Company Christmas Gifts / Bonuses?

A wisely anonymous reader writes "Following my company's Christmas party on Friday, I found myself the proud recipient of... a bobble head doll of the company CEO! Needless to say I was PISSED. They didn't even comp. parking at the site of the party, let alone a bonus. yeah, yeah, times are tough. I should be happy just to have a job. but getting a damn doll of the guy who made 65 million last year just makes me angry. So... What did you get from your Company for Christmas?"

Comments

Christmas bonus - why?

[ColdGrits]

So what makes you think you shoudl have the automatic right to DEMAND a Christmas "bonus"?

What exactly have you done that is so special and above what you are paid to do that justifies your expectation of extra pay purely because it is december?

Genuine question.

Re:Christmas bonus - why?

[Anonymous Coward]

Two things:

1.) A lot of salaried people work a whole helluva lot of overtime, especially towards the end of the year. They don't get overtime or anything for this because it's just 'part of their job'. It's not unreasonable to want to get a bit of compensation for that extra work.

2.) There are some companies who are doing better now-a-days (like mine) than they were a year ago. This is often a result of hard workers within the company. Reward us.

I never expect one, but I'm pleasantly surprised if I do get one.

Re:Christmas bonus - why?

[LostCluster]

Distributing a bobblehead of the CEO is self-serving of the CEO rather than anything that is of value to the employees.

Whatever they spent on the design and making of such thing has to be seen as wasted spending. It did not relate the the product of the company, and it likely hurt the company's ability to retain employees.

The Christmas bonus is a concept in which the owners of the company give to the employees money that they don't have to because that giving inspires goodwill between the employees and the company. Employees who like their present employer are less likely to start looking for ways to jump to the competition or into another field.

For the company to say "Sorry, times are tough, we can't afford a bonus/party/gift" is acceptable if it's true. For the CEO to flaunt his ability to spend company money on his own image while saying that times are tough is an action that is so loud it drowns out his words.

Re:Christmas bonus - why?

[Anonymous Coward]

Okay, nice troll.While I can definitely agree with your sentiment, consider this:

What did the CEO do that is so special that it creates his/her expectation of 6-figure salaries with use of company assets and a golden parachute regardless of the time of year?

Are they that much better educated or hard working? Probably not. Are they really that good of a manager? Probably not. It's hard not to be lazy when you have a staff of assistants and your leather chair and hardwood desk are so comfy after that prime rib lunch today...

Maybe if people were simply paid better for the work they DO, they wouldn't be behind on bills and expect a bonus just to make ends meet.I don't buy the whole "times are tough" bullshit when stuff like this goes on. I'm talking about hooking people up with less than a $1000 to show some appreciation for those who stick around and put up with company politics, backstabbing, and egos.

Yeah, I'm sure the childless, single people with no responsibilities will chime in with suggestions about better managing finances...but you folks are obviously more readily able to absorb unforseeable hits on your pocketbook because you aren't paying for daycare. health insurance, etc. So what if you have to buy 20 less lattes this month and can't afford that new masturbatory turbo video card. Oh, my bleeding heart...

Re:Christmas bonus - why?

[Resident_Geek]

Finally someone with the clarity of mind to understand the problem. Thank you. To extend his point. Why should a CEO be paid in the millions for what he does. There is no justification for those high salaries especially when the company is hurting. And it is almost never the average Joe Blow actually on the phone lines/assembly lines/etc that is responsible for the poor performance. But they are the ones that have to shoulder the burden. If the company is doing bad, then the owners and management should take paycuts long before the low employees have to. If you don't agree then look at it this way. How much would your respect for your boss change if your boss took a paycut and you didn't have to. That is real leadership. I say this as the owner and CEO of my own small company. My people are always eager to put my needs first because I always put them first. Put another way, it is the Golden Rule.

Re:Christmas bonus - why?

[The AtomicPunk]

The real problem to married couples with children isn't salaries, it's taxes.

Nowadays, the tax rate is so oppressive one person has to work just to pay the tax burden.

And yet, like the sheep that we are, we will continue voting for republicrats or demopublicans that'll just keep sticking it to us.

Why doesn't the CEO take a pay cut?

[LostCluster]

It's hard for a leader to ask his followers to do anything that he isn't willing to do himself. How can a CEO credibily cut costs at the company when his own pay is $65 million and he's destributing bobbleheads of himself? Couldn't he live on the still-large pay of $45 million and reallocate the $20 million to softening (not eliminating, just softening) the blow to the rest of the company? Or have companies given up on trying to get employees to be loyal anymore?

Re:Why doesn't the CEO take a pay cut?

[wdr1]

Why should s/he?

For one, the salaries you mentioned aren't that common. But even in the cases where they are, the companies feel they are producing value worth that amount over the term of their contracts. The company doesn't have to pay it, but if it is that calibur of CEO, another company will. Just like sports salary's. You don't *have* to pay a given player $20 million, but if you don't there is another team that will. What's wrong with that?

Are you saying you would stay at your job out of loyalty, even if they were paying you $25,000 and another offered you $75,000?

-Bill

The things that irk me the most...

[Burnon]

... are that:

• the company actually spends money on thousands of these promotional pieces of junk, money that could have instead been spent on the bottom line, or at least on something that isn't tossed, ignored, and useless.
• someone in the company gets paid to come up with the idea of the bobble-head doll, and other pieces of promotional junk that your typical employee ignores

I mean hey, a gift that shows that people in the company are thinking of you is nice, but these meaningless items reek of the "you are a number" philosophy. It seems like the bigger a company gets, the more likely that it is to generate this kind of landfill.

Am I the only one?

[sunking2]

who thinks that this is a totally made up troll of a submittal? I mean, a bobble head doll of the ceo? I find that extremely unlikely. Not to mention the ceo makes '65 million' crap that is added to try to make it even moer sensational. And if it's posted anonymously, why not a company name associated with it? Troll troll troll...

a message to the laid off people

[logic7]

hey, all you folks complaining about getting laid off and mentioning that this guy should be glad to have received the fscking gift. get real. the poster was asking *employed* people for their comments.

what you people are doing here is like saying "sure your wife is ugly but at least you have a wife. be grateful".

and yes, i expect an ipod as a company gift. :)

Re:LMFAO

[Reality Master 101]

when I can let my boss go due to "tough" financial times just like I can.

That's called "quitting" and finding another job. If you're unable to find another job, then make yourself more valuable.

when my boss invites me to his Christmas party.

Otherwise known as wanting pathetic gifts of approval. Don't invite him to your Christmas party, then.

when my boss will be reprimanded for missing a day of work.

That's called your boss having enough value to have negotiated the ability to miss days of work. If you can't, then become more valuable or negotiate that as part of your employment agreement.

when I get equal compensation for equal amounts of work and experience.

You are compensates exactly what you are worth. If you disagree, then find someone else who agrees with your self assessment.

when I can be in the same health plan as my boss and the company owner.

Nothing stops you from buying the same health plan as your boss. If you don't like the standard plan, ask if you can kick in money to get yourself to the higher level. If you can't, find another job or, again, make yourself valuable enough to where the company thinks you are worth giving the fancy health plan to.

when bosses and owners think of employment as an agreement among equals.

They think of you exactly the way you let them think of you. Congratulations, you have allowed yourself to be a tool.

agreement among equals when pigs fly or companies are worker owned.

Guess what? ALL COMPANIES ARE WORKER OWNED. The CEO is just as much of a worker as the ditch digger. And even the shareholders are workers. Everyone is a worker.

Whining about Christmas bonuses is pretty sorry

[0x0d0a]

Use it as a voodoo doll and stick pins in the wretched thing!

This kind of statement, "funny" though it may be, is a pretty good reflection of the current (IMHO stupid) feelings of a lot of people on Slashdot, judging from their comments.

A bonus is a special reward -- an employee did something really exceptional and their employer wanted to show their appreciation.

A bonus is *not* something that an employer is required or expected to give to an employee. If you wanted more *salary*, you should have negotiated it.

I'm not sure at what point workers started feeling that they were "entitled" to this gift. A Christmas bonus is a nice idea, but it certainly isn't something guaranteed. And, readers, if you're relying on it to support your finances around Christmas time, harsh as this may sound, you deserve whatever's coming. It's time for some actual financial management.

Re:Whining about Christmas bonuses is pretty sorry

[pyros]

I don't take the posters comments to mean a bonus was expected. Rather that the gift was insulting. I would be insulted by that gift. Consider that the company had to spend money to buy the things to give to employees. Personally, I'd rather have the cash or nothing.

Re:Whining about Christmas bonuses is pretty sorry

[MacAndrew]

Insufficient cyncism! Here, the left wing can give the right a drubbing:

I'm not sure at what point workers started feeling that they were "entitled" to this gift.

The calculating view: Nothing your employer never gives you is a gift. It is compensation for services rendered or incentive cultivation of good will. Either way, the employer deducts it and the employee is taxed on it, with certain minor exceptions for gifts worth less than $25 and the like. According to the IRS, employer-to-employee gifts simply don't happen, and I don't think we should be any less stoic.

As for bonuses being per se gratuitous, that's not so perhaps because the popular understanding of bonus bridges over into year-end compensation. An incentive bonus between employers and employees as an express or implied part of the work relationship can not be withheld on caprice -- it's merely delayed compensation. Entitlement to a future bonus may be valid even post-termination: employers sometimes illegally fire employees to avoid paying benefits.

In short, in some cases the expectation of bonus is morally justified; in more severe cases it may be a legally actionable entitlement. In rare cases the discriminatory or abritrary administration of a bonus system may also be illegal (racist, sexist, and so on).

But I digress because of the compulsion to be thorough. My philosophical advice: Remember, it's not a gift, it's compensation.

Your comment is a reflection of the unfortunate and legally inaccurate attitude that employers are doing you a favor by giving you a job, bonuses, and so on -- while also acting as though employment contracts were negotiated among equals. Which is it?

And, readers, if you're relying on it to support your finances around Christmas time, harsh as this may sound, you deserve whatever's coming.

Sure, and you may also deserve that bonus coming. And I don't mean a fuck-you bobbing doll of your wealthy CEO, fit only for target practice. (OK, perhaps that was the writer's due reward; I'm being charitable.) What the writer apparently feels is a moral betrayal. It's hard to judge reasonableness without knowing enough details, but the decision could go either way. If it looks likely this crap will continue regardless of work performance, I'd recommend updating the resume.

Re:Whining about Christmas bonuses is pretty sorry

[0x0d0a]

Here, the left wing can give the right a drubbing

Ooogh. I always seem to dislike the ideals of both the left and right wings...unions and religious nuts. Ick.

The calculating view: Nothing your employer never gives you is a gift. It is compensation for services rendered or incentive cultivation of good will.

[shrug] Sure, and if you look at some of my other posts in this story (like the HR department being happy to drop you like a hot potato), you'll see that I agree. "Gift" works well for illustrating the degree of expectation that one should have for a bonus, though.

Either way, the employer deducts it and the employee is taxed on it, with certain minor exceptions for gifts worth less than $25 and the like.

This is criticism of some sort of business-centric government, I'm assuming, since you're taking the "left wing" approach? Nah. There's no conspiracy. If a bonus is beneficial to you, you can afford to make a larger, flashier bonus.

According to the IRS, employer-to-employee gifts simply don't happen, and I don't think we should be any less stoic.

As I said, I don't consider it truly a gift, but from the employee's point of view, that's the degree of reliability that should be assigned. And whatever the IRS wants to classify something as has little bearing on what it actually is -- there's too much money involved in bonuses for the IRS not to have fun regulating things.

As for bonuses being per se gratuitous, that's not so perhaps because the popular understanding of bonus bridges over into year-end compensation. An incentive bonus between employers and employees as an express or implied part of the work relationship can not be withheld on caprice -- it's merely delayed compensation. Entitlement to a future bonus may be valid even post-termination: employers sometimes illegally fire employees to avoid paying benefits.

Sure. And while I'm sure it's happened at some point, I've never heard of a Christmas bonus (particularly for any specific amount) being granted either expressly or implied.

In short, in some cases the expectation of bonus is morally justified

Come on, now. A *moral* justification? You're opening a can of worms -- are *your* morals the same as others?

in more severe cases it may be a legally actionable entitlement

You still need to provide your "express or implied part of the work relationship" element.

In rare cases the discriminatory or abritrary administration of a bonus system may also be illegal (racist, sexist, and so on).

True (though that complaint is ridiculously overused in the United States), but that doesn't really have bearing on what we're talking about here -- a doll instead of a fat cash bonus.

But I digress because of the compulsion to be thorough. My philosophical advice: Remember, it's not a gift, it's compensation.

It's an incentive, but not an agreed-upon form of compensation.

Your comment is a reflection of the unfortunate and legally inaccurate attitude that employers are doing you a favor by giving you a job, bonuses, and so on -- while also acting as though employment contracts were negotiated among equals. Which is it?

I do not agree. A favor of giving you a job? They're trying to maximize their own bottom line...and the same goes for bonuses. You can't reasonably have extrapolated to this degree simply from my use of the word "gift".


Sure, and you may also deserve that bonus coming.

Do you "deserve" it? I see the moral can o' worms coming again. "Deserving" something is a wonderful tool to use in an argument, because it's so fantastically ill-defined, and because people tend to have fairly self-centric views on what is "deserved". Wendy and Miki may both feel that they "deserve" the big, orange _____, and there is no resolution to the problem that doesn't leave one feeling that she's been stiffed.

What the writer apparently feels is a moral betrayal. /me grins. That isn't much of a justification. Tell me, how many people here feel that you're "paid enough" for your work? Or perhaps you feel that you're "overpaid" for your work? I think that few people would say this -- most people I've talked to feel that their talents are underappreciated. Yet, when the plumber comes to fix your flooding living room, don't you get a nagging feel that *he* is "overpaid"? Morality is a wonderfully distorted thing that you can use to support almost any argument. The Crusades were supported on moral grounds. Tell me, without using vague moral arguments, why it is reasonable, or a good idea, for this person to *expect* that bonus?

If it looks likely this crap will continue regardless of work performance, I'd recommend updating the resume.

Oh, criminy. You're willing to say this without knowing what his salary and benefits *already* are?

Re:Whining about Christmas bonuses is pretty sorry

[jayhawk88]

Exactly. The company I work for has a habit of giving out "gifts" during Employee Appreciation Week, which of course are typically cheap, plastic, and not really wanted. One year they gave out license plates with "(Company)'s Employees are the Best!" printed on them. Another year we got these little clocks that are supposed to look like those fancy executive-type desk clocks with the stands and "minimal" black design, except these were plastic and tend not to keep very accurate time.

This past year we got roll-up blankets, which from what I hear is the best Employee Appreciation Week gift ever. This must be a techie thing: I know some people probably get off on stuff like this, but I could really care less. You want to "Appreciate" me, give me a half-day off or something.

Re:Whining about Christmas bonuses is pretty sorry

[handorf]

Correct, a bonus is for exceptional behavior.

Quick: What do you think the CEO got as his contractual, required bonus that year?

In this age of outrageous executive salarys (STILL, even in the age of gargantuan bankrupcys and frauds) and large layoffs at the same time, giving employees a bobble head of the CEO is an incredible slap in the face.

Re:Even better...

[dentar]

Quit. Seriously. If they don't appreciate you, find someone who does. Life is way too bloody short to work for someone who does not appreciate you. Believe me, I've done it.

My very first boss appreciated me, only paid me $6.00 per hour, but thanked me every day. I appreciated working for him. I think of him as my teacher. He passed away after about two years.

My second boss and third boss did not appreciate me. My fourth "boss" (a medium-large corporation) appreciated me about as much as a corporation could, so they were ok, thinking back on it.

My fifth boss(es) appreciated me, but the company was bought out by people who did not appreciate me. I left there too.

Believe me, it's not worth working for those who don't appreciate you, period. So find someone who does and quit. People are a corporation's number one asset. A company that treats its people poorly is a company that is not making half the money it could. Happy workers attitudes flow through to the customer who are then happy to do business with the company.

Loyalty to a company

[0x0d0a]

No one needs 65M a year, and taking that much for herself just shows he's not as loyal to the company as she should be to be the CEO.

"Loyalty to a company" in just about any company over fifty people or so is a sweet-sounding nonexistant Grail. It's lovely material to feed a worker to make him more productive, but it's silly. The company has no particular loyalty to you -- to HR, you're just another statistic that might potentially be sucking down money, and if you ever become a liability instead of an asset (after, of course, factoring in the cost of firing you and the effects on your coworkers of doing so, and considering your future potential value), the company will drop you like a hot potato. The company has no loyalty to you -- why should you to it?

Now, that doesn't mean that justifies things like stealing from the company or trying to shaft it (as some people seem to feel) -- things like this frequently come back and hurt you far worse than any possible benefit. However, whenever you get stuck in your head that the company you work at is a kind, loving father or something, instead of a cold, profit-seeking institution, you're running the risk of painful dillusionment.

I see people post here ever so frequently that "I gave 80 hours a week of work to my company and they didn't give me anything back" or "Times are tight, so my company is firing because it's best for all of us, but they really don't want to fire me". Bad mental state to be in. Don't come to rely on your company for more than they signed on for in your contract, and you won't have any nasty surprises.

This wasn't all aimed at you, more of a general feeling towards Slashdotters complaining that they didn't get what they expected...

That wasn't a bonus.

[TheSHAD0W]

Maybe not every company can afford, and not every employee would deserve, extra on their paycheck every holiday season. But that doll was pretty stupid.

I suspect most of that company's employees would've been happier skipping the doll and not having had to pay for parking for the party.

Lots of stuff!

[Dixie_Flatline]

I got a monetary bonus, a BioWare coffee mug, a NWN collector's edition, and personal thanks from Ray and Greg, the owners and CEOs (just like everyone else did.)

Besides that, however, I have the satisfaction of working at an incredible company with brilliant people. I'd do it all without any of the stuff I got this year.

Job satisfaction is the best bonus of all. If you get a bobble-head doll, and feel like you need more of a bonus, you don't have the job satisfaction that you deserve. Move on.