on bonuses

so there's a lot of talk in the news these days about bonuses, particularly those being paid out to executives of large financial institutions. the topic of bonuses has come up a number of times this past month. mainly because i had my performance review recently and also started discussing goals for this year with my boss, but it seems to be a recurrent theme in my life. it's gotten me to think about it a bit more. i've noticed that our attitudes towards bonuses is a reflection of the sense of entitlement that is slowly pervading our society. it doesn't always stem from avarice or a purely selfish attitude, but it's kind of scary to see how it's becoming almost (or fully) subconscious.

an example: in the course of my goal setting process, i presented my proposed goals to my manager. she remarked how i missed some things, such as setting the strategy for acquisition campaigns. but herein lies the difference in our approaches. she meant well, you see, and wanted to ensure that i was recognized for my accomplishments. however, setting the strategy for acquisiton campaigns is a core part of my job. the way i see it, i shouldn't receive a bonus for doing my job. that's what my salary is for. those are the terms: here is the job description and here is how much you will be paid to fill the role. i shouldn't be rewarded or recognized for doing something i was hired to do in the first place. if i didn't "accomplish" those things, i wouldn't be doing my job. in that case, not only should i not receive a bonus, i should be scheduled for some development.

the topic of bonuses also came up in a conversation with my friends the other day. my friend was saying how the bonus structure at his company was revised and he didn't feel he was getting enough money from his company. i noticed this trend in a conversation i had with one of my coworkers about a year ago - that is, the trend of seeing the bonus as part of what your company is paying you. she was saying that the bonus structure was something she considered when she moved to the company from another one. to be sure, even my current employer is quick to point out the "total compensation package" they give me, which is more than just salary and includes benefits, bonuses, etc. and i know people usually take these things into consideration when they make a decision on whether to accept an offer and it can sometimes be a deal-breaker.

but the part that gets me is the attitude towards the bonus. perhaps it's because we've been conditioned to see it as something that is as given as our salary. but it's not! if it was a certainty, then it'd be part of your salary. but a bonus is supposed to be just that - a bonus. if you don't get it, it should be okay, because you shouldn't have been banking on it anyway. yes, you can aspire to it and work hard towards attaining it - that's the point of having a bonus in the first place. but the second you slip into thinking that it's for sure or that it's owed to you, then you've lost the meaning of what a bonus is supposed to be. if you're not happy with how much you're compensated without your bonus, then you should negotiate for a higher salary!

"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work."

+ ecclesiastes 2:24

a lot of people i know pay a lot of attention to the "market rate." that is, they are always checking to see whether they are receiving as much as they can in terms of compensation for their work. more often than not, it seems they believe they are underpaid (and vastly so). see, i've always been quite content with what i'm paid. it has always been more than i could ever ask for. i've never asked for a raise. i've also never negotiated for a higher raise when one has been granted to me. i simply enjoy my work and believe i receive adequate compensation for it - enough to eat and drink. could i be paid more? maybe, but i guess i've never really cared enough to look into it.

here's to less

i was reading marketing magazine today and came across a pretty good ad from debeers (you know, a diamond is forever). here's how it reads:

"our lives are filled with things. we're overwhelmed by possessions we own but do not treasure. stuff we buy but never love. to be thrown away in weeks rather than passed down for generations.

perhaps it will be different now. perhaps now is an opportunity to reassess what really matters. after all, if everything you ever bought her disappeared overnight, what would she truly miss?"

yes, yes, it's fairly ironic because it's still fundamentally based in consumerism and, at the end of the day, they want you to buy something. but put that aside and just let the words sink in for a bit, because they do ring with a certain measure of truth.

there has been a lot of commentary on the generation of consumers looking for instant gratification, and how we've become a society of users. our consumerist culture may have poisoned our attitudes so much that we now believe almost anything can be bought at a price. but many things (if not everything) are also seen as disposable. if it's broke, don't bother fixing it. just throw it out and buy a new (upgraded) one. which means we really don't treasure them.

if everything you owned disappeared overnight, what would you miss?