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.
In fact, we found two recent Reddit threads (by platform users Nimfrank and Fuzzyloulou) where people have been complaining about theirs.
#1
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.
114points
#2
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"
94points
"The popularity of giving out holiday bonuses can depend on a few different factors,” Keith Spencer, Career Expert at FlexJobs, a platform that helps people find remote, hybrid, and flexible job opportunities, told Bored 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.
#3
Not a bad bonus itself, but management's reaction to how we used our bonuses was despicable. Years ago I worked as a paramedic in the ER. The first few years, we'd get a pretty good bonus, $200-$500 depending on position. Then the hospital was sold. New owners cut bonuses and gave each employee a gift certificate for a free turkey from a local grocery chain. At the time, the value was about $15. Most of the staff, myself included, felt a bit dismayed, but we were polite about it. Since not many of us cooked turkey for Christmas dinner, we donated our gift certificates to a couple of homeless shelters in town. Management caught wind of it and sent an email to all employees stating that since we "didn't appreciate the thoughtful gift provided by the hospital" there would be no Christmas bonuses going forward. We tried to pay it forward to someone less fortunate, and got slapped in the face for it.
87points
#4
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".
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87points
According to recent research, this year, many workers will be saying goodbye to their holiday bonuses as companies look for ways to tighten their belts heading into 2024.
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.
#5
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)
85points
#6
Work in sales (top performing team). Entire team got the same book on how to be a better at sales. We are supposed to read this book on our downtime (whenever that is) and then management wants to go over the book chapter by chapter in our weekly team meetings.
This “gift” was not well received on the team. There’s been talk about sending management a book on effective leadership or “management for dummies.”
85points
Because of this, "some companies will flex their creativity in showing appreciation for employees around the holiday season by giving them non-monetary bonuses," Keith Spencer of FlexJobs said.
"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.
#7
I used to work at the Cheesecake factory and one year they gave everyone a cheesecake. From Costco.
83points
#8
Got a $100 "bonus" taxed so came out to $67
Then hr sends out an email next day asking everyone who received a bonus if EQCH PERSON would "pitch in" 25-50$ each towards a bass pro shop gift card for the boss because of "all he does for us"
Then 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.
F**k you ryan. Your a real piece of s**t
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82points
#9
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.
78points
#10
What’s a Christmas bonus? Never gotten one.
73points
#11
We all received a book that the CEO wrote
61points
#12
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.
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61points
#13
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.
60points
#14
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.
59points
#15
We get a mandatory work party which will cost each of us 25 dollars
59points
#16
Not me but in the late 90s my mom was a nurses aide for a very large hospital (approx 5k employees at the time) that would give everyone monetary “end of year” bonuses as well as vouchers in your pay check envelope for a free turkey and a free ham at the local grocery store chain.
One year though, without an announcement ahead of time, the hospital had no bonuses and no turkey or ham vouchers.
There was a voucher however, to pick up your free copy of a hard cover, gold leafed, all pages printed in color book of the entire history of the hospital itself. Thousands of these had been printed and, by spring of the next year, waiting rooms and lobbies all throughout the hospital and clinics were overflowing with the books. Pages were ripped out and kids had colored in them.
Several physicians, surgeons and RNs quit over the lack of bonuses because that was part of their employment contract with the hospital. It was a mess.
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58points
#17
Last year our school gave teachers a plastic bag with: a mini candy, a mini hand sanitizer and a single tea bag.
57points
#18
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.
55points
#20
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.
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49points