Ask HN: How do you like to be shown appreciation at work?
If you were to go above and beyond to meet some goal what would you consider appropriate recognition?
For me, just verbal recognition is sufficient. I get a little insulted when someone tries to add a low monetary component to it.
Say you worked a weekend, and you were given a $50 gift card. Now you have put a price on the effort, and $50 for a weekend of effort is down right insulting.
If one were to put a monetary component to it, it should be at the scale of the effort.
27 comments
[ 4.5 ms ] story [ 78.0 ms ] threadJust working weekends as its own thing isn't good and isn't really worth kudos. Putting in necessary extra effort in order to put out a fire is, as is coming up with a particularly great solution to a thorny problem, or helping a coworker out of a jam, and so forth.
A parallel comment mentioned burnout, and I think this is the only viable way to enable above-and-beyond surges while minimizing burnout risk: as a business, you have to decide that a surge doesn’t mean you’re getting extra time from people, you’re borrowing time forward against future days.
As someone who works lots of nights and weekends/holidays the "take a couple of days off when it's convenient to the company" thing only goes so far. Granted it's better than nothing but I would think people that give up their time when everyone else is off should be rewarded more than just getting a like for like trade -I mean if you worked for the government you'd be getting time and a half or double time. Don't get me wrong I know it doesn't work that way, working the house till it dies is pretty much SOP it just shouldn't be.
My company does all sorts of BS related to this. None of its really worth anything. It's movie tickets and gift cards mostly. Promotions, raises, and bonuses are the way to go. But that's rare.
There is no one rule, read how the people feel and try to keep them content.
This is what it's all about different employees have different wants and needs. Some people don't care if they work every weekend as long as they are treated special. Others just keep working and get more and more pissed until they finally quit and management wonders why. We talk a lot about burn out and I firmly believe that if people are burning out it's the managers fault. Ask yourself would a manager act if an employee wasn't doing enough, of course they would that's part of the job. If that's the case why shouldn't they be expected to act when an employee is doing too much? Comp time and a pat on the butt is great but it may not fill the bill, it's a managers job to figure out that want/need and fill it.
Small monetary bonuses don't impact me one way or another -- I am paid well enough that $50 isn't a thing I find compelling. But I don't find it insulting at all, either -- just largely meaningless.
I HATE gift cards, though. If you're giving me money, give me money and don't force me to spend it in a particular way or at a particular business. Whenever I get a gift card, I just pass it along to someone else who would make better use of it than I.
EDIT: After reading the other comments, extra PTO is something that I would value a great deal. I've just never experienced that and so didn't think of it.
And on the flip side, why would i put effort if not for such a reward.