The Labor Day weekend is here. Our managers have given us two extra days -- adding Friday and Tuesday as days off -- to thank us for the work we did to make several product deliveries possible this week. This sort of generosity is rare -- I cannot recall another time when a manager at that level has given so many people so much time off. Consequently, I will take it gladly.

For me, the best thing a manager can give me as a recognition reward is time off. Oh, I appreciate money. And awards can be nice, for the extra acknowledgment you receive from colleagues. But in the end, I'm trading my time for money. And if the job gives me some of that time back, it's precious to me. Whether I spend it with family and friends, or just doing my own thing (reading a story, getting the oil changed, sleeping in (!), playing a little Magic), it's a little sweeter knowing that I would have been working.