There is a particular kind of person who genuinely loves Mondays.
Tanya Amato, HR and Payroll Administrator at Electronic Imaging Materials, is that person and she will tell you so without a hint of irony.
“Mondays are my favorite,” she says. “It’s the most structure. Payroll is guaranteed in the morning, and I love payroll.”
In a world where most people are still negotiating with their alarm clock on Monday morning, Tanya is already in flow. It is a small but telling detail about who she is and how she approaches her work.
Before the Desk
Tanya’s mornings start with caring for a full house. Three cats, and two dogs . . . one of whom is diabetic and requires insulin before she even finishes getting ready. Between feeding animals, heating up the car, and attempting morning stretches (she will be the first to admit consistency is a work in progress), she arrives at EIM with the kind of grounded energy that makes her good at what she does.
“I get so excited when I’m on time,” she laughs, “that I start chilling out too much and still wind up running five minutes late.”
It is that self-awareness, delivered with a laugh, that sets the tone for everything else.
What Payroll Actually Looks Like
Ask most people what they know about payroll and you will get a vague answer involving spreadsheets and direct deposit. Ask Tanya, and you get something closer to enthusiasm! She is currently working toward her Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) certification, which is a credential she is genuinely excited about. She isn’t just checking skills off a list. In fact, she’s so into payroll she even said that bonus weeks are her favorite! She likes the math and calculations that coincide with that kind of work. More importantly, perhaps, is that Tanya feels a considerable amount of satisfaction from seeing people get paid for their many hours of hard work. By the way . . . we are also very thankful for her enthusiastic and professional attention to detail on the payroll front!
“I want to be part of making it the best experience possible,” she says. “We all have to be at work. So why not make it as good as it can be?”
That philosophy is not limited to payroll. It aligns with everything she does in Human Resources.
HR is a Guidance Counselor, Not a Principal
Tanya came to EIM with a background that spans from her first job as a manager at Dunkin’ to a bank, and a college. That path gave her a wide lens on what different workplaces can feel like from the inside. This is her first HR role, and she came in expecting the basics: recruiting, payroll, the standard checklist. What she found was something far more expansive and rewarding.
“I wasn’t expecting the event planning,” she says. “The emphasis on connecting with employees, walking around, having real conversations. I’d never seen that in HR before.”
She credits Ashley Cronk, her HR counterpart, for framing it well: people tend to think of HR as the principal’s office. At EIM, the goal is to be the guidance counselor instead. Tanya has taken that to heart.
She is also candid about the emotional weight that comes with the role. HR means holding a lot for other people . . . being the person employees trust with concerns, questions, and the occasional difficult conversation. She has learned to maintain healthy boundaries not because she does not care, but precisely because she does.
“I have to be HR first,” she says. “Not in a cold way, but I need to be level-headed enough to actually help.”
The A+ Feeling
Tanya describes herself as someone who has always found confidence in school. She went on to get her master’s degree, and she would love to pursue a PhD someday. She is a former theater kid who once found safety in playing characters rather than being herself. EIM, she says, has changed that.
“For the first time in my working history, I have that same feeling as doing well in school,” she says. “In those moments where employees are happy, and I know I played an active hand in that, it feels like getting your test back and seeing an A+.”
When Employee Appreciation Day landed recently- the banner, the cake, the locally made subs, the employees who tried to clock out and were firmly told not to, Tanya really felt it. That immediate, in-the-moment feedback that the work mattered sank in on a core level. Tanya has the kind of presence that brightens her co-worker’s days. She consistently goes above and beyond the scope of her job title. She shows up as a truly authentic individual who cares deeply for the people she works with. She cares about her role in the company—but she also cares about the role she plays in the work-lives of other people.
That is what keeps her going. Not recognition for herself, but the quiet satisfaction of knowing the numbers are balanced, the events landed, and the people around her feel genuinely valued.
In payroll terms, you might say she always delivers on time!
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