Dear Bob ...I read your recent Keep the Joint Running about compensation ("Poor Joe," 10/22/2007) and understand your point about raises being forever.But salary freezes as punishment for being "written up" are forever too, no? Some co-workers of mine have been handed a lump of coal in the form of no raise, since they've received a written reprimand and weren't articulate or bull-headed enough to beat the rap at Dear Bob …I read your recent Keep the Joint Running about compensation (“Poor Joe,” 10/22/2007) and understand your point about raises being forever.But salary freezes as punishment for being “written up” are forever too, no? Some co-workers of mine have been handed a lump of coal in the form of no raise, since they’ve received a written reprimand and weren’t articulate or bull-headed enough to beat the rap at HR. They may not have even been aware of the consequences until evals came around. Granted, these “write-ups” were necessary to punish such evil deeds as taking too long of a break to finish a crossword puzzle, or lingering 15 minutes extra over lunch.And the fact that staff members are directed to spend more and more personal time squinting at Blackberrys and logging in from home is no excuse, either. After all, change is necessary, as long as all changes are orchestrated by upper management. But that lower base salary that these staffers are stuck with will remain that much (3-4%) lower not just this year, but for every year through the end of their careers. If staff who have one good year shouldn’t be rewarded forever for it, why then should they be punished forever for having one bad year? – DistressedDear Distressed … If your point is that inhumane management is bad, I agree with you. If you’re seriously asking whether I agree with a policy that disciplinary action results in a permanent compensation freeze, of course not. Disciplinary action, up to and including verbal warnings, written warnings, and termination is sometimes necessary. Depending on the job, “too long a break to finish a crossword puzzle” might or might not be serious enough to warrant discipline. Among the variables: Whether the individual is on-call to handle emergencies, and how long the crossword puzzle extended the break. I’ve talked with employees who think four productive hours a day constitutes busting their humps. It’s a real issue in some companies. Whether either of us agree with a particular disciplinary action, when an employee successfully corrects the issue and is back on course, the compensation freeze should end. If the employee hasn’t corrected the issue, then yes – I don’t see that giving someone a raise while trying to figure out whether I’ll have to terminate him or her in the near future is a good idea. What’s interesting to me about your question is that after you asked it (should disciplinary compensation freezes be eternal) you then mixed in questions (rhetorical, I presume) about whether the company’s expectations are fair or not and whether discipline is too harsh for particular infractions. These are separate subjects. To give you the obvious answers: Companies should establish guidelines when possible and policies only when necessary.When companies establish guidelines or policies, they should include the reason the guideline or policy is important. When enforcing policies, companies should give the benefit of the doubt.When enforcing policies, the company should err on the side of being less harsh rather than more.The focus of disciplinary action should be to turn around employee performance. Laying the groundwork for termination should not, although the process should include and support that outcome if it becomes necessary. Employees who feel about their employer as you do about yours should find a different place to work as soon as possible. You aren’t doing yourself any good hanging around with this level of hostility, let alone your employer. – BobPowered by ScribeFire. Technology Industry