A 56-year-old executive spends RMB 60,000 a year to comfort his subordinates, but is considered a pressure by young employees

A 56-year-old executive spends RMB 60,000 per year to care for his subordinates. He never expected that this uninvited kindness would be regarded as "very stressful" by young employees in private.

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] A 56-year-old Japanese manufacturer's sales department manager, Takashi (pseudonym), has an annual salary of 11 million yen (approximately NT$2.2 million) and manages about 30 employees. As a worker, in order to reward subordinates who have performed well at work, he has been organizing comfort parties out of his own pocket for a long time. He spends about 300,000 yen (approximately NT$60,000) a year. In his eyes, this is an "investment in young employees". and the necessary expenses to improve the team's willingness to work, but they never expected that this kindness would be privately regarded by young employees as "very stressful" and uninvited. The daughter also pointed out that if "eating with yourself" itself is regarded as a reward, "that would be a bit wrong", because young employees must listen carefully to the past when eating with older men, and may even force themselves to appear happy because "the other party is treating them".

Japanese media reported that in order to avoid misunderstandings caused by dining alone with female employees, Takashi would invite at least two people to accompany him every time. The cost of a meal for three people at a time was about 15,000 to 30,000 yen (approximately NT$3,000-6,000), and he would pay close to 300,000 yen out of his own pocket in a year.

The turning point in this incident occurred when Gao Zhi invited two female employees in their 20s to have dinner and learned from the section chief that some employees found it extremely difficult to refuse the minister's invitation. Young employees privately revealed that although they thanked their supervisor for the treat, they were "honestly very tired." Every time they got results, they had to free up their evening schedules. Some even worried that refusing would affect their work evaluation. They bluntly said, "Even if someone treats me, I want to go home early" and "I don't want to spend time worrying about my boss after get off work."

When Gao Zhi was young, his salary was not high. His boss once took him to a good restaurant and he felt recognized for his work. Therefore, after he was promoted to a supervisor, he hoped to do the same. After learning the truth, he was shocked. He believed that he had never forced anyone. The atmosphere during the meal was warm and all the expenses were borne by him. He really could not understand why it would become a burden to his colleagues.

After returning home, Gao Zhi told his wife and 25-year-old daughter who works in an IT company about the incident. The daughter pointedly pointed out that as a minister, even if there is no intention of coercion, it is difficult for his subordinates to refuse directly. My daughter bluntly said that if "eating with yourself" is regarded as a reward in itself, "that would be a bit wrong." Because when young employees have dinner with older men, they must listen carefully to past events, choose topics carefully, and nod in response to the atmosphere. They may even force themselves to appear happy because the other party is treating them. His daughter reminded him that the supervisor paid for the meal, but the subordinate paid for his personal free time and psychological burden. These words made Takashi look back at his speaking habits and found that when he asked in the past, he did not ask "Do you want to eat?", but directly asked "Do you want to eat meat or fish?" or "When are you free?" and took eating as a given prerequisite.

After deep reflection, Gao Zhi quickly adjusted his approach. He reconfirmed the original appointment with the two female employees and clearly informed them that they could cancel if there was pressure, and that refusal would not affect the personnel evaluation. As a result, one person chose to participate, and the other said frankly, "I actually wanted to go home early that day, and I was relieved" and declined.

Since then, Gao Zhi has changed his comfort mode. He no longer rushes to meet for dinner whenever there are achievements. Instead, he gives priority to verbal praise during working hours and appropriately reflects the achievements in personnel assessments. Even if a dinner party is held, employees' wishes will be confirmed first instead of directly arranging the time. At the same time, it is emphasized that participation is completely voluntary, and absentees do not need to provide any reasons, truly returning the right of choice to subordinates.