The size of the year-end bonus varies but is often based on an employee’s position, salary, and performance metrics.
Depending on the nature of the work and the type of company, it can also come in different forms, including lump-sum payments in cash, stock options, retirement plans, and health benefits.
However, not everyone is happy with their package.
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I worked for a company that gave us $5 per year of service, and a free turkey or ham from the local grocery store. The ham was canned, and the turkey was the size of a chicken.My third year there, they discontinued the turkey/ham. After tax, I got a check for $11.I started a new job later that year. At Christmas time, my boss pulled me aside and told me that bonuses would be coming, and warned me not to be discouraged because my bonus would be prorated as I had started midyear.On bonus day, he pulled me into an office apologized for the size of the bonus, and handed me a check for $8,000.I laughed my a*s off.He asked me why I was laughing. Fortunately, I still had my uncashed “bonus” from the previous year in my wallet. I handed him the check for $11 bucks, and told him what it was.“I guess you’re OK with the prorated bonus, then?” was his reply.
We got told we were getting nothing. And the management excuse was “Well, not everyone celebrates Christmas, so it wouldn’t be fair"My colleague hit the nail on the head “I’ve never heard diversity weaponised until I heard that”
“The popularity of giving out holiday bonuses can depend on a few different factors,” Keith Spencer, Career Expert atFlexJobs, a platform that helps people find remote, hybrid, and flexible job opportunities, toldBored Panda.“For instance, certain industries might be more likely to offer bonuses than others and a company’s size, budget, and level of performance could also impact whether or not they distribute bonuses to employees.““That being said, while holiday bonuses are not universal and the size of bonuses can vary pretty widely, they are still a fairly common practice for a lot of businesses,” Spencer said.
“The popularity of giving out holiday bonuses can depend on a few different factors,” Keith Spencer, Career Expert atFlexJobs, a platform that helps people find remote, hybrid, and flexible job opportunities, toldBored Panda.
“For instance, certain industries might be more likely to offer bonuses than others and a company’s size, budget, and level of performance could also impact whether or not they distribute bonuses to employees.”
“That being said, while holiday bonuses are not universal and the size of bonuses can vary pretty widely, they are still a fairly common practice for a lot of businesses,” Spencer said.
What Christmas bonus?10k employees. Company made 5.5 BILLION in profit.CEO makes $40m and has TWO $12m houses.Not even a Christmas party this year. “Budget problems, blah, blah, blah”.
Of the more than 200 U.S. companies surveyed, 34% say they would not be giving out the extra money to employees. That’s the highest number since 36% decided against bonuses in 2019, and considerably higher compared to last year, when 27% of companies surveyed opted out of the practice.
I got a letter from corporate letting me know that they had made a donation in my name to a charity. Specifically, to themselves (I work for a non-profit)
“It’s not uncommon to see companies offer employees additional PTO, make charitable donations to an organization of their choice, or provide different wellness initiatives or personal development opportunities,” he explained.
However, as we can see from this list, such attempts can seriously backfire if they’re not thought out. “When considering alternative bonuses, it’s important for a company to think about their employees’ interests and values so they can choose a gift that will resonate with them,” Spencer added.
I used to work at the Cheesecake factory and one year they gave everyone a cheesecake. From Costco.
Got a $100 “bonus” taxed so came out to $67Then hr sends out an email next day asking everyone who received a bonus if EQCH PERSON would “pitch in” 25-50$ each towards a bass pro shop gift card for the boss because of “all he does for us"They asked every one of the 55 employees this.The same boss whom the year prior gave the server at the Xmas dinner $1200 In tips because she sat on his lap like he was Santa and then proceeded to tell 12 people there they were f*g fired. And wondered why they didn’t show up to work the 27th.Fk you ryan. Your a real piece of st
I worked at a company and the owner walked around during the Christmas party and gave people their paychecks in a fancy envelope.That way clients would be thinking that the employees were getting bonuses.
What’s a Christmas bonus? Never gotten one.
We all received a book that the CEO wrote
An email telling us that because we are IT we wont be getting a holiday bonus anymore.“As IT is a cost center, and doesnt generate revenue, IT departments will no longer be eligible for a holiday bonus"Never mind that this company did BILLIONS of dollars a year in business… without any physical locations. Their entire operational surface was ONLINE…yeah.2 weeks later my IT Manager comes in all excited about the new Tesla he just bought.oh, right, hes not an IT Manager. Hes a Manager of IT. So hes a manager, not IT…the collective moral of all the IT teams dropped to near zero. 5 years later when I left that company, IT still wasnt eligable for holiday bonuses, AND had been uninvited from the Holiday party. Not that they cared, they just kept hiring offshore IT replacements with zero skill. yeah F**K that company. They are a mortgage company.
After busting our [butts] to achieve the goal for the year, the boss got a FAT check. Mid 5 figures We got a $5 Starbucks card …..one….cup….of….coffee.
Not me, but my wife - she’s a home carer. During Covid lockdowns the head office asked them all to come in to pick up their Christmas bonus treat - it was a single f*****g tea bag with a bow around it and a mini pack of biscuits - you get more at a cheap hotel complimentary.That was it, all they got for risking their lives and their families lives on a daily basis while everyone else was marooned at home.
We get a mandatory work party which will cost each of us 25 dollars
Last year our school gave teachers a plastic bag with: a mini candy, a mini hand sanitizer and a single tea bag.
We got a digital cake. As in a clip inserted into an email as a thank you. There’s a grocery store across the street.
A case of expired beer. I work for a beer distributor.
I got a $30 Door Dash voucher! Bought almost all of my lunch for 1 day. We only pulled in like $500 million in revenue last year, times are really tough.
Here’s mine:I was working for a company and was a few months in. In this company, there were full time and contracted workers (they would have people on contract for 3 months before converting them to full time. I was projected to move to full time in the new year). Before the holiday, they gathered ALL of us together on a meeting, gave the updates, and told us they had a special announcement. The CEO then said that everybody on the call was getting a $1,200 bonus.Once we got off, they messaged us and said that non full-time employees weren’t included. They forgot to take us off of the meeting.So, my worst bonus was a bonus that I had and then didn’t have.
Boss sent out a $10 Starbucks gift card the day he laid off 10% of our staff. “It’s not a layoff, it’s a coffee break” is now a banned phrase on teams/slack.
My boss got me a book. When I opened it, a card fell out addressed to him telling him to enjoy the book. The guy who sat next to me had a different boss and he got $1,000 cash.
My wife got a flyer with a QR code so she can pick her own gift from a list of five company-branded items (sweatshirt, speaker, water bottle, etc.).Only the checkout link is broken, so she can’t actually order anything.
A pen with the company’s name on it. The name was spelled wrong.
Gift certificates at the restaurant I cooked in.
A water bottle and padded notebook each with a photo of the owner’s dog on it.
Mandatory company dinner with coworkers. I spend 9 hours a day with them, why ruin my evening?
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“A donation has been made in your name to the New York City ballet”
Large logistics warehouse handler job. All of us got a bag of swiss miss inside a company christmas hat from our group manager. Told us to make ourselves a hot chocolate in the breakroom during lunch.
A couple years ago, my old employer gifted every single department one tube of chapstick with the company’s logo on it. I mean, I used it but then lost it like a week later so…
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I got a house plant. Correction I got seeds and planter so I can grow my own plant
I was handed a stack of holiday cards and told to sign all of them. Once I was done I was told I was the last one to sign so I could choose mine.. really felt the thoughtfulness of 20 people rapidly signing cards.
Company sent one box of candy/snacks for our 14 person team.
One year work bought everyone a ham. Didn’t matter if you couldn’t eat ham. They were delivered to your desk mid-day. There was not enough room in our fridge to store them all. It was weird. Every year prior to that we got cash
200+ employees where i work. We each got a generic, unsigned, non-personalized boxed Christmas card on a blank envelope with a $10 fast food gift card.Except some of the gift cards were the reloadable type and had no money put on them. So basically some us were given a small handful of garbage.
A ball point pen and cheap day planner with our corporate logo on it.
Subscription to the Jelly of the Month.
My boss gave me a $10 Starbucks gift card. I don’t like Starbucks, and it was completely empty.
A 50.0 gift card, that they charged me income tax on.
I don’t get bonuses. BUT. this year we had to pay $80pp to attend our Christmas party lol
A frozen Marie Calender pie. Every freaking year.I work in food service in a kitchen.
A letter saying there wasn’t going to be one.
We are getting a piñata at the holiday party. So we can crawl around on the ground for candy while the boss watches. Fun.
A large custom hershey chocolate bar of the company logo.
Don’t get an official bonus, but might get a tangerine from the boss
I got 220 corporate “points” which I can exchange for a $50 amazon gift card or a variety of sh*tty products.
Back in the 90’s working for the UK civil service. Everyone was offered five whole English pounds.You could accept it & it would be contributed to the Xmas party fund or not accept it and don’t go. We also had to bring our own booze to the Xmas party.
2023: No Appreciation 2022: No appreciation 2021: mandatory “drive in a circle around the parking lot and management will toss your gift in your open car window.” Gift was three pieces of candy whose wrappers were entirely in Spanish (we’re close to Canada), two company-branded pens, and our holiday calendar for 2022. 2020: No Appreciation 2019 and before: full catered lunch buffet with an entire course of desserts.
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