I’m a computer geek. I’ve worked as a programmer, local area network installer, Unix Admin, and now a DevOps Engineer. Over the past 40 years, it’s understood that folks that work in the computer industry don’t get a lot of recognition for the work we do.
In many places we can get some sort of peer recognition. A tchotchke like a hat, a t-shirt, or other small company branded toy. I’ve received a few over the years. Some are better than others. I have a nice gym bag and a couple of fleece blankets the cats like to sleep on. Occasionally we even get a nice letter from a customer.
But the larger rewards are reserved for customer facing teams such as sales or customer service. This is understandable. These positions are the face of the company. They’re what customers “see”. Other positions in the company are less visible so less likely, without effort on the manager or employee’s part, to be rewarded for the work they do.
Being paid, being employed is reward enough.
I’ve found that the extra effort for computer professionals to get these company wide awards goes to the folks who spend nights and weekends working on a very visible to management project. And even then there’s a good chance the employee won’t be recognized.
It is expected though and appreciated when it does happen.
At the previous job, rewards were tuned to the recipient. Upper management would touch base with coworkers and even family to see what sorts of things might be a good reward. Some I recall were visits to the Vatican, Olympic level personal trainers for marathons, a new bull, a new pig, partial payment on an RV, and even flight school lessons.
These and others were awesome and inspired. But it made me, as a computer professional, a bit disconnected from the overall company. When the rewards are some cash thing, it can be ignored as it’s the same thing every time. But when it’s personal, it’s a lot more visible and you feel the lack.
Even worse, other things that you might ignore are more in your face. For example during an all hands, all the business units of the company were recognized but Operations isn’t a business unit and was totally ignored. Most of the time again it’s expected and generally not an issue. But in an environment where things are more personal, being ignored is kind of jarring.
So, what’s the point of this? I like the idea of personal presentations of awards. But ignoring the backbone of the company does generate some resentment especially when the only possible recognition is a result of many lost hours to weekends and after hours.