The Office - The Promotion, or Two Managers

I got these two managers…

As someone who’s recently navigated the minefield of raises for a large staff, I am feeling Michael and Jim’s pain this week. But Jim and Michael, sweethearts, the key to HR is always secrecy, especially with money.

But, unfortunately, nobody offered this lesson in Management 101, so Jim and Michael bumbled through a reduced COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment, to all you non-office drones) for the staff. Should it be an across the board infinitesimal raise? Only for sales staff? Merit-based? All of these are good options, but in true The Office fashion, it was horribly, horribly mangled. After a standard 1.5% raise was shot down for no real reason, Jim presented the idea of a raise for only sales staff. Predictably, everyone was pretty upset, especially the non-sales folks.

In a fun twist, Dwight, who stood to profit from the biased raise, created the most uproar. Dwight’s ire stemmed from the fact that he believes he deserved Jim's promotion. He led a little revolt against his new manager with a William Wallace-style call to arms. The result? Mild mumbling and Dwight sadly slinking back to his desk.

The episode ended with Michael and Jim barricaded in Jim’s new office (which, by the way, I’m fairly certain the set dressers created out of nothing and want us to believe was there all along) with Jim’s brand new “World’s Best Boss” mug. Say it with me now – awwwwwww. Michael had a beautiful speech about how sharing the burden of tough office decisions made him overcome his anger at having to share the job. Well, when he said it, it was more emotional. Trust me.

The subplot this week was Pam asking for cold hard cash rather than wedding gifts. She had limited success, but experienced the joy of seeing “Mrs. Pam Halpert” written out for the first time. Again, folks – awwwwwww.

It was an oddly heart-warming episode, considering the subject matter and the ending. Pam was mad at Jim for not choosing her to receive a merit-based raise, no decision was reached for the COLAs, and Dwight is still out for Jim’s job, as well as his blood.

The ensuing saga of Michael and Jim working together will continue to be both hilarious and slightly gruesome to watch (if you’ve ever worked under an inept manager), but the general theme is that they’ll both help each other grow as leaders. And I’m really looking forward to that destination wedding in the romantic hot spot of Niagara Falls.