I've just seen this on Linked In - and I am not sure how I feel about this. Is it cringy? is it discriminatory against single people? Is it patronising? or is it a nice thing to do?
Ever heard of someone being given a bonus for their partner's '𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧'?
I hadn't.
But a few weeks ago I had a conversation with an HR Director who talked to me about exactly that and I’ve not stopped thinking about since!!
At the end of his time with one organisation, he was given a bonus in recognition of his work (fairly standard).
But what stood out was this: his wife was given one too.
A thank you for her 'silent contribution'.
When he asked what that meant, his boss said:
"𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘰."
It really struck a chord 🥹
Behind every thriving employee, there’s often someone else cheering them on quietly - holding the fort at home, picking up the pieces after long days, listening when it’s hard, and sacrificing in ways that rarely get seen (let alone acknowledged).
Work and life don’t exist in separate boxes. They never have.
And while it’s not always feasible to recognise that support financially, even a small moment of appreciation can go a long way.
It was a lovely reminder that sometimes the people who make great work possible are the ones who never step foot in the office.