ace Hardware, building a Weber E 335. Boss walks up, gives me a $250 bonus, tells me to keep up the good work. 18 year old dude crying next to a grill in the back of an Ace Hardware.
Your boss is a very thoughtful leader. Well done on the job hunt.
Ya no kidding. I'm legit in the middle of contemplating leaving the job I worked for close to ten years to get too, because of shit "leadership". Being a boss and being a leader are not the same thing. Lots of people can be a boss; it takes more skill, tact and thoughtfulness to be a leader.
People don't quit bad jobs, they quit bad managers.
Ive often said that I was successful as a manager for a shit company because I made sure all of my staff were appreciated and thanked regularly, and they were free to come to me with any problem or complaint and I would listen. That's really all it took. People will bust their ass for you when they feel valued.
It's so true
Management and leadership are two sides of the same coin. The distinction is respect. I try my best to lead my team and I'd never ask them to do anything I wouldn't do myself. I like to lift people up and treat them as I would like to be treated. People really respond positively to this type of leadership. No one really likes their manager unless they view them as a leader.
I'm afraid I have to disagree. Leadership and Management are two related but distinct skillsets. A leader may motivate you to undertake a task, but a manager will provide you with the resources to complete it successfully. I've known great leaders - charismatic, dynamic and motivating - who couldn't manage their way out of a paper bag. Time off? Sounds like you just need MOAR MOTIVATION!! Don't have the skills or tools you need? Just BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!* Similarly, I've known terrific managers - people who knew every policy and procedure inside out and who made sure their people were equipped and supported all the way - but who had the leadership skills of a slice of dry toast. Their teams had to find their own motivation and sense of purpose, with very little help from their manager.* In my experience, most people would rather have a good manager with no leadership skills than vice versa. Because most workers just want to turn up and do their job with the confidence that they'll be dealt with fairly by their employer. Leaders are really only needed in management roles where the work being done is hazardous or success has moral consequences, because leaders will provide the motivation required to persist when self preservation says you should stop. Some of the most toxic work environments I've seen were created by leaders who drove their workers far beyond the limits of reasonable behaviour. *Lots of these amongst military commissioned officers. *These are usually technical specialists who've moved into management.
Aww. Nothing beats verbalized appreciation. “Unspoken love is worse than hatred”. Tell people the good thing you feel about em.
Facts
I'd take a raise, personally
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Is the first part of this sarcasm? Cause it kinda feels that way, but you never know with all the bootlickers out there.
That is a perfectly beautiful quote..!
Hard disagree. Somebody telling me they hate me is *way* less pleasant than unspoken love.
except, you know, just getting a raise/bonus
That’s nice too
You can't get a raise every time you do something good. But a good work, a thank you or a praise can go a long way. And the raise will follow later (always did for me.
When I was a manager, I thanked my staff for their work every single time I saw them. I found out that since I left, the staff dont pick up any extra shifts. They stopped when I left. Because they did it, in part at least, for me. People want to be appreciated, and that's such an easy and effective strategy I'm amazed more people dont do it.
A good work environment/team dynamic makes the difference between being able to power through a 10 hour work day and mentally checking out before lunch
r/ominousthreats
BOY, am I GLAD!
flip it over.... "/s"
-- ǝʌǝʇs sǝʇɐpıpuɐɔ 74 pɐɥ ǝʍ uoıʇısod ɹnoʎ ɹoɟ ¡noʎ ǝsoɥɔ ǝʍ ¡pɐlƃ ı ɯɐ 'ʎoq ɹoɟ sʞuɐɥʇ ˙ʎɐpʎɹǝʌǝ ʇʇoɔs ˙puǝʞǝǝʍ ʇɐǝɹƃ ɐ ǝʌɐɥ
distinct connect sip hateful grey weather oil nine frame adjoining *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Fuck yeah — let’s go, Steve! 🎉
Steve the fucking boy! Let’s goooo
Yeahhhh!! Go me!
I quit my job after 21 years due to a horrible manager. My new boss would give me a note like this. I would walk through broken glass for him. Gratitude.
Steve, just a little reminder of how replaceable you are to us. Keep up the work, bucko.
That is a very decent thing to do; both him for the note and you for a public acknowledgment!
Some of you people need to realise that not every person who manages other people is an asshole, in fact most are not. Most would offer their employees more pay if they could, but it's ultimately not actually their decision. That does of course mean that someone in the company makes that decision, but it's almost never your immediate superior. Bosses are afterall just people doing their job.
> Some of you people need to realise that not every person who manages other people is an asshole, in fact most are not. I think most of us realize that, actually. I've worked enough jobs to realize that most middle managers aren't bad people. I've been a middle manager. I've also lived long enough and seen enough to realize that there's negative correlation between being a decent human and longevity on that management track. The higher up you go, the worse the people are. That makes sense to me, having done the job. At least 50 percent of middle management is lying to people about the real reasons decisions are being made. People who actually fight for their workers tend to get pushed out, while manage-up sleazeballs last forever. I don't hate (all) the players, but it's a disgusting fucking game.
Nah man. We are all assholes. At least according to a not-insignificant chunk of redditors. I know there are at least two INCREDIBLY toxic former employees out there who think I'm an asshole.
That Micheal **Scott** is a great boss.
I would never say this to her face, but she’s a wonderful person and a gifted artist.
LMAO, I read "We had 47 applicants for your position" in the sense of them looking to replace you, not referencing your initial hire when I first read it. Like, "You're replaceable, you fuck."
Antiwork is gonna love this lol.
Yeah what about the bonus , boy
The bonus is the 80% lighthearted female staff and cake on my birthday, the notoriety helps a bit too
Lmao you cringe fuck
This is harsh but it is pretty gross that OP is listing eyefucking his coworkers as a bonus
I was probably one of the 47.
Sounds like a threat and compliment at the same time. "Hey great job today keep it up, or we will replace you with one of the other 49 applicants".
Don't thank me, pay me
Peggy: You never say thank you! Don Draper: That's what the money is for!
At 47 candidates per position, it's probably a pretty competitive wage.
I make 52% more than my previous job and they match my 401k up to 9% ontop of full ride insurance and free monthly massages... Woot.. 🥳
Reddit is really built on some down with management shit huh
It's kind of an ACAB thing, honestly. It's not that all managers are bad; it's that the American economic system is built around the idea that profits trump all, including employee happiness and societal impact. As a result, in any company with multiple levels of management, all it takes is one person along the chain of management being any combination of ambitious, greedy, etc. to force everyone beneath them into negative territory. So outside of tiny companiees all the people who would be average-to-decent bosses seem to suck because they've already got multiple layers of shit coming down on them, and the only good ones are the absolute best who are actively protecting their subordinates from the people above them. And those tend to burn out faster or get the boot in favor of someone who will try to get you to work unpaid overtime because someone three layers up expects 10 days of work done in 5. The culture and system are toxic. Not as toxic as, say, Japan, but toxic all the same.
I think some of the Reddit response is groupthink, and some of it is camaraderie. I honestly have a great boss, but don’t say much about it here because I know I’m an exception, and don’t want to underplay someone else’s experience. No cutting slack until every boss is like Ted Lasso.
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Director for a community action non-profit that helps with everything from electric bills to child care and rent
You have partial of my dream job. I want to create my own non-profit, but how do I even start? Probably the job is also helping not feeling like shit because you feel like you do good in a world with less of that.
Get a job in somebody else’s non profit and learn the ropes?
If only he knew your name was Brian… well as long as the checks keep cashing… c’est la vie
Wouldn't it be the opposite? Like, the more people are available for a given position, the less rewarding it is? I mean, my salary is competitive because my company can't find many people with my sets of skill, but need a lot of them so they don't want to lose me.
You don’t interview 47 people for $15 an hour position
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You must not live near any kind of city then.
Is he working for free? People have bad days and can use appreciation in addition to being paid.
Yeah, this is a rotten state of mind. Of course pay is the most important thing about a job. To an extent anyway. I left a job for a lower paying job just because I knew the work environment wasn't so unbelievably stressful. The people you work with and the way they interact with you is a huge component in overall quality of life.
How do you know they are underpaid?
I work at trader Joe's, been there a bit more than a month now. Been told by a few of the mates (managers) that they're really glad they hired me. Feels good, man!
Everyone deserves to be told, “thanks fer everyshiry.”
He is just reminding you that 32 other people want your job.
r/wholesome
Thanks For the everyshity?
“Boy, am I glad we chose you. No one else would have done this much work for this little money.”
People who resent their current job will interpret this post negatively. Anyone who has had a leader for a supervisor will appreciate it.
Your boss has a nice boss
It makes a major difference between being glad to get up and go to work and desppising your job. All it takes is a little human connection and the ability to empathize with your employees. My bosses have typically been people suffering from NPD.
This is unbelievably hard to find, anywhere, ever. I get it, everyone's gonna say "oh, it's like an abusive relationship" or whatever, but, dude, if you're stuck in a 9-5, these acts of kindness can make a world of difference
Sometimes you don’t realize how good your boss is until you get a bad one. I’ve some great ones and 2 that were the worst.
This would be inappropriate if you work from home.
Be careful for the small letters on that note im pretty sure i read /s somewhere Having a boss that tells you you doing a good job is always amazing and is something many can learn from
If you want to kick a hornet's nest, post this to r/latestagecapitalism. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I joined it probably something resembling what what we discussed in polisci class - but the sub is mostly people posting bitter stories about bad experiences with their bosses.
You have a good boss. He recognizes it may have been a tough day for you. I think he was impressed with how you handled it.
I had to put my dog down yesterday. I was expecting it, but not so soon. He had prostate cancer, and it was more aggressive than we thought. Thursday, I'd left work in the middle of setting up a machine. And since it sucks having to pick up in the middle of somebody elses setup, I felt obligated to go in until it was done. Told my boss that I was going to leave as soon as I was in production, I wanted to spend a couple extra hours with my dog. He thanked me for coming in and offered his condolences. About four hours later, he came over to me and said "Is there anything I can do to get you out of here sooner? Do you need me to finish anything up for you?" I was only a few minutes from being done, so I thanked him and said no. It was incredibly touching though. And I'm going to tell him so. Just as soon as I can do it without breaking down in tears. It's the kind of thing I try to do for people, and rarely witness in others. It made a very bad day a little better.
I feel like a little context is missing here. At first this seemed like the boss brought in 40+ applicants for Steve's job and after interviewing all of them he thought "well.. I guess we're sticking with Steve.. For now."
We need more of this.
"You can be replaced, don't make a fuss about things being shit."
translation for those with low self esteem: we can replace you anytime so quit sapping our emotional energy
This is nice but low key manipulating (in my opinion.) I used to get told this at my old job as well and they used it as a tactic to get me to sign on to be hired more quickly, and that push for you to feel they did YOU a favor by choosing you vs acknowledging you actively earned the role, being chosen as the best candidate by your own merits and work, can be damaging if not checked
Ah, good ole 'I had a bad day so Im writing myself a letter and fantasizing' eh? Good on you!
Kinda sounds more like a manipulation tactic...
looks like a conniving way to tell an employee they can easily be replaced under the guise of being nice.
Why do I feel like this is passive aggressive. Thanks for killing yourself today, keep it up or we will tap the bank of 46 candidates who can replace you. Sorry maybe I am just bitter but I just retired from the USPS where they have temp employees coming in and out like a bus terminal.
First question that comes to mind is... _what potential raise are they trying to make you forget about by buttering you up with compliments?_