I was sitting at my desk, scrolling through my emails when I saw one from my manager, ‘Bob’. It was a company-wide email that he had sent out earlier that morning.
I clicked on it and read it, expecting it to be a mundane email about some upcoming changes or updates to the company policy.
Instead, I read an email about Bob’s recent success at work. He had just been promoted to a new position and he wanted to share his excitement with the whole company.
I was happy for Bob and proud of his hard work and dedication. However, I noticed that there were no words of congratulations from our boss, who had recently promoted him.
I had a feeling that our boss wasn’t too happy about Bob’s email. Sure enough, a few minutes later, I received another company-wide email from our boss. This time, it was a stern message, reprimanding Bob for sending out the email.
He said that while he was proud of Bob’s success, it was not appropriate to send out a company-wide message about his promotion. He said that Bob should have shared the news with his colleagues in a more private manner.
I was taken aback by the email. Bob had worked hard to get to where he was and he deserved to be congratulated. I felt like our boss was being too harsh.
I decided to speak up and sent an email to everyone in the company, defending Bob and his decision to send out the email. I said that while I understand that it wasn’t the best way to announce his success, I believe that Bob should be congratulated and encouraged for his hard work and dedication.
My email had a positive response from many of my colleagues, who agreed that Bob deserved to be congratulated. However, our boss did not respond to my email.
Later that day, Bob and I had a private conversation about the incident. He thanked me for standing up for him, but said he was disappointed in our boss’ reaction. He said that he was just trying to share his success with the whole team, and that he felt like his hard work had gone unrecognized.
I felt terrible for Bob. He had worked so hard to get to where he was, and our boss had shut him down. I wished that there was something I could do to make him feel better.
I eventually decided to have a chat with our boss and let him know how I felt. I told him that while it was inappropriate to send out a company-wide email, I believe that Bob deserved to be congratulated and that he should have been given a chance to share his success with the team.
To my surprise, our boss apologized and said he was wrong to reprimand Bob. He said that he hadn’t taken the time to think about how Bob was feeling and that he had been too quick to judge. He said that he would make an effort to recognize Bob’s achievements in the future.
It was a relief to hear our boss finally acknowledge Bob’s hard work and dedication. I was glad that I had taken the time to speak up and talk to our boss. It made me feel good to know that I had been able to make a difference in Bob’s life.
Bob and I still talk about the incident to this day. We both agree that it was a good lesson to learn, and that it’s important to recognize each other’s successes and achievements at work.