> So giving them a thumbs-down is bad, but filing a formal complaint is fine? That seems like an extreme escalation. No, on the opposite. If a coworker is just

> So giving them a thumbs-down is bad, but filing a formal complaint is fine? That seems like an extreme escalation. No, on the opposite. If a coworker is just a bit unpleasant but I'm forced to rate them, I'm more likely to rate them negatively for reasons I have no idea about (maybe their dog died or are taking new medicine or whatever). If I'm not asked to rate them, I won't do anything, until it's grave enough I should intervene. In this case, I will contact them directly trying to understand them and solve the problem in an amicable way, without involving any external party. This helps in a vast majority of cases. Only in extremely rare cases, once in a few years, the problem becomes so grave that another person needs to be involved. In any case, giving anyone a thumbs down doesn't solve anything.