Management tries to be personal/ A Good Idea Gone Bad (Read 736 times)

Okay... Maybe I'm just over-reacting here. I got a memo from my manager that is to be put in my personnel/education file. It asks how I want to be recognized/rewarded. They put a list of options with a nominal $5 value, and asked us to rank 1-5 what we'd prefer as a "reward." Below, they asked us to indicate if we prefer public or private, written or verbal recognition. Okay - in theory this sounds like a good idea. This way everyone could get recognized and rewarded how they want. But something about this is bugging the CR@P out of me. I need to have a form in my HR file that says "please reward me with an 'edible treat' first, then a 'carwash discount', and then a 'thank you note?" And my manager needs to be told whether or not to recognize me in front of my peers? Granted, I work for a large company. But I feel a little insulted that my manager would give us these forms to fill out! Anyone else ever have this happen? Would anyone WANT their managers to do this? Am I just totally overreacting here?

Yes, I've had that happen to me before, too. I had a similar reaction... feeling insulted and demeaned in some way. "If you want to give me something, great; but don't ask me to tell you how you can inspire me to generate more revenue for this company." I left feeling a distinct change in my perception of my boss from someone I thought was competent to someone who was stupid enough to follow the advice of some HR dude who had written his 42nd "how to be an effective manager" book. By the way, she didn't accept my request for single malt scotch seriously.

Heh. Can I sue for writer's cramp from filling out paperwork? Thanks, guys. I'll take one more day to cool off and then fill out my nice little form and be a good employee again... Janell