# Are you getting a holiday bonus from your employer? Do tell. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276 "2016-12-21T02:41:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/1 "2016-12-21T02:41:10Z")
My company sent out an email today informing us workers that we can look forward to an extra $25 added to our next paycheck as our holiday bonus. It will be taxed, of course. If they hadn’t told me I’m certain I wouldn’t even notice it. You’re up. mmm ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/2 "2016-12-21T03:15:15Z")
I don’t work but I did get a bonus check on top of my monthly casino money. Husband got nuffin’ this year (his company is floundering… but it’s been floundering for the 25 years he’s worked there: some years they give, other years they don’t). My oldest son brought home a t-shirt (armorall? type) with the company logo, a spring/fall jacket and they let him pick out a frozen meal to be picked up on Friday. I think he chose the Roast simply because we just cooked a turkey, we have a ham thawing and the 4 steak dinner isn’t enough for a family of 5. I’m really surprised middle son wasn’t given a turkey or ham for Turkey Day nor for XMas (so far) and I don’t think he received one last year either. My surprise is only because he works for a grocery chain (as a butcher) and I used to get turkey or 2 back when I worked fast food. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/3 "2016-12-21T03:16:55Z")
Got it, and spent it on stuff for my horse ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/4 "2016-12-21T03:36:07Z")
Never ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/5 "2016-12-21T03:38:05Z")
Used to get a frozen turkey. Now, they give out a $15 coupon at Smith’s. But, you can’t buy booze with it. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/6 "2016-12-21T04:38:44Z")
We got 3/4 of a month’s pay, which I am certainly not complaining about. OTOH the firm hasn’t given raises in 4 years, and aside from bonuses I’m taking home less than I was 4 years ago because insurance premiums are higher and they don’t let us work overtime except in case of emergency, no matter how busy we are. But they handed out a really huge random bonus in April when the firm got a big settlement on a long-pending case, the largest in the firm’s history, so I’m probably ahead of the game for now. It would be nice to be able to have some idea what my compensation is going to be in any given year, though. I kind of have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I mean I’m a paralegal, not an investment banker, and it’s kind of weird for bonuses to be such a large proportion of my compensation. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/7 "2016-12-21T04:50:25Z")
Bwahahaha, I wish. I’m employed as a ‘casual’ as are all the employees where I work. And we all work remotely (scattered many thousands of kilometers around the country and indeed the world now) so we are not actually considered as real people. The bastards didn’t even deign to send a Christmas card this year (as they have done in previous years). Forgive my bitterness…I’ve just clocked off for the year and don’t start again until Jan 4th…without pay of course. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/8 "2016-12-21T05:04:37Z")
Self employed, so not really. I’ve got to do quarterly taxes instead, yay, and my current agent is one of those whose payment schedule doesn’t fit their own contract: he still hasn’t paid us what he should have paid in early December. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/9 "2016-12-21T05:34:48Z")
It isn’t a “holiday” bonus per se but I do get an end of year bonus plus profit sharing that will end up in the 5 figures. I will get a generous raise as well on top of that. I am not sure what I would do with $25 because that would be a slap in the face. I don’t want to be rude but my holiday bonuses were a lot more than that even when I worked as a work-study student in the early 1990’s for $5 an hour. Even our everyday incentive awards for good performance are $150 or even more valuable prizes like tickets to exclusive skyboxes at Boston area events. I guess I should consider myself really lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/10 "2016-12-21T06:33:54Z")
Nope. Nada on the bonus front. But they did announce permanent pay raises, an end to several years of pay stagnation. And it was supposed to come in time to end up on my paycheck just before Christmas. That’s nice. However they demanded I sign a contract amendment before they implement the pay raise. And told me that at 1pm on the last day to submit payroll after I worked overnight the night before. Original signature required. No electronic signing via email. No way I could safely make the drive back in after being awake for 21 hours. No joy for me. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/11 "2016-12-21T07:12:50Z")
Nope, but getting a big raise in January. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/12 "2016-12-21T10:43:55Z")
I get a bonus. And my employers started an IRA program where, if you are enrolled and still employed at the end of the year, he’ll add an addition based on the % of one’s salary. It’s not huge, but it’s more than zero, do I’m signed up. ---
**Author:** ![Sario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sario/32/18580_2.png) [@Sario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sario)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/13 "2016-12-21T11:30:48Z")
**HA!** No ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/14 "2016-12-21T11:37:18Z")
We got turkeys last month, and the company threw a really nice holiday party 2 weeks ago. I don’t think they give out monetary bonuses. Raises, if awarded, come on the anniversary of one’s hiring - I was hired last March, so I haven’t hit that point yet. I was a civil servant for my entire career and the closest we got to a bonus was if the President gave us half a day off. In fact, the only Christmas bonus I ever got was when I was a teen working part-time at the company where my dad worked. I got $25, which was a lot of money in 1972 when I was making $2.25/hr. Good times… ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/15 "2016-12-21T12:41:53Z")
They told us after last week’s holiday lunch party that they’d mail us actual bonus checks instead of sending it direct deposit like our regular pay. And so they did–mine arrived in the mail on Monday and I deposited it yesterday. Since I wasn’t expecting anything from them, that was nice. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/16 "2016-12-21T12:49:04Z")
Sometimes we get a few hundred bucks. I don’t think the company has been doing all that well lately, so I’m not expecting anything this year. ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/17 "2016-12-21T12:56:08Z")
> [@Sario](#): > > **HA!** > > No ^This. Federal employee here. No bonuses ever. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/18 "2016-12-21T13:19:59Z")
Self-employed for the last 14 years. No bonuses ever. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/19 "2016-12-21T13:48:21Z")
We have a twice-a-year bonus program that shows up in December, but that’s not considered a holiday bonus. More of a performance bonus, and can be anywhere from $0 to $3k or so in my experience. They used to do a $100 bonus to all employees, and they worked it out so it was after tax $100 (ie, they’d give you more than $100 so it worked out to $100 in your pocket). I haven’t seen an email come through about that this year, so maybe they discontinued it? Not sure. They also send out nice gift baskets consisting of a bunch of regional food to all the remote employees. If you live near one of the offices, there’s a pretty swanky office party instead. Personally, I prefer the gift basket. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276/20 "2016-12-21T13:51:32Z")
I got my annual letter from SS, containing the good news that the cost of living has not gone up a bit, and I can happily get by next year on exactly the same amount of income as I had last year. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-getting-a-holiday-bonus-from-your-employer-do-tell/775276.md?page=2)