u/Ancient_Document7255

Just this week, I had to put one of my employees on a PIP. Honestly, his performance was very good, but he was going through a personal crisis and was absent for a day without calling or letting anyone know. And I was forced to do it.
My manager insisted on attending the meeting. I told the employee that I know this was a one-time thing and it won't happen again, and that we just need to get past it. After he left, my manager berated me for not reading the entire document out loud to him, word for word.
There's no way I would do that. The idea of making a grown, conscious adult, who is clearly stressed and has problems, sit in front of me while I list his 'mistakes' as if reading from a script is extremely humiliating. He's not a child; he understands what happened. Just a quick word with him that we just need him to inform us beforehand so we can arrange for someone to cover for him would have been more than enough.
Am I the crazy one in this situation? I feel like all of this is just a procedure for the company to cover itself at the expense of people's dignity.