Many thanks to Linda62953 for first editing and improving this story.
Immense gratitude to BeautifulStorm, the hardest working editor on this site, who not only applies incredible editing expertise but also tremendous effort in following through to make sure the story turns out much better than I ever thought it could be.
"I'm really sorry, Janet. I have no excuse. My mind must have wandered for a moment."
"Don't worry about it, Edgar. Luckily, someone caught it before it cost the company any money. I'm not putting anything into your personal file."
"Thanks. I know you're supposed to report it. If no one had caught it, I would have been glad to reimburse the fifty dollars."
"A lot of employees, including me, don't like the company's strong focus on avoiding mistakes," she said. "We wonder why errors costing as little as one cent must be reported. But we work here because they pay us well and we like most of the company culture.
"Nobody objects to the policy that all of us go by our first names. I've never heard anyone complain that we can wear casual clothes to work and don't clock in and out. As long as we are productive, nobody checks on what we're doing minute to minute.
"The rules seem to be working because we've all been getting substantial profit sharing. Why should we rock the boat? Do you see it that way, too?"
"You've summed it up perfectly," Edgar said. "You've made me curious about my file. Are you allowed to tell me anything?"
"I have it here on the screen, because I wanted to look at it before this meeting. It shows what we both know. You are an excellent employee, and your errors are at an acceptable level."
"Do I have a lot of error reports in there?"
"Yes, but you've been here a long time. When I crunch them, it looks like you're in the top fifteen per cent in error avoidance compared to other employees. That's excellent."
"Do the error reports affect my chances of moving up?"
"Only as part of your performance as a whole, which is also excellent. As you know, because of current market conditions, we are all stuck where we are for a while. However, once the economy improves, we'll begin expanding again, and that will mean promotions.
"When that happens, the bosses examine everything, including error reduction. If you could drop your errors so you're in the top ten per cent, it would certainly help your chances, because everything else in your file sparkles.
"There's another reason I called you in, Edgar. As you know, I just came back from a three-day retreat with other division managers. I attended lectures and workshops conducted by a consulting company with an amazing track record for reducing human error in the workplace.
"I'm going to be implementing some of the things I learned. I have the feeling that they're going to have dramatic results for us. You, in particular, should benefit, because one of the strategies is especially effective for employees who are sensitive to how others perceive them.
"I looked at your psychological profile and tests from when you were hired. They confirmed what I already know. Maintaining your image seems to be almost an obsession with you. I guess I'd have to ask Cynthia to know for sure."
"She'd probably tell you it's the highest," he said. "She's told me often enough. Is that one of the things holding me back?"
"Quite the opposite. It motivates you to excel, and I'm sure Cynthia appreciates how well you're doing."
"Yes, she does," he said. "She says she is happy that I'm always trying to do my best for our family, but she complains that I sometimes take it to extremes. She's told me my need to be a shining role model is exhausting for her and the kids.
"She also said some of our friends resent my attitude. Once she said she wished that sometimes she could look straight at me or even down on me instead of always looking up. She said it would make me more human and less exasperating."
"I'm not interested in changing anything about your personality and drive to excel," said Janet. "I was only saying this need of yours fits perfectly into one of the new disciplinary strategies.
"The consultants explained that verbal discipline and putting a report in the personal file uses fear to motivate improvement. But they said that for many employees, particularly men, there is an even stronger motivator, and that is humiliation.
"Actually, it's a variation of fear. Instead of being afraid of losing his job, the employee is afraid of being embarrassed. A good manager will find out what kind of humiliation the employee fears the most and use that for the benefit of the company -- and, of course, the employee, too, because when the employee does better, that leads to promotions. Sensitive employees, like you, respond the best.
"In any case, all of this is in the future. It has nothing to do with the error we're talking about today. That's already disposed of. So I'm just letting you know that the next time you make a mistake that costs the company money, I will humiliate you after I reprimand you."
"What?" he said in a frightened voice. "Isn't that against the law?"
"You're right," she said. "If I did it against your will, you could sue me for harassment and get a lot of money. I learned all the legalities at the seminar. You'll be signing some forms that give your consent to the new policy.
"What if I don't?"
His eyes were wide, and his voice sounded almost hysterical.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not doing this right. It's my first time, and that's why this conversation is being recorded. I'll be going over it with the consultants to learn how to do it better next time. In addition, you'll get a copy of the recording when we're finished here, and if you want, you can take it to a lawyer.
"You're right, Edgar. You are not going to sign anything under duress. I'm just so enthusiastic about this, and I know how hard you're working to move up. Most people would envy your success, but you aren't satisfied. You want to do even better, and that's why I'm so sure you'll see the benefits of this new policy.
"But I need to explain it better, because I realize now that the consultants were right. They said until an employee understands the benefits, the policy may scare him or her.
"I learned that one of the best ways to explain it is to imagine a worst-case scenario. Let's say you are completely opposed to the new policy.
"If that's the case, I am not allowed to change my attitude toward you in any way. Our work relationship will continue exactly the same. I will treat you as I have always treated you. I would do that anyway, because you are a valuable employee and it's not worth losing you over your fear of this new disciplinary policy.
