I went solo ...
... after being offered a $300 bonus. In 1988.
This is a slap in the face of the folks actually doing the work.
Think "Maundy Money" ... It's totally fucking useless.
In an almost unheard of act of selflessness and generosity from a CEO, Lenovo boss Yang Yuanqing has decided to distribute $3 million (£1.9m) from his annual bonus to junior members of staff working at the Chinese PC giant. The firm had a bumper 2011, setting new records in market share, revenue and shipments and posting a …
Offering me another buck a day, over the space of a year, isn't exactly what I'd call a worthwhile rise. Especially not when the supposed "appreciative" Boss pulled down several hundred (or thousand) dollars per day during the same time-span.
I'm not a dog. I don't work for kibble, water, biscuits & rawhide.
I'm not a dog. I don't work for kibble, water, biscuits & rawhide.
And neither am / do I. However, if my boss were to say "We're giving everyone $300 over and above what you yourselves agreed to work for us for because I'm feeling nice / we had a good year / whatever" I don't think my first reaction would be "You evil fucker".
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This is equivalent to a months salary in China. It was never reported to be performance related other than for the CEO hitting targets, for the average worker I think this is a very generous and kind gesture.
I honestly can't believe the negative responses of a lot of the commenters. Keep it up Yang! I think what you did was really nice. More wealthy people should behave like this. I am sure you will reap the benefits of an encouraged and happy workforce.
BOO HISS to the negatrons.....
Jake, you really are being a tad foolish today. As people point out, 300 bucks is quite a lot of money for Chinese employees, many making less than 200 bucks per month, so quite why you are being so down on this is quite perplexing. Sure, Lenova is a huge company making huge amounts of bucks, but why piss on everything when a nice feelgood story hits El Reg? Not often we see something like this, so why be such a bellend?
Your opening comment clearly demonstrates you as someone with an inflated sense of ego and a quite irrational view on what most of us would consider a nice little chuckee. Some beer tokens for nought. Bish bosh. As others point out, you agree to work for a company at a stated rate for a stated number of hours, so anything over and above that is fine and dandy. I`m guessing you see yourself as one of these "indispensable" types where the business/client simply couldn`t exist without you around.
Nice one El Reg - we need to have some kind of regular Feelgood-Friday type story that lifts our spirits, given how shitty life can be at the moment.
But why does the guy have a spare couple of mil at the end of a year labelled as "HIS" to curry favour with?
I can't help feeling there is a cultural bias here (that's not a necessarily criticism) but few are looking beyond the new cookie in the hand "which HAS to be a good thing right!!!?" "free cookie!= Good thing!" (nodding) well maybe not you see the cookie is also yours, in fact nearly every other year he will take that cookie from your larder and put it in his. Why do the bosses get millions of cookies and then also deserve one from each of you too.
It's like you have signed up to be willing minions and gleefully gather round crumbs dropped from the table.
If a company does well record that, make it public, make the benefit known then share it out in a way that makes everyone, every last employee without a second/third home carry on trying, this should NOT be unusual.
I can't say I'm in line with Jake's views but I do think its not black and white, seeing a "free cookie" as an entirely benign and "gift of the top floor gods" is not exactly empowering the workforce or company.
If he made it a rule from now-on he would still command the ridiculous bonuses but it would go direct to to the workforce EVERY TIME then I'll bring raise the respect flag.
There is no such thing as "Free Money" it has to come from somewhere, probably the sweat of your combined brows so getting a small part of it as a one-off sweetener that's OK but not respecting your longer term effort or frankly intellect.
What you're alluding to is a worker owned co-operative, John Lewis being a famous example
Generally though if you are working for someone else then you are working to make them rich.
If you don't like it then stop. Work for yourself, go freelance, set up your own company.
Alternatively, if you don't like the pay structure which your current employer offers, then work elsewhere at a company which offers the rewards you seek.
Of course all of those actions mean taking some risk. Risk of not getting a job with a different employer. Not getting the freelance work, starting a new company only to see it go under.
Most people don't find that risk attractive and so will simply sell their time by the hour for someone else's profit. As long as they get their monthly/weekly pay cheque on time, every time for the correct amount they are happy.
Jake you have the most insight of anybody I have ever had the fortune to not meet. Keep up the good work. What is your world like? I mean with all that respect for your fellows where you work, it must be hell in there. Then again, you might be the most miserable POS. How can we tell? Just keep on posting.
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... for screwing it up for the rest of us. I'm sure CEO's all over the world are citing your comment as a good reason to hang on to their money!!!
Yes it's a crap world where my old boss got $50M in bonuses a couple of years back & then $9M just to leave quietly but it would have been a nice gesture for him to have GIVEN IT AWAY to the (other?) people that earned it. Would have been nice if I could imagine it occurring to him!
I'm not in favour of Lady Bountiful stealing all our money & expecting us to be grateful if she gives a bit back but given these CEO's are getting huge wedges, sharing some is a step in the right direction & a personal gesture from an individual not "the board" & rubber stamped by the share holders (probably represented by pension companies & fund managers who want an excuse to pay themselves massive bonuses).