EVIL HR LADY
DILEMMA OF THE MONTH
My Company Stopped Giving Bonuses , but My Coworker Got One
BY Suzanne Lucas
ILLUSTRATION : JOHN CHASE
My company has given bonuses every year since I was hired in 1999 but said last year it would no longer do it due to our industry ’ s economic struggles . These bonuses have always been based on 10 criteria . In an average year , I ’ d meet eight of these and receive 8 percent of my salary . I understood the financial situation until I discovered at least one other manager , Jane , received a bonus . Is there anything I can do ?
Maybe . You said that due to industry economic struggles , the bonuses would go away . But is that what happened , or was it that the company changed the criteria or changed the bonuses to be entirely discretionary ?
Economic struggles are something that many businesses faced in 2020 and into 2021 . It ’ s not at all surprising that a company wouldn ’ t be able to hand out the same type of bonuses that they had in the past . And if a company were looking to make changes in the bonus structure , now would be a great time to do it . Employees ( like yourself ) are fully willing to accept that economics outside the company ’ s control made this change necessary .
So there may be bonuses still at play , it ’ s just that the criteria changed . Or there may be no general bonuses , but senior leadership decided to give bonuses to a select group of individuals . We could guess all day at what is going on here . Or we could ask .
Talking about money is awkward
Now , I will grant you that Americans , in general , find talking about money very stressful and very taboo . Talking about money that your coworker got and you
24 comstocksmag . com | September 2021