As a manager at my company, this year we were given the usual: a small baseline increase with the ability to fudge individual numbers in a zero sum way as well

As a manager at my company, this year we were given the usual: a small baseline increase with the ability to fudge individual numbers in a zero sum way as well as a small slush fund. The one difference this year was we were also given official talking points on how to gently say "no" to anyone who brought up inflation when they rightfully complained.