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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?"
Enough to be stuck in the office on a Sunday evening.
I don't know what I'll get (if anything), but what I *want* is an iPod. Go to the Apple Store and click on iPod....it seems Apple offers discounts on iPods for companies that give them as gifts! C'mon boss!!!!
Use it as a voodoo doll and stick pins in the wretched thing!
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.
People should not be afraid of their governments - Governments should be afraid of their people.
We wont get laid off
Paint on some cuts, bruises and put a bunch of blood around the neck like he was decapitated. Then give it back to him.
Maybe he'll get the message then.
My company is a small company (20+ employees) but we all got $500 christmas bonuses and our individual performance bonus for the year (mine was $500). Made for a nice addition. It helped me buy my books for the spring semester. (Engineering books can be very expensive)
Daniel
Aerospace Engineering major
University of Central Florida - Orlando
Planetes
"One World, One Web, One Program" - Microsoft Promo Ad
"Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer" - Adolf Hitl
Gimme a freakin' break!!! I can't imagine what goes through someones head to think that someone else might possibly want a bobble head doll in their likeness!
You know you're a geek if you've ever replied to a tagline.
. So... What did you get from your Company for Christmas?
the shaft.
... and a new "tobacco water pipe". Of course, I am the boss. I just hope that I don't decide to start randomly drug testing myself.
You know, it would've been better if they had given you nothing at all.
.... I wouldn't go to that if they paid me for it.
... not shabby :)
Really. Suctitiude.
What did we get for Christmas? Nothing. The company decided to host the annual "Holiday Party" (It's not a Christmas party, let's not be offensive!) in the company cafeteria.
Feels like I'm back in high school
Instead, one of my vendors (a Sun reseller) is taking us out on a cruise around Manhattan island. Now *THAT'S* nice!
And bonuses? We don't get holiday bonuses; instead we get "merit-based" bonuses at the end of the 1st quarter, based on our performance last year. My target is 10% of my salary, but my bonus typically ranges in the 5-6% range -- nobody ever gets their full target percentage. That wouldn't be fair to the bell curve!
So I can't really complain. Sure, they went cheap on the holiday party, but my Sun sales rep & friends are the folks I want to have a few drinks with anyway! At least I'm still employed, and hopefully our 1Q bonuses will be good this year -- we had the best 3rd quarter on record, ever. Added 1.1 million customers
--NBVB
Well, last year I got laid for christmas.
Last week she left me...
A Philishave would be nice, though.
-
Where I work, I write software for all kinds of stuff, but get about 60p more per hour than when I was at the museum telling customers where the loos were. I have to work late each day next week to save up hours so we can have the afternoon off to go to a pub lunch. That is what we get for christmas. Nothing. Nada. No time off for the christmas lunch (which we are paying for). My dept isn't doing badly, but the others are finding it tough, hence the austerity measures.
3 of my clients pitched in and got me a new computer! It must have been that overused excuse that 'my computer crashed' and 'that's why the work isn't done yet'. Guess I have been reading too much slashdot ;)
a pink slip, and the second thing i got in the mail was my tuition payment request. Dammit, I could've been a drug dealer for better pay, and hours, and perks...lol...
------- "From bored to fanboy in 3.8 asian girls" ----------
I found myself the proud recipient of... a bobble head doll of the company CEO!
You work for Oracle?
All I want for Christmas is a FREAKIN JOB!! Been out of work since September..
Fully Vested Stock Options at $7 a share.
Now the stock is at 5.479
Guess what they are offering this year for contractors who work over 100 hours this holiday season.....
I Encrypt My IM's
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those fux0rs.
four-oh-four
Check out some of the terrible gifts people have gotten over the years. It's enough to make a grown man cry.
I read the internet for the articles.
a bobble head doll
Did it come with any accessories?
Keep your packets off my GNU/Girlfriend!
I guess one downside of working for a non-profit organization is that we don't get any kind of Christmas bonus, but someone has to work to cure cancer, right? At least one company we buy supplies from gave us all $50 each at Amazon, my new rice maker should arrive this week.
2 Years ago everyone (elves and management) had a nice banquet. Last year the elves got a $10 allowance to spend on the meal of choice at a local eatery (Red Lobster) while management were given a nicer banquet (ritz carlton) with an open bar. This year the elves got cards (we did get those the last 2 years as well) while management had a summer cruise for their "early xmas party" and a fully paid for meal/open bar at the local macarooni grill. Things get better for management, not so good for the elves.
There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.
You got a BOBBLE-HEAD DOLL OF THE CEO?! Dude, I would so quit that place.
Out of curiosity, where do you work? What are the benefits like? Would they pay to relocate?
Our company is *very* employee centric. They practically go out of their way to make sure the employees are happy, and try to build as much of a family feeling as anything. Last year, i had a few personal problems and a couple of the directors spoke to me and offered help from them personally and the company.
As to what i got, since ive been with the company for over 1 christmas, i get £100 cash bonus. NExt year i get a 13 monthes wage. Oh and also we had a free christmas party with a few free drinks etc. The company also does a yearly profit share.
Its a great company to work for.
you didn't get a one year subscription to the jelly-of-the-month club.
Which, IMHO, led to one of the best tirades in a motion picture.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
Nothing entitles you to a christmas bonus, but nothing would have been better than a stupid toy. A bonus is a sign of respect for you as an employee and that shows a complete lack of respect.
:)
Considering how the economy is right now, I expect you will see a bunch of "you're lucky you have a job" flames.
Incidently, I got turkey money - a gift certificate for a major supermarket chain. We usually get a bonus if the company sells a certain amount of product, but due to extenuating circumstances (drawn out price negotiations with a major customer which means we'll sell a lot of product next year but didn't hit our forecast at all this year) we won't be getting anything.
And we're fighting off a hostile takeover right now, so I may just get a pink slip for christmas (or have to move to another city, if I'm lucky).
Merry fucking Christmas everyone
Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.
It's fine for the company not to give you a Christmas gift. But a bobble head doll is just in seriously bad taste.
But the year before last I worked over xmas break and all I got was Jack Shit.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Sweet Fuck-All.
A fellow engineering student and I were laughing about this, and think we may have a way to derive some enjoyment from the bobble-head gift.
.22 caliber rifle is conservatively similar to a 25 mm anti-aircraft round. Any idea where I'm going with this?
Say that the bobble head doll is six inches tall, and your CEO is six feet tall. This is just an approximation, as I don't have the fortune of either owning any bobble head dolls, or knowing your CEO. This gives us a 1:12 scale.
At this scale, a
Sure, the idea of shooting the thing has occurred to many others already, but it would be more interesting to make an engineering report out of it. Figure out what scaled distance you're shooting from, discuss material differences, apply these to difficulties which may be encountered in a more "real-life" setting, and you've got the makings of a great arrest and restraining order story. Videos could be used to further explicate the point, and different ammunition sizes experimented with to really explore the problem fully.
As a fictitious company I was part of this semester said, "We don't look for problems, we look for solutions".
Erik
My brother's boss is toying with the idea of having his staff working on Xmas day. He doesn't celebrate the holiday but they don't get off the holidays he celebrates either.
As long as there is a Second Amendment, there will always be a First Amendment.
What did you give to your bosses and the company owner for allowing you to exchange your labor for money? Oh, nothing? The giving should only flow one way because the company should be thankful that you allow your labor to be purchased for money?
Let me give you a free clue: you will be MUCH more successful when you look at employment as an agreement among equals instead of a master to a purchased slave who pathetically looks for gifts of approval.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Wow! I work for the world's largest defence contractor and ALL I GOT WAS A CARD IN THE MAIL!
You should feel lucky...
Blarf.
It could have been a life size doll!
^]:wq!^M
Then sell it as "rare" company memorabilia?
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
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?
Be glad you are employeed, your boss doesnt OWE you a bonus..
Many people are with out jobs.. so grow up and stop whining.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
-Mike
This sig no verb.
- 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.Laid off. :/
Anybody need a perl guy? Will work for cheap! Real cheap.
Why? Does the idea of taking on responsibility for one's own place in life and the conditions around one offend you? Is it a little more than you can deal with or accept?
We can whine like a baby, or accept responsibility and do something about our life, where we work, and what we do.
Perhaps the thought of taking responsibility offends you?
I got the usual.
Nothing
Zip
Nada
Not even a thank you.
911 dispatch wants to know where to physically find me on xmas and new years tho in case communications go out as I am on call for that, without pay.
Of course I would much rather have nothing compared to your gag gift doll. That's just sick.
. Quit playing Monopoly with Bill. Switch to one of many non-Microsoft products today.
All we got (tinw) was a lousy mug, color something between white and grey printed with the anniversary of the company I work for. It wasn't even filled with candies or so, just a clean mug. I hate mugs.
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...
(Damn the subject line limit!)
I'll get mine in cash, mind.
MT.
-MT.
Kit yourself out like this and buy some sewing needles.
http://jesus.everdense.com/
I got laid-off from AOL/Time warner. In the folder with the severance package paperwork, they had the audacity to put an AOL cd. I shit you not. I was really fucking offended by that.
Funny thing is, is this was just the kick in the ass I needed to get the hell out of the tech field anyhow. Sometimes you just hit your artistic and creative limits, and need to move on.
a nice party (as usual) w/ valet parking.
Oh...and some companies ARE giving bonuses. Our fiscal year ends in March, so Apr 1 will deliver a 6% bonus. The irony of it being April Fool's day is not lost on the bosses.
I am thankful that I have a job. And for those that do not, visit odd todd.
We had a potluck lunch and a coat drive, which is the exact opposite of what we had during the .com boom, which was a mega bash (rented a hotel, the whole hotel and boozed it up till the weeee hours) and a nice heafty bonus. So I guess all I recieved this year was my job.
in a few years, after the CEO gets indicted for securities fraud, insider trading, what-have-you, it might be worth a few bucks on eBay. :-)
Look at it this way Mike, you got a Bobble Head doll and he got ONLY 65 Million...
:-)
Just be thankful the guy doesn't end up biling you out of your retirement as well...
-Hack
PS: Take a pay cut and send it too the guy and plead with him NOT too...after all, he probably is working on his third home and that employee 401K/Retirement plan probably looks pretty juicy!
Got Geometrodynamics? Awe, too hard to figure out? Too bad.
Instead of the bobble, I'd rather the CEO just walk around and hand out a $10 bill each. Sounds like a marketing type came up with that idea.
I got free pizza when we worked all weekend. Oh, and we all got our pre-Christmas vacations cancelled.
Well, we got two short glasses with our company logo on them. They should go nicely will the two tall glasses with our company logo I got Last year
Next year I hope I get two glass plates with our company logo on them to complete the set.
In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!
WE RECEIVE 100% RAISE IN WAGES...FOLLOWED BY A 50% DEVALUATION OF THE RUBLE BY THE CENTRAL BANK
My point: You can bonus me $1.98 for the year if you feel like it, but nail it to some objective performance measurement.
Memo to management: You want better results? Give people something to aim for and then clearly explain what the reward is for exceeding goals.
(Now, having said all that, I have to add: The bobblehead thing would have had me sending out resumes in a heartbeat. It's one thing for management to lack clues; it's another thing entirely for them to be mean-spirited.
"It was a summer's tale: Just a boy, his Linux, and a head full of dreams..."
Every year we receive a different style of Bic "clicky" pen with the company logo on it. I've started a display on my wall with each pen and the year it was received. Pretty pathetic now that I stop and think about it.
Where I work, non-executives got a 10% "holiday/end-of-year" bonus, because we made the numbers we were expected to make.
Not too bad.
Executives did not get the 10% holiday bonus.... but then again, they get a lot of hidden bonuses and perks.
Hosted an xmas party at his house for the staff. Thought it was a pretty nice gesture. Only two problems: It's hell-and-far-gone from where I live (3 hours round-trip), and I was sick as a dog.
I didn't go. But the thought was nice.
N.
"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
Its HIS company, he can paint the walls pink and wear fuzzy slippers if he wants ..
It may be counterproductive *and* ruin moral, but hes entitled to do whatever he pleases, as long as its legal..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Like last year, I'll be getting nothing but extra work assignments for Christmas. All of the "lifers" and pointy-haired bosses usually use the rest of their five weeks or so of vacation at the end of the year, which means that I end up covering their projects while they're gone. Oh well, at least it's quiet in the office around the holidays.
I'd imagine that most people in the IT industry got simularly screwed, so it probably isn't work complaining about it. At least you can sell your Larry Ellison bobble head doll on eBay, or just use it for target practice.
I kid you not: a steel bolt and a used rat trap. From my boss. Thankfully he threw the rat away before wrapping the trap up. Asshole.
The middle mind speaks!
Likewise. Since our bonus isn't calculated until the end-of-year financials are in, I'll be lucky to get mine sometime in March.
Notice I said lucky, I am still grateful that I actually get a performance bonus.
Fully licensed blockchain psychiatrist
A "bobblehead of the CEO" is just hilarious. He must have a big head too. =) I can't imagine anybody having a that high of an opinion of themsevles to think everybody else would like a doll. Heck, it took over 2000 years to get a Jesus Christ action figure (we have them here in Toronto anyways). Usually any type of momument made to somebody is reserved for other people to do after the person dies. Is your boss maybe dying of something?
MONG BRAINED TWAT! DIE! DIE! DIE!
Of course I probably just fed a troll...
Did you get any of his hair or spit with the doll? Perhaps they were being considerate of your feelings after all.
The term "pissed" in the UK refers to the state of being smashed out of your skull on whichever booze is available. However in today's politically correct times, that's not an option.
That's the best present a company can give it's employees at christmas. Think of it as team building.
Lets PARTY!
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
Wish I'd have gotten one.
Now that the IT market is in the crapper, our company probably feels obliged to the stockholders to cut expenses a bit. Unfortunately bonuses were done away with years ago (when the market was great, go figure), so they cannot cut those. So... we don't get any raises, for the second year in a row. That kinda hurts; the inflation over last two years was 4,5% anually. Oh yes, we should be happy to have a job, right? Well, soon a number of us won't have one; there's another round of layoffs coming on top of the last one.
Funnily enough, in this terrible market our company is still making a profit in IT! We're outperforming most or all of our competitors, and the thank-you we got from the company was just that: a letter from the CEO thanking us.
My real worry is how long our profitability will last though. This may piss of everyone to the point that they'll start leaving. While management may think that they'll get rid of some headcount for free, it'll be the good people leaving, the ones that are 1) competent, and 2) chargable, ie. they bring in more than they cost. The good ones go first because they'll have little trouble finding jobs in other companies.
The point to my little rant? Nothing... except keeping your employees happy is important and has an associated cost, same as renting the building, greasing palms of the clients, and what have you. To all you people who say "be glad you have a job, whiner", I say this: pissing the employees off hurts the company as well. If you hope for a big effort from them to turn things around when times are bad, you would do well to motivate them rather than fob them off.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
The best place for that book? Next to the shitters at work. The company wins too, since they are saving on toilet paper.
The middle mind speaks!
3 years ago, we got big bonuses. The year after that, we got $50 gift certificates. Last year, we got nothing. This year, we got laid off. Now quit complaining!
Especially considering that companies must lower costs. If it was a bigger company then it might be different....oh and I only get christmass day off. I guess thats the down part.
http://saveie6.com/
Then, the CEO can suck your dick for a change!
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
I got a money clip last year.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
I would say you are overlooking the one single fact that has been brought up time and again in this forum so far (so mod me down for Redundancy):
You get your 'bonus' everytime you get paid.
You get your 'bonus' everytime you can take a day off from work because you are sick...knowing you can just chalk it up to 'sick leave' and still get paid for that day
Your bonus is not having to worry about anything breaking because you don't know where the money would come from to fix it, or when it would even BE fixed.
Your 'bonus' is knowing that on Monday, you get to go to work.
I will trade you in a minute for your bonus...if it comes with a real job.
You keep going until you die..."Me".
That's right. Mirrors.
These mirrors were placed on the desks in the call center next to every computer, and on them were printed the words, "They hear what you see!"
I'm very tall, compared to most ordinary people. In my standard working position, I couldn't see exactly what the wizards who dreamed up this nonsense thought I should see.
"They can hear my nipples?" I asked my supervisor.
Remove the caps and hold to a mirror.
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.
My IT department decided to turn all of our christmas bonuses into a tax deductable donation to charity. They of course give us the ability to provide input as to which charity they will choose, but we cannot ask to get cash ourselves (why would anyone do that!).
I personally think it's disgusting.
I live in a giant bucket.
I got a week full of tests, papers, projects and general work. Not only do I not get a party or a bonus I don't even get paid. I have to pay the school for the privilege of being able to get more work.
I understand the resentment at having to pay for parking to attend some worthless company party and recieve tacky, self-serving gifts. I'd feel the same way. Students don't even get that chance though. We're busting our asses right now to study for finals and finish up projects. Feel free to complain, but don't forget that some of us (unemployed and/or college students) are even worse off than you are.
Then again, most of us probably couldn't even afford the parking.
You should tell your story and submit a picture of the doll and a real picture of the CEO to a Fark.com or somethingawful.com photoshop contest.
Make sure he sees the thread after the photoshoppers get ahold of this.
For more fun redirect your INTERNAL DNS so the intranet and external site redirects to the thread.
I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people. - Jack Handey
One year, right after the merger between UBS and SBC, we had to go to the post office to collect an item from the bank. It turned out to be our employee Christmas card... by registered mail... strange... then I opened it up: 30g of gold was in there! Two little bars from the previous two banks, and a 20g bar from the merged bank.
The London employees were pissed off... they got really tacky watches, blue ones for the men, red ones for the ladies...
Oddly right in the middle of the whole Nazi gold thing too... oh well... the Swiss are good folks but political correctness isn't always high on their list... and shown in both cases...
You obviously don't know the difference between whining about free stuff and demanding respect. The bobblyhead doll is an insult to someone who's been working their tail off all year. Nothing would have been better.
I hope I never have to share the same room with such a self-righteous aloof twit as you.
Fully licensed blockchain psychiatrist
now they are dragging their feet on my pension.
photosMy Photostream
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>Every action we make, everything we say, makes a statement about who we are.
Oh, how true.
So let's break some things down:
The CEO? A vain, spinesless, mismanaging jerk. The action? Giving an idol of himself to others.
The AC? A bit of a coward, angry, possibly wanting to go postal. The action? Telling the entire world how hard his CEO bites.
You? A jerk in the highest order. The action? Pretending you are better than others.
Feel free to say what you will about me. But I don't feel better than you, except perhaps in attitude.
>Sure, the bobble-head was in poor taste, but complaining about the freebies you got, or complaining because you didn't get enough freebies is just plain childish.
And if it were a flaming bag of shit left on the employee's doorstop, would he be obliged to send a thank you note to the CEO?
Com'mon. It wasn't in poor taste the way hading a $0.10 candle out to someone as a christmas gift is in poor taste. It's nasty in the way giving a condom to a eunic for Christmas is a statement of your opinion of the person.
If you could be told what you can see or read, then it follows that you could be told what to say or think - BoC
Since our company is >50% owned by Kodak Asia Pacific, we always get a single roll of film, every year.
Except 1999, when we got a disposable camera - to take pictures of any New year's eve cellebratations we might be part of(yay Kodak)
We also usally get a profit share bonus either just before or just after Christmas, which is dependant on the board approving it, and on company and branch perfomance (50% based on company perfomance, 25 % based on branch profit target, 25 % based on branch customer satisfaction).
We all know in advance if it's going to happen, so there's not any nasty suprise when it doesn't (but still disapointment of course).
Advanced users are users too!
Is better than what this guy is gonna get.
This past week was layoff time. 4 people I know got hit. My bonus this year: keeping my job. OUr bosses are taking us out to a bar next week, which is more than my previous boss did at my other position (we got a card, and if we wanted to attend the xmas party, we had to buy tickets). Needless to say with the layoffs, the mood will probably be gloomy.
It's better to burn out than to fade away
In a Capitolist society, the bosses give gifts to the workers. In the US Federal (socialistic) society, the workers give gifts to their "overseers".
I am a little puzzled as to what enviroment the author is *really* in...
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
getting my contract renewed/extended. That's all I want from my boss/employer especially during this downturn. :)
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
i actually started to care, then i saw the rush limbaugh sig.
The only Christmas bonus I can recall getting is a gift certificate to Sears.
My first year I got a nice christmas bonus. Mu send year I got a mini stocking containing various gift basket sorts of things (this was kind of weird). Each of these two years, we had a big holiday lunch. The next year (2000) I recieved a monogrammed foux-leather business card holder and a gift certificate ($10) to BestBuy. In subsequent years folks got nothing at all (or nothing that I remember - there may have been a few holiday lunches paid for by various departments).
I now work at an academic institution where I've been attending various holiday parties every day last week and there are a few next week as well. I'm not sure if there are holiday bonuses or other things to come.
--CTH
--Got Lists? | Top 95 Star Wars Line
I work at an educational R&D lab of about 1200 technical people. We mainly do DoD contract projects. The most we get for xmas is a lab wide get together in the lab. It usually includes little sweet snack foods and not much else. They had chicken fingers the year before, but no more. My group has a pot luck xmas party. While that's ok, we also don't get anything else through out the year, except maybe a little ice cream.
After interning at Microsoft it was quite a change to go from the day to day bennies they offered to absolutely nothing. Like the story poster I don't really have to worry about my job, since DoD work is fairly slow and steady as far as the work force, but it would be nice is companies like mine realized that a small amount of effort really does go a long way.
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
What I got this year... a pick slip. Still, this is better than last year. I didn't get anything last year except a missed paycheque. Heh.
Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.
...you do it on company time.
The only time I got Christmas bonuses was in for meaning less jobs before I got into the industry. After getting into the industry yearly bonuses is was what companies would give out based on corporate performance. On Christmas if we got anything it was from our department management, nothing big, but appreciated.
I didn't mind getting the bird (couldn't resist) as I love turkey and it was only part of our package but it was slightly surreal queuing up in the underground car park of a London office building having, (ahem) lunched well at the local hostelry, to collect a 14lb bird to take home on the tube in the Christmas rush hour.
I hereby inform you that I have NOT been required to provide any decryption keys.
If so, that's the reason the CEO does so well! He blows all the people over him....
If, like me, the Fortune 500 company you work for doesn't give you a Christmas present or bonus or even a card this year. Help yourself to some company property, I already have a large box of toilet paper, large jar of coffee, box of sticky tape, 3 old pagers, an office chair, an elderly secretary, that blue stuff they put in urinals and a whole stack of coffee mugs 'liberated'.
Merry christmas Mr CEO!
"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."
Then what you need is a voodoo bobble head doll of the company CEO.
It's a pagan holiday celebrating the winter solstice. The start of a new year.
Go check your dates, people.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
I am not knowing what is this "Christmas" of which you are speaking. Maybe I am not knowing because this "Christmas" is being a holiday in America.
I am living in Madras, India, and I am writing code for 250 rupees per hour. (That is convertable to almost $5.19 US dollars!) I am proud to say that I am doing the job of three American coders! I know this because those three transitioned their code to me before they were laid off for lack of work.
It is just too bad that those three have still not found work, but I hear from several of my cousins that there are many jobs driving taxis in America. Or perhaps they can get jobs in the growing sector of buggy-whip production. But no man can stand in the way of progress, or in the way of CEOs who must make profits, and salaries at least 30 times that of their average employee!
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
... all I got was a 6.4% tuition hike, plus an extra $2,000 differential slapped on professional programmes (ie: medicine, engineering, law).
This at a publicly-run institution that posted a profit last year. Makes me feel loved...
In Soviet Russia, sig types you!
I work for a consulting firm and 89 of us got laid off.
The rest of those left are getting a 2-day all hands meeting which usually entails a great meal and open bar somewhere. Oh, and all flown in from all over the country.
Personally, I would rather have seen them skip the all hands meeting and let a few people keep their jobs for the holidays!
I see many people complaining that they didnt get a bonus, or some that did, but it wasnt near what the C-people got, and yet a whole other group of wankers who think nobody deserves a bonus. The cimple soultion seems to be that if your company gives bonuses, that it be fair, if you busted your ass all year long, and your coworker didnt, you should rightly get a bigger bonus. This of course relies on someone making MORE than you to be honest. Fat chance, pal. The simpler solution seems to be the one that Whole Foods (the healthy food store) employs. Everyone in the company, from the CEO, down to the stokers, knows how much everyone else makes, tends to keep everyone honest and working hard. Not overworking, mind you, just working hard for the money they are earning. Certainly puts a creative form of peer pressure into play, doesnt it?
"See, we plan ahead! That way, we never have to do anything now."
We get our annual bonuses in May but here's the deal so far. We're graded on a 1-2-3 scale w/ 1 being th highest. Usually 10% get 1 while about 15-20% get 3 which is a subtle "Get another goddamn job message.
This year we've told that there is basically no money, but instead of simply adjusting the payout per grading we're told that no one will get a 1, 60% will get a 2 and the remainder, 40% will get a 3 which this year carries no bonus at all. The pool for the 2's will be cut in half. Now if you were counting on a 1 you were probably expecting a 15%-20% payout (20-25% for same grade if you are a manager), which this year will be reduced to a 2 grading which itself will be cut in half to about 5% payout. And the rest of everyone else gets a "YOU SUCK" rating that goes in the HR record. Which is just fucking lovely if you want to transfer internally and your last evaluation was "YOU SUCK".
They could avoid this by giving everyone the same rating they were supposed to get and simply tell everyone that there are basically no bonuses this year except for those with the Godlike powers of the glowing green sun of Krypton. Instead they've turned the workforce into a brutal Darwinian game where everyone trods on the skulls of their fallen enemies.
God I love this business, give me a grail of human blood!!!
Make a bobble-head doll of yourself and send it to the CEO free of charge! That'll teach 'em.
I got as much toilet paper and office supplies as I could carry!
Yes, it occured to me as well.
If it's a company large enough to warrant a $65mil CEO then there must be a pile of these out there and surely someone could verify the story. Certainly at a company with that much money behind it, and the number of people that would be involved in such a company, and the friends who might hear of the doll, there would be more than one slashdot reader willing to come forward (non-anon at that).
Where's the link to an image? Where's the slashdotting of some innocent's poor server? Where's the jokes about a beowulf cluster of these? Oh wait, now it's that damned russian joke going on and on and on. Anyways where's the evidence.
or, it could be a troll.
right now I'm betting on the latter
Although I do realise that the main thrust of this story is the question 'what is your company doing for you this christmas?'
As for myself, a job would be nice. Anybody hiring graphic designers?
RTFM; please, I beg you.
Oh, but I should say that supposedly the last few months the two company owners have been going without pay as time are tough. Needless to say, their Wives weren't happy, but it deep help the rest of us feel a little better, especially with a decent amount of our co-workers getting laid off.
Ugh... I have been going downhill since 1999.
1999: Bonus was 120% of my annual salary(yes, times were great)
2000: Bonus was 75% of my annual salary(yes, times were still pretty good)
2001: No bonus; I was laid off, but got 6 months severance (Not bad, considering...)
2002: No bonus; I was laid off and got nothing at all. (This is the Grinch Christmas)
I guess 2004 will have to be better than this.
P.S. Need a Net. Admin.? Look at my resume: Resume for Patrick Anderson
You could be one of the thousands at SBC that were laid off... just after SBC announced record profits.
Or you could be a cube warior at Gateway, 5 days unpaid leave. Or one of the folks at AOHell that's getting a nice pink card for Xmas.
Sure, it sucks you aren't getting a bonus. Think of continued employment as a bonus. Yes. That helps.
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
I got a $2,000 raise. Ho ho ho!
Well a few years ago, when I was with lovely OneMame ... er OneMain we recieved some lovely mouse pads, keychains and a cheap clock. I was in awe.
After they were purchased by Earthlink (good for onemame, bad for earthlink) we recieved this completely kick ass bonus. It wasn't really a christmas bonus, but a year end bonus based on churn and profit goals. If things went well the total bonus could be up to 10%. While I have complaints elsewhere with the company this was just beautiful.
This year with the new company I expect it to be rather minimal, but better then a mousepad.
In any case, I never expected year end contributions from the company and I have every intention of accepting whatever it is they decide to give.
Management, well, they will get big fat whatevers for making sure the drones do all the work.
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
... and put it on your desk. Explain to any who ask that it has become the jumping point for your growing interest in the religion of Santaria. Although this may actually be the beginning of your transition to a new career (termination due to insubordination and the subsequent job hunt), it'll probably be the last bobble head doll you'll get from a boss whose ego is set to autowank. :)
Get off my virtual lawn, you damned virtual kids!
I got a turkey just for being there! 12-30 dollars toward the purchase of a holiday bird! Thats because I work at a company where the ego's arent as huge as the IT industry. Good ole blue chip company. Like my mom always says, the best presents are those that go to the stomach.
| - | - |
This year it was a toolkit, looks to be between $5 and $10. Last year it was some outdoors gear in a similar price range.
The company I work for has people from many countries and backgrounds, most of my co-workers don't take vacations at Christmas, so it dosen't bother me that the gifts are inexpensive.
I would be a bit annoyed if they gave me a bobblehead of anyone in the company. I suggest turning it into an art-piece.
Layoff announcements. Nice job with the books.
Bean counters killed Xmas bonuses. Their domain is the spreadsheet, and an Xmas bonus is a negative entry along with overtime, moving expenses, paid holidays and vacation. Business lives and dies by numbers these days. Face it, all workers are are numbers too - usually negative numbers. We are liabilities instead of assets. I know of one company that fired their IT person because: "They didn't need an IT person, everything's working great!" This is a perfect example of how short-sighted top managers have become. They think that people are interchangeable. I had a friend who started an IT admin's job and asked if he could call on the old admin. (who had left on good terms and also was available as a consultant if necessary). The manager asked: "Why do you need to do that? A computer is a computer!". We have people making decisions these days who are clueless but don't think they are. This is the most dangerous kind of boss: the kind that think they know more then they really do. Finally, the best story ever told me was by a Chief Engineer friend in the radio business: His station's tower took a direct lightening hit, which caught the 'doghouse' building under the tower on fire, destroying it. The General Manager wanted from him within one week: 1: How many thunderstorms there were going to be in the next year and 2: How much damage each one was going to cost the radio station in dollars. How's that for clueless?
... that they wouldn't sack any of us until after the 1st of the year.
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.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Honestly. Don't like it? Go start your own company, take risks, get investors, get paid US$65 million and pay to have a bobblehead doll made of yourself.
Personally, all the schwag I get that I don't like goes right to charity.
I'm becoming increasingly convinced that the only real way to know you've "made it" in modern society is when a bobblehead doll gets made of you.
or maybe the orig poster works at ClubJenna, Inc; the CEO there also has a bobblehead
RTFM; please, I beg you.
Oh...wait...that's my unemployment compensation from Massachusetts. Never mind.
Pink slips, my manager gave me one but I refused to wear it for him. A guy's got to draw the line somewhere.
?-|||-----x<*))))><
I've decided to give myself the next year off, and the year after that, and the following one too. I hate being interrupted when I'm doing absolutely nothing.
There, okay, I'm all better. I was about to call you an ungrateful elistist piece of crap because well you have a job and those of us that don't and have been looking for over a year and can't even get a steady TEMP job, really hate it when people complain about not getting a bonus.
I worked 3 years at a company and never got a bonus, got a less than 2% raise and had ONE Christmas party, where I had to pay for drinks. Buck up. Three days after Christmas 250000 lose unemployment checks.
I work at a game company, and this year I got Steel Battalion for my XBOX (which was actually an early Christmas gift the company gave to each employee)! I am pretty stoked.
Times aren't bad everywhere; there is hope yet.
This is the year to be happy you've got a paycheck and some money in your 401k.
Support SETI@home
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.
May we never see th
I think the point is not that he is not compensated for his work and experience, but that he is not compensated on the same scale as his boss, who is waaaaaay overpaid at the expense of the company and its workers.
The masses are the crack whores of religion.
Are you kidding? Try living on ration packs for 3 months. And on your day off, that is, if you're not on patrol or on guard duty, you get a permission coupon for 2 beers. Not free beers. You still have to pay for them. But at least you get to BUY two, because it is Christmas after all!
So bitch all you want. You still have it better than the grunts in the field.
Veni, vidi, vici.
Most of you reading this forum have jobs, eat 3 meals a day, have a fair amount of disposable cash with which you can purchase laptops, fancy GPS items, and 200 dollar sweaters.
Most of the world doesn't get paid more than a few dollars a day, can't remember the last time they ate 3 meals - let alone balanced meals - in the same day, doesn't have a television or magazine subscriptions, nor the ability to read those magazines if they did have them.
And here I'm seeing whining that you didn't get x% of your salary as a Christmas bonus for doing the work you were hired to do at a salary you agreed to prior to accepting the job.
No wonder half the world hates Americans. I'm ashamed of you myself now.
I say pull a snickers crunch commercial and smash the bobblehead to get rid of your frustrations. In fact, have a party and invite other people from work to smash the bobblehead doll with you. Then drink til you pass out =^)
The Doormat
If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
unionize!
2 1337 4 u!
What on God's green earth do you donate a cow to? An African charity or something?
May we never see th
Ever seen that crunchy snickers commercial....
I do security
I really believe this is true. The focus is too much on management, and not on employees. I have friend whose father works in the oil business. One day I was eating with him and his father and the man was complaining about practices in a company he was doing some work for. Apparently the company was laying people off. However, they were only firing workers. The past year they had spent hiring managers. His point was that the company was becoming so top heavy it was hardly functional. They didn't have enough people to get the work done one time or correctly any more, just a whole lot of managers with nobody to manage.
In contrast I look at Japanese companies and the way they operate. These companies will operate at a loss and refuse to fire workers simply to keep them happy! A professor once told me of a Japanese company that many extra workers and not enough projects to keep them busy. So, they just had the workers build an amusement park, for no other reason than to keep them employed! The company actually moved into a new market, and made a large, gambling investment, just to keep their workers happy! I would kill to work for someone who wanted me to work for them that much!
The only thing I received from my employer for christmas were instructions to work harder to finish a project by the end of this year so various department heads would get a bonus.
but that he is not compensated on the same scale as his boss,
The boss is paid exactly what the boss is worth to the company.
who is waaaaaay overpaid at the expense of the company and its workers.
The boss making more money does not mean he makes less money. He makes exactly what he is worth.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
In essense, he said, "The worst thing you could ever as a company is to start giving out a Christmas bonus. Once you start giving them out, you can't stop without coming off as a total schmuck."
He added that if a yearly/periodical bonus *must* be given, it should be [phychologically] tied to some other, less-prominent holiday like Thanksgiving (in the US) or some summer holiday, etc.
Once people get used to getting a "gift from Santa" it is very easy to miss it and get all pissed because they are somehow being robbed of something they deserve.
I was the new proud owner of an off-white LaserJet4 with a 475000 page count! I was really lucky because the toner had just been replaced and I think the paper tray was at least half full. Since I take mass transit, I did not want to kill myself and/or look like a complete idiot trying to lug that thing onto the subway so I left it in my cube and was waiting for a day I could drive to work and get it. Well I waited too long because last week they "borrowed" it back for a contractor's temp use in a conference room and although he's long gone, I havent seen the printer since, I think that fucker took it with him.
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
You are certainly a victim!
I don't think anyone feels sorry for you, considering how many tech jobs have been cut in the last 2 years. You are lucky to have a job. If you think you deserve a bonus, take your skills out onto the job market and negotiate yourself a signing bonus.
Nobody owes you anything. If you don't have the skills to earn the kind of money you want, there's nobody to blame but yourself.
Amazing magic tricks
The company that employs you is not your friend or family; why do you want it to pretend it is? Wouldn't you rather have reasonable hours, a competetive wage, and a pleasant work environment, instead of silly parties and christmas presents?
I'd prefer just an increase to my annual salary over some random bonus, and if they have to give me a bonus then I'd rather they just give me the money without pretending it's a christmas present.
--Bruce F.
Oh, and:
That's the offical version, here's a blurb about the negatives:Employment will be an agreement among equals when I can let my boss go due to "tough" financial times just like I can
You don't run the economy like your boss does, that's why he's the boss and you're not. He has responsibilities that you do not - like you have responsibilities that he does not have.
He most likely has more economical responsibility, which is why it will seem like he is the one who may let you go "due to tough financial times".
Should it turn out that you are a bad worker (like he would be a bad manager, should he have to let you go due to tough financial times), you will get him in trouble as well. It's not like competent employees are hanging on the trees in this world.
In other words: If you are the least bit worth your salt, he depends on you like you depend on him. If you're an incompetent sorry sod, he will probably kick you stupid ass. You can't kick his' if he's incompetent, but either his manager, or the cruel world of competition will have his ass for it.
Employment will be an agreement among equals when my boss invites me to his Christmas party
Reality check: A company is a hierarchical organization. In order to relieve the CEO of having to produce every single tidbit of machinery/documents/whatever it is the company is producing, workers are hired. In order to relieve the CEO from having to discuss every single little detail about everything with each and every worker, managers are hired. Depending on the size and type of the company, these all form a hierarchy of one-to-many relationships between upper-level folks to lower-level folks.
How many lower-level peopel does your upper-level person deal with? 10, 50, 100? You want him to invite every one of those for his private christmas party, or is it just you because you are special?
You know, I'm pretty sure he does invite some company people to a christmas party. Maybe he just doesn't like you. Or maybe he's afraid that you will not show up after all, because you never invited him to any party. After all, since (in most companies) the workers have fewer direct managers than the managers have direct workers, the workers could in reality ask their managers to a private christmas party, and have a pretty good chance of having the manager turn the offer down because he got too many invitations
Employment will be an agreement among equals when I get equal compensation for equal amounts of work and experience
How can a company afford to pay you? It's pretty simple - you produce value for the company, by means of whatever it is that you do. Either directly, by participating in creating a product for the customers of the company, or by aiding others in your company to produce such products.
If you cannot aid others in producing goods, and cannot produce goods yourself, you are a worthless person.
If you're good, or if the services you produce are somehow rare, there will be a demand for you in other companies. The companies will, by means of the free market, "bid" for your services. In other words, if you are such a valuable person, it will be easy to get a higher pay at another company - in order to keep your services, your current employer will most likely not be ignorant of this fact, and they can indeed be persuaded to increase your pay.
If they will not raise your pay, there are two options: Either go to another company that will give you the pay you demand - or discover that you are not as valuable as you thought you were, and accept the payment that you are getting.
Employment will be an agreement among equals when bosses and owners think of employment as an agreement among equals
Bosses and owners who do not think like this, are relics from a former era. They will go away, like the dinosaurs.
I think that if you actually have a chat, preferrably with some upper-level management guy in an informal setting, that you will find that they are actually quite human, and quite reasonable people.
If you direct manager is really an idiot (these exist), avoid him. But as you go up thru the levels, you should generally find a higher concentration of cluefull people.
I have known people who have the same views that you presented above. There is nothing that can hurt a company more, than an employer who believes strongly that the company is just a big monolithic chunk of "evil" that is solely feeding on the skills of the "poor" and "exploited" hard working "worker".
Just maybe, the company actually appreciates your work. And just maybe, they're a little bit tired of hearing you complain that they're extorting you, shovelling projects at you unfairly, not treating you as a person.
Just maybe, they actually like the productive little worker that hides behind your seemingly ignorant leftish front.
And realizes that giving out bobble-head dolls of himself for employees to vent their frustrations on is a huge step for stress relief!
Or maybe he's just another dumb MBA who lets all the important people beat him at golf.
.
I got a big fat check. And then I made a big donation to the EFF.
Yes you are correct. I made a grammatical mistake, I know it never happens, especially on /. ;)
I hope more educated readers can see what I meant. It's not that hard.
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
A small severance package. Yep, laid off yesterday, this close to Christmas. At the same time, invited to the company Christmas party. Yeah, I feel like going... I know, tough times and all, but seems like really crappy timing. Now if I get a better job before Christmas, well, I will consider this a good thing....
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
...damn doll of the guy who made 65 million...
I assume we are are talking dollars and not dolls. Without the currency, we could even be talking RMB, which isn't that much. A currency symbol would have been nice.
Until the original poster gives us a clue as to the company concerned, I will take the news with a pinch of salt.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
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.
-- I am. Therefore, I think!
Damn, not even the wife? Shit.
Nicely made point.
However, these days it has sweet FA to do any kind of religion, except the worship of money.
For the last couple of decades its all been about consumer confidence, movie and music releases,
over-priced pieces of cardboard and the airwaves bombarding us with advertising.
Perhaps "birth of dead-guy on a stick" day should be moved to a different day, where it won't
interfere with consumption.
http://jesus.everdense.com/
I won't even be paid for being OFF on Christmas, so bad is my employer.
;)
I love the bobblehead idea... Yeah, spend $hundreds to have those things made instead of giving that money to the employees.
Personally, I like ripping off sleeves of company logo golf balls from the sales slugs. My friend and I love to whack the things into the woods never to be seen again
Corporatism != Free Market
Might as well make it useful.
--
Marc A. Lepage
Software Developer
While it's true you shouldn't plan on bonuses, more and more high-tech companies are giving bonuses in lieu of raises. It seems really nice, when times are good, because you get these huge bonuses--you think you're something really special. And after a few years, it takes quite a bit of fiscal discipline for those bonuses to not make their way into your usual budget. Then, the market goes in the tank, and you're suddenly making half of what you used to since the company can't afford the bonuses due to market conditions.
And yes, I'm taking home half of what I did last year, even though my base salary didn't change. I'm not hurting, though -- most of my expenses are recreational and non-recurring. Both my cars are paid for too, which helps a lot.
On the plus side, bonuses provide compensation flexibility for the company such that it's easier for the company to adjust its personnel expenses without actually letting as many people go. I've been through a few Reductions In Force, and it seems that the primary targets are the bottom 10% performance-wise, and top 10% salary-wise (at least among the non-upper-management staff). Thus, if your base wage stays lower, it's easier for the company to not lay you off -- just pay you less. Moral of the story: Sock those bonuses away for a rainy day.
--JoeProgram Intellivision!
..to repost this link.
Its the AFL-CIO's PayWatch resource. Find out the compensation disparity in your company.
What, you think those bobble head things cost $500 a pop? If you were passed up on a $500 bonus in favor of a bobble head CEO I'd see your point. As it stands, I suspect you think you got shafted when in fact a $11 check would have been equally (if not more) insulting to you. Just a guess.
Here's some advice: take the damn doll and shut up. There are talented people out there with children who can't see doctors anymore or even eat well because their talented parents were laid off and unemployment benefits are running out. Facing being homeless, I'd venture a guess that they'd spit in your friggin' eye if they heard you say in person what you're saying now.
You people are jaw jackin' about how rotten your companies are based on things like bonuses. Bosses get more than you do. Deal with it. You don't like it, you think you can do better, start your own company. Now's actually an ideal time to do it.
But quit being a spoiled brat. Look around you, read the news about the economy, and accept that you may not be given free $$ this year. I couldn't care less. I have a job, a roof over my head, and I have enough left over to sock some away for my retirement and still be able to pay for my new car and a few sushi runs a couple times a month. And I feel BLESSED to have this. I don't know what your problem is...
I've worked for multiple fortune 500 companies, for multiple years.
I've never seen a bonus for a holiday.
As a rock-in-roll Physicist once said, No matter where you go, there you are.
Constructive.
He didn't say it well. His tirade was laced repeatedly with statements to "shut up," and "stop whining." I understand the moral sentiment you see, but his motivation was less noble.
I can hear the emotion when both the AC and the asswipe wrote. The AC clearly rings of a "What The Hell? O_O" reaction. Our mutal aquaintance, Sir AssScratch above, is clearly spewing forth a flame. The nobler component of the flame is a wish that people would stop complaining, and apply that energy to better themselves (or at least make money). This is just a prop, however. The author's (Sir Scrotum's) motive is to convince himself and us that he is superior than the AC. The author percieved a flaw in the AC, and latched on to it like a lamprey to draw on every drop of ego he was able.
I'm glad you saw the softer side. I don't think the author had benign intentions. If his mission was the truth, it wouldn't have been laced with derisive orders.
I'm as mimsy as the next borogove but your mome raths are completely outgrabe.
...we get a ham.
Its size is based on how well we are going.
This year I think were getting a can of SPAM
Burma?
The people who own the company (the stockholders) aperantly think that the salary of these people is a resonable price to pay given how much more money they are going to be making because they are there.
If You own a billion dolar company, and you think a new CEO is smart enough to make you into a two billion dolar company, then it would be stupid of you not to pay him enough for him to want the job.
It certanly makes more sense then paying sports people that kind of cash...
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
All joking aside, I'm not getting a bonus this year, and that's fine, money is tight after all. But if I got a bobble-head of the CEO, I'm not sure if I'd think it was funny or if I'd be so offended I'd quit, especially if the CEO was paying himself 65M/year. If he was really doing his job correctly, he'd pay himself a more modest salary and keep the rest in the company. 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.
IMO, YMMV, YHBT, etc.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
*sniff
:)
.crash, we recieved a $25 gift cert to the local steakhouse and a small party at a decent place for the remaining employees catered with apetizers and 1 hour of open bar.
then again the christmas bonuses and parties probably had a lot to do with it
(*enter wavy dream sequence back to 1998*)
my first year there, they gave us each around $1000 (more for higher ups) we were exstatic to say the least. They threw this big catered affair at a posh place downtown for the 50 employees on hand at the time.
The second year, they gave us a bonus that rivaled out bi-weekly paychecks. (much more than the previous year, one guy was only there 2 weeks and he got something like $500.) They had us take everything in the office (er studio), move it to another floor, layed down a dance floor, hired professional swing dancers, a band, had free food (sushi, calamari and all things yummy) and put up three seperate fully stocked bars.
then the third year, big bada boom - the
at the time we were all pretty pissed/depressed, it's funny to look back at it all now. at least I still have my memories.
If anything, my current job will probably toss us a $15 Giant gift cert but I'm definately not counting on that.
If it was my company and I gave the position of CEO to someone else and he did as such, I would fire his/her ass immediately, whether or not he was a close friend or whatnot.
Afterall, employees are usually asked to show a certain amount of dedication to the company, the executives should do the same, otherwise they are poor executives and should be releived.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
Well, I may be off topic because this isn't a complaint...
We got nice Eddie Bauer company-logo jackets (fleece lined weather proof kind-of cloth thing). Bonuses happen along about new years, but last year they were in the thousands of dollars range.
Of course this is because my company (shameless plug pointing at a enemic server that wont take the load 8-) doesn't suck, didn't dot-bomb itself, and is still quite profitable.
Then again, we did do fund-rasing this year, which involved going from a limited partnership to a board-of-directors thing, so there is no telling. Perhaps we will get slammed later in a classic "syphon off the value, sell the shell, admire our management technique, and call it a win." spoken of elsewhere on this forum.
Meanwhile things are quite nice.
Innocent people shouldn't be forced to pay for inferior software development.
--"Code Complete" Microsoft Press
$2,100 bonus. Full-time UNIX admin, with a liberal sprinkling of integration work on MacOS X.x, Win32, and various bizarre platforms.
:)
After federal, state, and local taxes (which are quite extreme on any income that is not your standard "wage"), $1,263 net take-home. Gave my wife $350, myself $350, and saved the rest for family expenses.
Plus around Thanksgiving, they gave us a gift certficate for a ham that normally costs around $45. It's a nice place to work, lots of fun and challenging projects. Believe it or not, I work for a bank. Times are tough all around, particularly on banks (which really get stiffed with the bills during tough economies), but those who value their employees still try to make sure employees stay satisfied with their employment. To paraphrase P.T. Barnum, the knowledge inside the heads of your employees is your greatest asset, and should be rewarded with reasonable annual increases. Should the employee begin to believe s/he is invaluable, and demand extortionary rates for their continued employ, you should show them the door.
The dance comes when trying to figure out the fine line between "reasonable" and "extortionary"
Matthew P. Barnson
I learn what I think when I read what I write
This is a good example of the principle that you really can do worse things than nothing at all in terms of employee morale. What sort of arrogant oaf would actually believe their employees want his (her?) image as a GIFT?!? It might make a nice gag gift after a bad year if printed on the business side of a dartboard, but otherwise it's just tacky beyond reason.
Personally, I think a modern art treatment would be appropriate. Submerge it in a jar of urine and call it "Piss(ed) CEO".
Pardon my ignorance...
But how on earth would you want to do that with a Philishave ?!?
I agree with you about employment, you should think of yourself as an equal simply bartering your labor for cash. On the other hand, giving your employees a bobble-head of yourself is really not treating them as equals in return...
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
I would rather get nothing than a cheap little gift. Recognition amongst my peers is more valuable to me than some stupid bottle of wine, doll, or what have you. Give me some certificate of accomplishment at least that I can use at my next job. ;)
I've seen people who rake in millions get stupid little gifts and I just think... God, I'm glad that's not me because I'd f-ckin' blow a gasket.
I'm getting pretty f'in tired of the sick bastard with the mod points.
I hope someday you'll be worrying about a layoff and how you're going to feed your family. We'll all get a good chuckle then won't we.
. Quit playing Monopoly with Bill. Switch to one of many non-Microsoft products today.
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...
May we never see th
Let's see, one Stealth Bomber = approximately 1.8 million company hams ...
Damn, thats some expensive hams.
1 B2 stealth => $1 Billion US.
$1 Billion US / 1.8 million company hams =>
$555 per ham. WOW
5 days maditory vacation, and both Christmas and New Years Day as a holiday. I'm fortunate in that all the overtime I've put in can be converted to comp time, and I can use that instead. Not everyone is as lucky (to be allowed to get/use comp time).
So, I get some time to get things done around the house, go see LotR II, and generally relax and de-stress.
That is as long as nothing at work breaks (because then I'd have to go into work).
And no, I'm not complaining, I'm looking forward to it- I can use the break. But I sure hope nothing breaks.
Who knows, maybe I'll get a bobble head doll too.
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.
This year, the president of the company is taking us to Bobby McGee's in Brea, CA for a party. Any bonuses are left to be seen, but maybe we'll get insurance this year.
This sig no verb.
...the day after the Christmas party, half the office was laid off.
So, mister whining bobblehead-doll recipient, kindly "eat a bag of dicks".
I know plenty of people who'd have accepted a bobblehead doll and a job instead of what they got last year.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Same as every year... $300 cash bonus.
Errr...so I (as a company) can be raided for buying a couple hundred units of some totally legal product, made and sold by an american company, in america, direct from the manufacturer, with my money? Geez....you live in a wonderful world over there!
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
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.
My company is still very profitable, so my Christmas bonus remains the same: profit sharing into the 401k of about 5% your yearly salary, as well as a bonus check that equals your usual 2-week pay. I love my CEO - just not in that way.
This is whatI like to see. What the submitter told us was "I didn't get a toy, I'm pitchin a fit!!!"
What you told us: I worked my ass off and saved some money, I was compensated justly for it.
Bravo.
The Web is like Usenet, but
the elephants are untrained.
Is your america the same as my America? hehe
I often wonder how much music loaded onto iPod like devices are legal and not. I'm guessing there's a lot of illegal stuff, hence my comment.
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
I work for a generous company. We got $700 and a cool pull over zip sweatshirth thing with the company logo on it.
Way cool.
and all I had to do for all of this was to get drunk and sing "Like a Virgin" karaoke.
What fun!
I'm a hamker. Hams, hackers, same ethos, different medium. == 73 de KB0STG
"So... What did you get from your Company for Christmas?"
sex from my secretary.... and her BOBBLING head....
my blog
Last year:
I got some cash, which was enough to buy the rest of the staff presents, because I know they didn't get shit..
My girlfriend got laid off from Lockheed Martin. They laid off her entire department, as they do every year. Fire everyone, hire new staff, then you don't have to give raises.
This year:
I got the pleasure of being told to move 3000 miles, and foot most of the bill myself, and take a cut in pay (about 30%). My other option was job hunting. I'm still questioning if I made the right choice.
My girlfriend moved with me, and hasn't found a job yet, so she doesn't get anything from a job..
We haven't received anything but a warm rumor that there won't even be a company xmas party..
My xmas bonus will come if the pager doesn't go off for a couple days from someone fucking up..
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
I didn't get shit. I'm the owner of the company. But I didn't give my employees shit either. They are the ones who fucked up. That's why we didn't make any money and are barely keeping our noses above the water. Anyone who complains can go fuck themselves, because I don't give a shit. If they had done their damn work and not given me excuses all year long, maybe they would have gotten something.
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.
hehe, and P2P programs like Kazaa don't promote piracy?
I wasn't trying to imply that iPods were gateway devices to hardcore piracy, I just imagine that the majority of music on portable mp3 playing devices are probably illegal. Even if this is true I don't think they should be forced out of production or anything.
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
No one's entitled to a Christmas bonus. Its an extra, a nice optional that companies may or may not choose to give. Of course, the reason companies do so is to endear their employees to the company. Companies that don't do such may be susceptible to poorer relations with their employees, and may run higher risks of strikes and other problems. Etc.
But a Christmas gift is not something one is entitled to, nor gauranteed. However, I agree with the person who submitted the article: giving employees a doll of the CEO is insulting. What does he think, that they all should admire him that much that they should make a doll-house for a miniature of himself? What an ego-maniacal thing to give employees. Like anyone has any use for this thing.
It would be better not to give anything at all, than to give something that insulting.
Imagine if for Christmas, I gave my girlfriend a miniature doll of myself...I'm sure that'd fly over real well, right?
social sciences can never use experience to verify their statemen
This year we did one of those "Secret Santa" things -- y'know, you draw a name from a hat, and have to buy someone a gift of $20.00 (Canadian) or under.
So I sent out a department-wide email, stating that I would prefer a donation to the World Wildlife Fund or the World Society for the Protection of Animals, which are two causes I support regularly (please give! =).
Several co-workers answered with an affirmative "That's a good idea -- whomever got my name in the Secret Santa draw should make a donation, too!"
Anyhow, sending out this email caused quite a stir in the office, as some (anonymous) people responded saying they wanted gifts, not charitable donations. Others responded with messages stating how the department should pool its resources and adopt a tiger (although this can be had for $40.00CAD through the WWF).
An email thread continued for quite some time, bouncing the 'donation vs. (tangible) present' idea back-and-forth, until my manager responded with an email, paraphrased below:
"This Secret Santa was meant to be a joyful gift exchange, but seeing as how we can't agree on physical gifts or charitable ones, we should just cancel the entire thing."
Now, I realise that my manager was playing peacemaker, but it just goes to show you the general atmosphere of my workplace.
Sorry, I just had to rant...
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are MINE AND MINE ALONE. They do not represent those of my (un-named) place of business.
"Yeah, well, Dracula called and he's coming over tonight for you and I said okay."
Somebody already made that joke, I was going to too but checked first. This is the first thing that comes to mind though... maybe this guy should ask his bro (or somebody else with a nut loose and few scruples) to bring his boss in hogtied with a big bow so he can tell him how he feels about the bobble-head doll.
I've never had a holiday bonus, but I've worked a few companies that were very good to employees. On one of my better jobs, you banked an extra holiday for every 2 weeks where there was no stat, we also had a very nice departmental picnic and various prizes that good employees one (plus a draw that anyone could win). Everyone I know at that job was great to get along with, and the company environment was incredible.
If I had ever needed to, I would have gone out of my way (overtime, holiday work, on-call, etc) for that company in a second - because I knew I was appreciated. Maybe we don't need an Xmas bonus, but just a donation of appreciation (hell, a box of chocolates or even a chocolate bar) makes me feel a lot better about how my employers appreciate me.
For all those that are scraping coins right now, I wish you better days ahead, happy holidays, and perhaps a lucky lottery ticket.
(note: joke... kind of)
Fucking "I have it worse than all of you" whiners. A bobble head of the guy who made money off of YOUR work while YOU had to scrape by is certainly worth bitching about. It's like leaving a small tip. It's worse than no tip at all.
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.
And just how exactly do you suggest that governments pay for everything?
Emergency services, armed forces, welfare programmes, legal systems, healthcare and other municipal services don't grow on trees you know. Or were you expecting policemen, firemen, soldiers, social workers, court clerks, doctors, nurses and garbage collectors to work for nothing?
Try living in the real world for a change.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
when I can let my boss go due to "tough" financial times just like I can
you responded:
That's called "quitting" and finding another job.
obviously you understand that in the contract between employee and employer the power held by the employee is the withholding of labour (quitting). so what is your opposition to unionism? it is merely the self-organization of a labour force to consolidate the power of withholding labour for purposes of bargaining with the employers (who are, themselves, organized for the consolidation of power).
to call labour "lamers" is patently ridiculous. because people do work they are less deserving than those whose primary role is the provision of capital? if you were truly concerned about economic factors that were anti-meritocretous (ie, "elevate lamers") then you would do better to focus your energies on eliminating inheritances, equalizing access to education and removing the barriers of racism and sexism... not griping about labour organization.
2 1337 4 u!
If you didn't see CEO bobble heads on the shelf at Wal-Mart the last time you were there, it qualifies as "rare."
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
...
But, hourly, you get paid more, you work less (or get paid a HELL of a lot more), you don't have to deal with the beauracratic bullshit, and you can switch jobs at will.
That's a completely absurd statment and you know it. The days of switching IT jobs "at will" are gone (assuming they were even really there). You might get paid more up front as an non-exempt employee, but you lose a lot in the long run (like vacation time, paid holidays, medical benefits, retirement benefits, stock options/profit sharing, etc) which can make up for a lot of "lost pay".
I can't recall any instance of a company wanting to hire someone who demands an hourly wage over one who doesn't. If you're a 1099 contractor type, then that's one thing. But it's not the same as getting paid hourly.
Anyway, if you've found your niche then more power to you. But let people find security where they can -- in actually having a job. If you find a good job that you wouldn't mind doing which pays a decent salary, then take it. If you don't, then lots of others will be glad to fill your place.
-B
Ash and Hickory, straight-grained and true, make excellent bludgeons, dandy for the cudgeling of vegetarians.
This past year, I swallowed my pride and joined a local ISP while I waited for my dream employer to come out of a hiring freeze. After about eight months with a really nice group of people but no real challenge or pay to match, the freeze ended and I switched companies, to the disappointment of the ISP.
.com days, but the fact that it was offered at all, to an ex-employee, was probably the nicest thing I've ever seen a company do.
I was very sad to go, and I felt more than a little guilty about the fact. Last week, my wife and I received some very persistant invitations to my former employer's Christmas party; my wife went, since I was out of town, and received a prorated Christmas Bonus and a lot of general good will from the owner of the company and the staff.
Usually when an employee leaves a company for a bigger position elsewhere, an undercurrent of nastiness follows: the company and its people resents the loss of the employee. This company, though, insists on keeping a very friendly relationship with me, including repeated open invitations to stop by and mooch coffee.
The bonus was pretty meager, compared to what I remember from the
Weapons of Mass Analysis
but then I also don't have to worry too much about being laid off, bought out, investigated by the government, stock market going to hell.... I have always found the idea of a Christmas bonus kind of silly -- to expect the company you work give you something for Christmas.. it's a job for crying out loud..
...we are from the government - we are here to help...
Did your bobblehead come with a baseball card? On a side note, that's pretty freakin' vain of somebody. The last MS bobblehead I got, I torched, maimed and otherwise sculpted into an abusive figure of pain and suffering. Leave THAT message in your bosses parking spot.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Last year my Christmas bonus was $11,000. I paid off my credit cards and bought a TiBook.
This year, I'm a lowly contractor and if I'm lucky they'll renew my contract in January.
Last year I was working for the spawn of Satan, and had been actively looking for something, anything to get me out of that hell hole for months.
This year, I'm doing interesting work in a less stressful and less fucked-up environment.
You can keep the $11,000.
The next Cmdr Taco duplicate will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and see it early!
...some 4 years ago the company found out that it would be a really good idea to scrap the anual grocery basket and replace it with company stock options. That is, each person would recieve one stock and thereby a small part of the company.
.. the gift is still the same though: "one stock option" .. oh, and it's bound for 7 years .. TODAY, 1$ is about 7.5 DKR ..
:-) /klang
At the time one of theese babies would run you about 550 DKR's on "the street", today it's about 175 DKR
Maybe this would be a good idea for the kids? Here you go, your present this year will be a small part of something you can get your hands on, 7 years after you move out of the house!
Yeep - screw christmas bonuses, screw bonuses. I have never been a fan of company wide bonuses. It's stupid - I don't see why John Thicky should get a bonus when I did most of his work. Bonuses are for those that have done good work.
However, I have noticed a few things that make working life _pleasurable_ and _fun_. Bosses listen up!
1 - Staff will get VERY resentful if they get no pay rises or very small pay rises but the boss gets 25%. You are all in the same boat bosses and staff alike. Bosses need to realise this and act more like staff (instead of god!)
2 - Geeks like stuff - DON'T THROW OUT OLD COMPUTERS! Give them to schools if you want but always let your engineers rake of the bones of old hardware and take what they want. They love it and you don't even want it!
3 - Let your geeks experiment with their code. People like the chance to experiment a little.
4 - Listen to your geeks BUT GIVE THEM CREDIT. I quit one job after a few months when I discovered that the _entire_ place was based on "company politics". I would say something to my manager (hell I even typed him a report) only to discover that he had basically just changed the name on the report and no-one knew I had anything to do with it. AVOID THIS! If this happens - QUIT. You will be incredibly miserable otherwise!
5 - Don't pay out bonuses just to make your staff stay. Think before you spend! Perhaps spending all that bonus cash on new equipment or the office environment will cheer you staff up just as much as a coupla hundred quid.
The best bonus experience I ever had was at Pi Research in Cambridge. I was only 19 (2nd year there) and I had been working on some high resolution print routines. I got it finished and working (thanks to a little help) WELL ahead of time. The next day I went to work and was asked to see the MD. Well... I shit a brick! I reall thought I done or said something wrong! Anyhoo.... The MD asked me about my work, the quality of it, did I imagine there were still bugs etc.... then I got a very nice "thank you" and a "keep up the good work" type thing and a bonus cheque! I can't remember how much and it wasn't huge but the idea was there. They had been watching and decided it was time to place credit where credit was due. A very satisfying sensation I assure you.
"None of this shit works" -W.Shatner
Went to website... bought self 120 GB FW HD... happy with gift. Still would like something. No bonus, no raise, no holiday party, yet profits are up. Still, at least I'm finally getting paid somewhat close to market average.
And I don't have to come in to work on Thursday, or in fact ever again! Plus I've been "released from my contract" along with everyone else in my office. Wow!
Ah, Christmas, when the goose gets fat and the corporations get lean. The best bit is that being made redundant before yule is being presented as a positive thing, because at least we knew before we went into a consumer frenzy. That's a pretty thin silver lining.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Personally, I think it's darn nice they gave you something to decorate your urinal^h^h^h^h^h cubicle with.
Envy my 5 digit Slashdot User ID!
The company would simply turn to the HORDES of starving, jobless IT workers and bring them in as scab labour.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
In Soviet Russia, CEO gets bobble-head doll of YOU.
Sorry, the Soviet Russia jokes kill me. I still laugh at the "your mama" stuff...
LR
We got a dinner with open bar at Smith & Wollensky's, and everyone got a room at the Hilton. Some companies are still doing ok, and more importantly, willing to share the wealth with their employees.
Karma: Professionally Doomed (mostly affected by inability to keep opinions to self)
Wow.
I feel bad for you. I don't even know what our products did. I just know they paid me to browse the web all day, and burn my MP3s at work. I think I was also the official pizza orderer for a while.
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
I make some extra money on the side selling gift albums to various businesses. One customer I have is the administrator of a nursing home, and she bought $10,000 of gift albums from me to give to her 200+employees (many of them nurses). The order itself was a nice Christmas gift, because the commission paid for my airline ticket to go visit my girlfriend for the New Year, and left plenty to spend on her.
> What did you get from your Company for Christmas?
Nothing. But it's OK; I didn't get them anything either.
Chris Mattern
Yes, I could expect more, but I am greatful that I am employed!
My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!
Last year a cooler (with two wheels and a pull handle). Year before that was an emergency road kit (reflectors, a pneumatic pump, etc.). Year before that was a travel luggage set (some of it was good, some okay). All with our company logo on them, sometimes with it modled into the plastic (e.g. the cooler).
-- Argel
The previous reply is wrong. The poster is correct -- a short sale will effectively "lock in" the profits that you will realize on exercising your options. This is true for upside as well as downside risk, BTW, as you also forego potential profits should the stock go up further in value.
It's worth noting that there are quite a number of circumstances in which a short sale by an employee is not permitted (e.g. if you are an "officer" of the company). Check before doing this!
The parent poster is living in a fantasy world.
If the new iPod owners were to set up MP3 sharing
on company servers, then the company could be liable.
But liable to the RIAA for giving away iPods?
Forget it.
Ben "You have your mind on computers, it seems."
Really torn about it. Part of me is happy that I won't have to work for the new owners. Part of me is horribly depressed by the prospects of being 49 years old with 24 years of service and having to go out and hit the job market.
I agree with you. I myself only listen to mp3's of songs I own the albums too. I don't think the only good use for mp3 players is to pirate music, it is just my feeling that a lot of people do use pirated music on them. I would love to be wrong, it's just the feeling I have.
/. . This is also a position taken by anti-piracy groups within large companies. They try to put our materials letting people know that copying and giving to others is illegal etc...
The local radio station around here often makes mention of going onto kazaa and getting the latest track from so and so. I think a lot of people don't realize that what they are doing is piracy, these people being the non techo-geeks found on
"Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door." - Emily Dickinson
Actually, our Congresscritters HAVE, in a very limited sense, figured this out: they screw EVERYONE except their personal revenue generators (read: their major campaign contributors). Of course, most of us would prefer their self-interest to be a bit more enlightened and their definition of "self" here to include the people they allegedly serve, but that's the trouble with our political system at present...
"My strength is as the strength of ten men, for I am wired to the eyeballs on espresso."
UPSers* aren't just drones who love cubic objects made from cardboard. We have interests outside of working like dogs for a company that shafts us in the pay department. (Don't get me wrong, the health insurance and tuition reimbursement programs are awesome.) And for the record, the vast majority of the UPS workforce does not wear brown. The waiting list to be a driver is several years long, and in the meantime, the rest of us have to stay cooped up inside the hub with 399 other sweaty guys and a quarter of a million cardboard boxes full of irritations.
* the corporate term for UPS employees. It's stupid, and I hate it.
Society doesn't turn on a dime, but if enough people lean on the steering wheel long enough, it can negotiate a curve.
http://w3.access.gpo.gov/usbudget/fy2001/guide02.h tml
w aldesign.com/budget/p a/A0873746.html
Checkout the piechart towards the bottom. In the 2001 federal budget, the US spent 19% on health care, 23% on social security, 6% on various entitlements (Vetern's benefits etc) 11% on interest and only 16% on defense.
Granted that 23% for social security can't be used for other means, but the US spends far more on benefits than they do on the military.
Additonally, 342 billion was spent on health care versus 279billion on the military in 2001.
here are some other siteshttp://www.federalbudget.com/
http://www.ko
http://www.infoplease.com/i
or you can read the federal budget at www.cbo.gov
Bring back the old version of slashdot.
Same thing I got last year. As much office supplies as I can carry out of the building without getting caught by an employee who wants to split it with me in exchange for silence.
Sure, it's not so much this particular case or you, but the whole trend of treating people who have purchasing power specially came from somewhere -- it's because it's cheaper to bias the person with purchasing power to buy a product (we get to keep having the salmon lunches?) than to cut the prices on the products.
I mean, they do stuff like this for a reason -- it's profitable for them.
The worst cases of monentary allocation come in those few cases when a company can disalign an employee's interests from those strict interests of the company. One of these ways is by pampering the person making buying decisions.
Another way -- take the "no one ever got fired for buying Microsoft" line. (Obviously, this applies to lots more instances than MS, but this one hits close to home for me) If there's a cheaper, better alternative out there, it might be a good idea for the company to look into. It might be the best thing out there. But the manager's interests have become disaligned from those of the company, because he could potentially be on the chopping block if something goes wrong *and* he's doing something from the rest of the pack. If some crucial vendor two years later says "we don't support Mac OS" or Linux, or HPUX or whatever, he's going to be the scapegoat. OTOH, if he just does what everyone else is doing, regardless of whether it's what's best for his company, he's doing a much better job of maintaining his own job security.
I believe besides perks and job security issues are the biggest ways vendors can go after people with purchasing authority, but there are probably others.
Now, you may not have been influenced, but there are definitely people who *are* being influenced by this sort of thing. And that's what I hate. The whole concept of wining and dining a business partner is a small-scale form of this, but it's as accepted a form of bribery in business as "campaign contributions" are in politics.
Whenever people are making sub-optimal decisions locally on a massive scale, society as a whole suffers. I pay more for things.
May we never see th
ALL bonuses are bad news, for exactly the same reason. It is popular to tie company performance with bonuses, but in bad times like these the employees are called on to do even more to help the company, then when the product doesn't sell as well as hoped, instead of being rewarded for their hard work, they get a lump of coal. "Sorry, no bonus after all!"
Another bad one. "Employee of the week/month/year" awards and bonuses. You give one guy a prize and you guarantee that you piss off everyone else. Next time no one tries because they know they'll just lose whether they work hard or not.
The best way to avoid smashing someone's expectations is not not give them phoney expectations to begin with. Pay a good salary, have a good work environment, good non-"bonus" benefits and you'll have happy loyal employees.
Contrary to popular belief, coding is not all free blow-jobs and beer. Those things cost MONEY!
Well, my boss just went out and bought himself a house. No mansion by any means, just an ordinary place in a quiet neighborhood. Yup, I've seen it.
Since ours is a small company (I'm the only full-time employee), I'm really not expecting much of a Christmas bonus this year.
Ah, well, it's worth it, knowing his kids won't be playing next to a busy highway anymore. That's had me worried.
I think he has no clue what a bobble-head doll is, thanks be to God!
Give me my freedom, and I'll take care of my own security, thank you.
...was a layoff notice.
At least the severance was nice.
So, anyone looking for an embedded linux/vxworks guy in San Diego?
http://www.masturbateforpeace.com/
I know it's not cool what your company's doing, but here's a counter-example - from a 'small American business', the very (supposed) backbone of the American people! (*cough*politicalbullshit*cough*)
I know someone that runs a company. Not only does he own it, but he's also the manager, project scheduler, whatever - you name it. If it has to do with organizational work, it's his responsibility. He has a handful of employees - it tends to vary seasonally due to the availability of work (damned economy). Just the same, the people he employs would be either out of work, or working somewhere paying them significantly less. I know this to be the case, because most of these employees are sufficiently incompetent.
Now, mind, they're not that different than most people, albiet some are fairly poor at their job - they just don't put any effort into their work, and basically piss about. Being as it's a small company, they're expected to pull their weight: if they're hired to do X job function, they damned well perform that job function - at least to the extend where they're an asset, not a liability.
But that isn't the case in this situation. They don't put any effort into the job. My friend can't fire them, because he needs them on his staff, and he'd never be able to get someone to replace them out here, and the employees knows this. Thus, most of them slack off and basically see it as job security, despite the hellish economy here. (NO matter how bad it is in your part of the country, I promise you, it's worse here.)
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
Not at all. And I had a better-paying job in 2 weeks. My 5 weeks' severance pay hadn't even run out.
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
That's exactly what I meant. I'm not talking about playing the market at all.
Furthermore, exercising an option is not, of course, insider trading.. it's not trading. You are free to exercise whenever you want (as permitted by your grant)
But when 99% of people talk about exercising options, they mean exercising them and selling the resulting stock.. and selling stock based on insider information is insider trading.
First, I'm not talking about shorting a stock in order to profit from a drop in value. I'm talking about shorting a stock and then covering the short immediately by exercising options.
This locks in the market value you will be taxed on at the time YOU want to do the trade, and you don't ahve to wait for your options to clear.
If you are claiming to have some kind of special knowledge about options due to your job, you should know this.
Your other alternative is to start to exercise, perhaps wait several days for the company to get it's shit together, then sell. Furthermore, the time between your receiving the shares and the time you sell them is a risk if the value drops, as you will still be taxed on the market value when you exercised.
Secondly, exercising options has nothign to do with insider trading.. but SELLING the resulting shares absolutely does...
Thirdly, even if regulations don't allow you to short stock, you can probably do so to exercise options, as long as the public sees this. There are methods for doing so. This way, panic is avoided, as everyone can see you are really exercising options.
Thirdly, I'm speaking for Canadian tax law, which varies slightly. You are saying there are many types of stock options, some which have exemptions.
Obviously anyone who has stock options should get professional advice from brokers AND tax people. Anyone who doesn't is asking for it.
Before you insinuate I should read up on short selling, perhaps you should read posts a little harder before you start slamming.