* Recent newsletters about salaries and bonuses spurred feedback from readers
Recent newsletters about salaries and bonuses spurred feedback from readers who say that every dollar is well deserved.
Earlier this month, I shared the results of a Hewitt Associates report on holiday bonuses. The survey found that holiday bonuses are falling out of favor with employers who prefer to reward employees with some form of performance-based incentive. (See https://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/itlead/2004/1129itlead2.html)
“If the company made more money because of the employees, then they should be rewarded for their efforts,” comments reader Brian Jones. “Now you can still give further merit raises to individuals that went above and beyond, but if the company profits, so should the employees.”
Avraham Sonenthal, an IT specialist for the Social Security Administration, has a slightly different take.
“If an employer treats employees fairly, gives them opportunities to train and advance, and is flexible with leave and holidays, most of their employees would probably not care at all about holiday bonuses,” he writes. “To me, they are more of a payoff for being treated like crap the rest of the year.”
Last month I also wrote about a report on IT start-up salaries that found pay was only up 1.9% last year, though bonuses were up 15.6%. (See https://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/itlead/2004/1115itlead1.html) Becky Risher dropped a note to say that she represents a small firm called Apani Networks and has found that folks there travel constantly and work around the clock, even when they’re sick.
“While some people may have this image of tech start-up as people riding around on Segways in Hawaiian shirts, I think the pendulum has definitely swung in the other direction. Working in tech today is hard work,” she says.
