The Letter

All too soon, that time of the year is here. Letter time. The time to find out if you have done well for the year. Signs for this year don't bode too well, afterall, the company didn't do as well, relatively. Of course, the fact of the matter is, we did do well. Just NOT as well. Big difference.

And I was in a discussion with my family. What would I do if the bonus/increment sucks? Is there a "baseline" amount that would result in some horrible outcome such as resignation?

Would you? Resign if you received too little or no bonus?

Technically, one could argue that you are already paid to do your job well. The bonus is a reflection of whether you have gone over and above what you wanted. It is to encourage to go beyond your good, to do your best. So no hard feelings if you get zero, isn't it?

But of course, being a typical employee, there is no real answer for this. Which employee would be able to tolerate non-bonus and no increment? How committed would this employee be? One could again argue, the employee was not committed and did not do beyond what was required. Hence, he/she is not entitled to the bonus. however, what if I view bonus and increments as being an entitlement?

There is of course, no answer.

And I have no answer on whether I would resigned as I feel that my work was not being acknowledged sufficiently or if I feel slighted by the amount. I have mulled over it and I have no answer.

On the one hand, I have this thought - If you slap my face, despite the efforts I have put in over the past year, then I will slap your face back. Deal with me being gone!

On the other hand - Take what you have, no expectations = no disappointment. Nobody owes you a living. If you didn't make it for this year, it means you didn't good enough (Lack of upward management is also my fault if you think about it. I am not talking about major sucking it, but ensuring that your boss knows what you have done and achieved is only being fair to yourself and your team.), suck it up, learn your lesson and try and better yourself next year.