https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 26 Apr 2026 06:11:33 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2419125 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 17:29:51 +0000 gingerbebe 2419125@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I always think its good to keep your options open in terms of employment. I guess I just see it as every day you show up to a job, you are making a choice to be there. If your employer isn't treating you the way you believe you should be treated, then find someone who will or work for yourself! You don't owe it to them to stay there if its not meeting your needs. If they really want you, they will figure out a way to keep you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2419046 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 16:37:51 +0000 Modern Daisy 2419046@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think you're being irrational. My DH's situation sounds similar to yours, when he was promoted (and given twice the work) he was sold a bill of goods about a minimal base salary raise and 25% discretionary bonus. He's luckily gotten the 25% both years he's been in this role, but last year when his company made record profits he was told that everyone else at his level got bonus cut in half because the department as a whole didn't meet expectations. So he was supposed to be grateful that he was getting the minimum pay he was promised after he exceeded his personal goals.</p> <p>Honestly we do not rely on his bonus as part of our budget at all because of this. Ultimately it is discretionary! But yes, he is searching for a new job too because we can't stand the drama.. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418933 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 15:36:16 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2418933@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh, and to directly answer your question, no I don't think you're being irrational! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418927 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 15:35:07 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2418927@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have never worked for a company where bonuses were a thing, but it sounds to me that they are showing what they value and it's not their employees. I might be inclined to look around for something better, or at least hope that other people are doing the same thing and hopefully they will have to stop what they are doing when they lose enough people. Of course that could take some time. Dh works for the government but when they started bsing about pay and basically ripping people off it took many many people leaving and a lawsuit before dh got the pay he was promised, and as part of the settlement gave up the right to go for tens of thousands in back pay. Meanwhile some of the people that left made a ton more money. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418840 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:53:12 +0000 Mrs D 2418840@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ElbieKay: Ironically enough...my recruiter told me he wouldnt hesitate to send me on an interview 8 mos pregnant...I was shocked! I would not be comfortable interviewing pregnant!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418827 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:48:20 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2418827@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: I would start looking for different employment. That's it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418825 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:47:42 +0000 ElbieKay 2418825@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: Oh, if you're pregnant then you might need to wait and interview during your maternity leave. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418808 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:42:39 +0000 ElbieKay 2418808@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: Ah, when you said you worked in finance, I assumed you meant the financial industry (as opposed to the finance department at a company in another industry). Sorry for the slightly misdirected reply. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418772 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:25:54 +0000 mamimami 2418772@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would look around. Regardless of the no-okayness of not getting a bonus under these circumstances, I find that one I start to feel that resentful about a job situation, there's really no going back. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418756 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:18:12 +0000 Mrs D 2418756@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Andrea: right, especially when it wasnt even a bad year...it was "record breaking"... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418750 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:15:44 +0000 Andrea 2418750@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not ok. My husband works in finance and I used to as well. We always got bonuses, even in not so great performance years. The bonuses were just smaller. You don't want people to start jumping ship just because you have one bad year. So I wouldn't take this as a good sign for your company if they aren't giving out any bonuses. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418749 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:15:43 +0000 Mrs D 2418749@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ElbieKay: Thank you for the thoughtful response. So - the information is coming from my boss, Controller, (we are almost more friends than boss-employee). She has been very open with me all year so that my bonus expectations are realistic. She got the information from her boss (VP of Finance) - and my mentor. He was filling us in on a conversation that took place. I agree - its not etched in stone yet but its solid "rumor" stuff here - not just watercooler type gossip! I work in the automotive industry...so I am not in banking. I worked in banking for 6 years and just did not love the culture! I agree - that having a healthy understanding of the current job market is important - thats why I have opened the lines of communication with my recruiter I trust! We'll see. We have seen many dialogue starters (emails from various employees all the way up the ranks to executive leadership) basically get brushed aside without much response from the executives. It will be interesting to see what happens at the next town hall. We have submitted questions before that just miraculously get filtered out! ;)</p> <p>@Alivoo01: Similar situation here. When I hired in I was sold the lower base salary (and lower raises) bc the growth potential and bonus potential were strong. For the last 3 years I have received very healthy payouts in the bonus department...but minimal raises. I think 2% once and 4% once. When I discuss my salary with recruiters I am constantly told that I am not just underpaid but severely underpaid. When I took my current job - with a boss I know and trust well - she told me I was on the low end of my range but she was already getting me a 15% raise for the new position and could not give me more. She promised to make it right at the first Merit raise. Unfortunately that came right after I joined her, and was sent to my former boss who gave me 0% instead. Livid. Not sure what hot mess is happening in our HR that someone who is being add to our "high potential" group as a future female executive candidate gets no raise does not raise a red flag?! Anyways - its just one thing after another. Obviously I am as preggo as you are and not doing anything drastic. But it seems to be all adding up to "maybe I wont be working at XX forever".... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418719 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 14:03:35 +0000 Alivoo01 2418719@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This was my last/current company.</p> <p>Last company was slowly going under so they didn't hand out bonuses, 401k matches, or salary raises. When the company went into a joint venture, we all knew those probably wouldn't be feasible the 1st year due to start up costs. But here we are 3.5 years later and making money, (although not a lot) but we have yet to see any payouts. Some of us haven't gotten a raise in over 5 years and the company doesn't believe in increasing pay to adjust for the cost of living either! They're also wanting to sell us so they're trying everything to beef up the bottom line, which sucks.</p> <p>They don't reward their employees, but they have no problem buying company "swag" for us like cups and mousepads, or throwing random office events like cornhole and will fly other participants in from out of state offices and pay for their flight and hotel. Say what?! </p> <p>I will give them they made pretty good improvements in our health benefits for 2016 so there's that! But salary increases are still not happening and bonuses are paid on based on how well the company performed and if the firm reached their goal. Sadly, company goals are always far fetched so completing it is kind of difficult. And when the firm doesn't complete the goal, the deduct the bonus money pool and it trickles down from there (how did your department perform? How did you do as an individual? etc).</p> <p>I'm definitely looking to change soon, but I'm currently pregnant and the flexibility I have here is pretty amazing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418708 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 13:55:18 +0000 catomd00 2418708@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It must be the industry! My friend is an asst. controller and just went through something very similar with his company! He switched and is much happier - found a new job within a few weeks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418706 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 13:53:31 +0000 ElbieKay 2418706@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Haha, I just pounced on this thread!</p> <p>@Mrs D: Here are my thoughts:</p> <p>1. So far you are basing this on rumors, so use it as an opportunity to think through possible scenarios but don't assume that the rumors are true. Keep an open mind during your comp discussion.</p> <p>2. If you get a goose egg, you should come up with a professional way to communicate your disappointment. Figure out your thesis, gather supporting evidence, etc. etc. Communicate this to your boss. Be as calm and collected as you can muster. Rehearse this in advance if possible. Imply, but do not state or threaten, that you feel like this is a last straw of sorts, and express your disappointment given how much you otherwise enjoy your job and your company. It's ok to wait to do this; you don't need to do it during the initial comp discussion. You are more likely to be less emotional if you sleep on it first. Basically, you are giving your manager the opportunity to address your disappointment before you...</p> <p>3. Look for another job. (If you live in the NYC area, work in fixed income technology, and know SQL send me your resume!)</p> <p>4. Once you get an offer, decide whether or not you want to give your company the opportunity to counter. (Usually this is a bad idea.)</p> <p>5. PM me if you want to join my FB group about women facing discrimination at work. You might be able to brainstorm further there.</p> <p>6. More generally, I encourage you to think about opportunities outside of large banks. In my opinion, opportunities in finance are migrating out of those companies. (I used to work at two different large banks and now work for a small/medium-sized financial technology company. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418699 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 13:50:43 +0000 Mrs D 2418699@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Smurfette: I'm in accounting too (assistant controller) - so its almost like I have too much visibility into the numbers! ;) </p> <p>@lisa1783: I agree...and I am totally comfortable with the idea of cutting them (I had already adjusted my 'expectations' to 50% just one what I was hearing) but scrapping them entirely is just poor business. Will it immediately lead to issues? No. But when all the good people leave for jobs where they are treated more fairly it will bite you...</p> <p>@pwnstar: Well...we make money hand over fist...have generated enough cash flow to buy a $1B company in 2012 and a $2B company in 2015 with cash. We also re-listed in 2011 at $18/share and now hover around $80/share given the day. We are very financially healthy...plus we have increased our operating margin by a significant portion in 2015....hence all of my frustration. Sorry we didnt meet your ridiculous stretch goals for the year - but dont take it ALL away even though we did meet financial guidance given to the street!</p> <p>@ShootingStar: I already sent a feeler to one recruiter I know/trust....just a "hey...remember how I said never...ya I dont know if never is true any more" type note...</p> <p>@looch: This is another area that frustrates me. We are the division that is making money. The others missed even their conservative targets for the year - but we met them. We just didnt meet all of our stretch goals. </p> <p>I guess at the end of the day it sends a message that they dont value their employees as much as the average company...something important to me with how much of myself and my time I give to my work. Doesnt help that this comes as I am working 80 weeks at year end :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418675 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 13:34:54 +0000 catomd00 2418675@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I left my last job when I got a lower raise then in the past and then that was followed up with a lower bonus then typical. I was super pissed and glad I moved despite liking everything else. You have to pay the people who do the work for you or they won't last. My last company was a small business who is really felt my departure but oh well. I gave them every chance to rectify it and they chose not to. Now they pay me a ridiculously high hourly rate to do contract work for them. So, I win! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418642 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 13:20:10 +0000 winniebee 2418642@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't blame you for being annoyed. I would be too. One of my old firms through a 100K golf tournament and then gave the worst raises ever. It made me look for a new job! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418636 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 13:17:39 +0000 avivoca 2418636@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This happened to my husband's company this year. I would definitely start looking elsewhere just to see what is out there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418572 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:48:05 +0000 PawPrints 2418572@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Absolutely not okay. I'd start looking elsewhere. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418571 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:47:23 +0000 looch 2418571@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: My experience (almost 20 years) in Finance has basically taught me this: when the company is in the black, the area that made the money is rewarded, everyone else doesn't get a piece of the pie. when the company is the red, the bad is distributed among everyone, not just the area that had the losses.</p> <p>In this case, I'd just start looking. Seems like they're talking out of both sides of their mouth on this one. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418565 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:44:19 +0000 ShootingStar 2418565@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That wouldn't fly with me. I used to work for a large, publicly held software company and 10% of my compensation was bonus. But it was structured so that if the company met it's numbers, I got paid in full. If the company didn't meet its numbers, we would get 80%. If the company exceeded, they could choose to fund the bonuses at a higher rate. </p> <p>This was a completely corporate, money grubbing, stab employees in the back place. In 2008 we were still making record profits but the company reduced all pay in the US by 5% to "avoid layoffs". And we still never got less than 80% of our quarterly bonus. </p> <p>So anyways, no I don't think it's cool that they just take away a huge chunk of your compensation. It's not just not getting a raise, it's making a significant amount less than you expected. I think if you work in a competitive market, then you should absolutely look somewhere else. But it's easy for me to say that, because I do work in a competitive market. I get recruiter emails every day on linked in. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418563 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:42:53 +0000 Finfan 2418563@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I work in government so I never get a bonus but I would be annoyed in your shoes. I would probably start looking for another job since it doesn't sound like your company culture is going in a direction you are satisfied with. I'm sorry! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418549 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:34:02 +0000 pwnstar 2418549@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A company can actually generate revenue and have a net loss on earnings. Without more data, it's difficult to accurately assessthe true financial health of an organization (unless you know/see the numbers, like @Smurfette:). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418547 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:33:43 +0000 lisa1783 2418547@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think the point the OP is making is this is a just another sign of changes to the company that she's not liking. I think it's really important you like the company you work for or else it becomes really hard to become engaged. I work in accounting/finance also for a Fortune 100 company and I can tell you this upcoming year most likely will be really tumultuous - our company is cutting back expenses and a ton of other companies are also. I'm fully expecting bonuses to be lower (but not cut). How long until bonuses will be paid out or announced? If it's just a little while longer, I would wait to see what they announce. You don't want to leave only to miss out on it if they end up having one. If they announce they're not having one, then maybe evaluate your situation and put out feelers to see what the market is like for a new job. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418546 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:32:20 +0000 Anagram 2418546@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: I think looking into other companies/jobs is always a good plan. One of my best friend's husband is in finance and his team hadn't gotten an increase in bonuses (and it was a very small bonus compared to other groups) in 3-4 years. And that particular group was known for being very stagnant and not promoting people as quickly as other groups. Right after bonus time last year, her husband started looking and within 2-3 months, got a job doing the exact same thing, same level, at another bank--and is making quite a bit more.</p> <p>It's always a good idea to know what else is out there, then if you get another viable offer, you can take that to your boss at your current company and negotiate if you aren't happy with your bonus. </p> <p>I feel like Elbiekay should weigh in on this. ;-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418540 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:29:36 +0000 Mamaof2 2418540@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If it was part of your agreement when you took the job then yes I would be livid!</p> <p>A few yrs ago our company did the same thing - no bonus, no raise, even took away their match for the 401K but all of their Public announcements were like "We made XX Billion dollars this year"<br /> so yeah..... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418535 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:27:17 +0000 sunny 2418535@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs D: That is super annoying that they are presenting one thing to employees and another to shareholders. Do you have a company town hall to voice your concerns? Do you have any internal corporate discussion groups where you can discuss this? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418534 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:26:44 +0000 BandDmommy 2418534@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We never plan on bonuses for this reason, so easy to be cut at any time. It sucks, but reality. I'm sorry. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potentially-no-bonus-am-i-being-irrational#post-2418533 Tue, 12 Jan 2016 12:25:58 +0000 Smurfette 2418533@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: exactly. Unless you have in your contract that you are going to receive a yearly bonus this "shit" is going to happen from time to time. </p>