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Wow, a special payment!
But who do I thank now - and does that have to be?
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Paul, 42, asks: I work in a larger company. Now the HR manager has emailed everyone and announced that each of us will receive a special payment. He thanks for our commitment during the Corona period. I'm happy about it, but I'm unsure how to react. This is not a personal email; the company is too big for us to have ever dealt directly with one another. Some colleagues therefore think it is too slimy to answer it personally. Is it still appropriate to say thank you and if so, in what form?
Dear Paul,
First of all, congratulations on having benefited from a special payment.
Many companies cannot afford this in the current situation.
It seems important for your employer to thank you for your performance during this difficult year.
I think it's great that you think about how you can say thank you and express your joy.
Appreciation - in the truest sense of the word - seems to be important to you.
Even if the email to the entire workforce is impersonal and you feel as one of the many employees in a large company, several hierarchical levels far away from the HR manager, it is important for you to respond to it personally.
So what is it that makes you hesitate and what made you talk to your colleagues about this?
Would it be different if your line manager had informed you about the special payment and is it the distance to the HR manager that you do not know personally?
Do you have the feeling that a HR manager is not interested in you and your appreciation anyway?
Or do you share the concern of your colleagues that it seems too intrusive or slimy to send a thank you email to someone so far up?
If you put aside the opinions of your colleagues - what is really important to you in this situation?
This is exactly what you should do and thereby follow your own values.
HR managers are people too
Suppose you were the head of human resources and all of your colleagues cash in the money without comment, as if it were something taken for granted - how would you feel in this role?
What is going on in the minds of board members or managing directors who, despite the uncertain economic situation, have made the decision in favor of a company-wide special payment and have received no reaction from their employees?
I wouldn't want to work in such a corporate culture.
Not as an employee and not as a manager.
Bosses are also people and are happy to receive feedback or recognition from their team.
For whom a supervisor or the HR manager is more of a bad enemy than a valued colleague, you shouldn't waste time on a not honestly meant, slimy "thank you", but instead collect the special payment as compensation for pain and suffering and continue to work according to regulations.
However, if it is important to express thanks and thus also show a management respect and appreciation for the management of the company during this time, that should do so.
An honest "thank you" leaves no trace of slime
If you thank the HR manager sincerely because it is really important to you, then he or she will perceive it that way.
Think about what is a good way and the best way for you to say thank you.
You can reply to the hiring manager's mail and write a few lines (be careful, not to the whole mailing list!).
You can also approach your boss and express your thanks to management.
Or you decide to pick up the phone, call your HR manager and say thank you in person.
Even if the two of you have never met, isn't it time now to create more closeness in the distance?
I am sure that your HR manager will be happy about your call and will not leave an entry in your personnel file "Schleimer - terminate at the next opportunity!"
Express that you were pleased with the special payment.
Write or talk about your past few months at the company.
Share your thoughts, joys, and perhaps worries with others.
How else are bosses supposed to lead employees well if they don't find out how they are doing?
And if you are actually the only employee in the entire company who cares about this “thank you”, then you should not only express your appreciation all the more, but also think about whether this work environment is still a healthy future for you after the crisis Has.
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