I was recently offered a bonus at my job, contingent on several projects getting done on time, along with some very subjective items.
I’m a programmer, been on this job for a couple years now. This whole bonus thing seems to me to be a hotbed for misunderstanding and strife. I’m tempted to say “thanks but no thanks” but would like some opinions before I do that.
The bonus is based on me getting 4 projects done on time. The guidelines for what “done on time” are very vague - they pretty much say “Get project X done by the deadline.” One of them is the project I’m currently working on, and it says “fix all bugs by such-and-such a date.” It doesn’t specify if the bugs are the ones on the list now, if it refers to all the bugs or only the ones assigned to me, or what happens if a major bug shows up that is impossible to fix by the deadline.
Another item is “Complete Project Y by the deadline.” Project Y is not even started yet. There are no timelines. I have no idea what my duties will be, or if it will be possible to do by the deadline.
Other items include very vague things: “Mentor New Guys.” er… what? What level of mentoring is acceptable bonus-wise and what isn’t?
My whole gut tells me that this is going to be more trouble that it’s worth. It’s not a whole lot of cash, either, if you consider we’re talking about five or six months of work. It’s not tiny, but it’s not huge either.
I’ve asked them to tighten up the requirements for the bonus, but initial feedback is that they don’t want to do that. I feel like if I accept this, I’m setting expectations with my bosses that I will be working a ton of overtime. I’m hip to a bit of overtime - I rarely work 40 hour weeks - but I’m not going to work my ass off to meet impossible deadlines because they dangle some money at me.
I really feel like I’m in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. If I accept the bonus, I’m basically saying “I’ll get a ton of stuff done that is not even defined yet and may not even be possible.” If I say “thanks but no thanks” I risk pissing them off because they think they’re doing me a really nice thing by offering a bonus.
I think you’ve taken the first step by pushing back - very reasonably – by saying you are uncomfortable with the guidelines.
Since they won’t change them you have the perfect out to say "thanks but no thanks this whole bonus thing seems to me to be a hotbed for misunderstanding and strife.”
If pushed as to why you can say: the Performance Metrics just aren’t well enough defined for me to feel comfortable that we have a mutual understanding as to expectations– I like working here and wouldn’t want to endanger that.
I wouldn’t go into how it really isn’t all that much money or the stuff about not wanting to bust your ass (but you know that) .
You know them and have for 2 years – throw out all this if they will become vindictive if you turn this down – but you portray that as a reasonable/realistic option for you…
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I don’t know if they will become vindicitive if I turn them down. That’s why I’m hesitating.
They’re more or less pretty good bosses, but we are behind on a couple of the projects they listed on the bonus, and I know they’re high profile projects that the client is getting pissy about. Pissy client = stressed bosses = who knows how they will react if I turn down a bonus that’s supposed to be motivating me to work harder.
I’m going to work hard regardless of the bonus. I like this job and I want the company to succeed. I’ve gone through a bit of stress between me and the bosses already (the bonus thing was something they threw at me as a result of the stresses), and I just want things to settle down now so I can do my job.
I wish they’d never offered it to me. My gut just tells me that if I accept such a loosely defined bonus plan that there will be misunderstandings that will piss someone off.
If the bonus is to be paid after you meet the guidelines I don’t see a problem. You meet the guidelines to their satisfaction, you get paid. They’re not satisfied, you don’t.
If they are paying you the bonus up front, no way. If that’s the plan, why not accept, but tell them you’ll take the money only after the projects are done and they are happy with the results?
What Athena is complaining about is that the “guidelines” are too vague. IOW, she could bust her but to try and get everything done, and then still be denied the bonus because the higher-ups threw more impossible stuff in at the last minute.
I don’t know the situation completely, but it sounds like management is dangling a carrot, but being deliberately vague about the requirements.
If you turn down the bonus, you’re not a team player, but if you go for it, there’s no defined target to shoot for.
The money comes at some unspecified date after the projects are done.
What you propose was my first instict. After thinking about it, though, I realize just how much room for problems the very loose guidelines are. What if I work my ass off to make the deadlines, but they come back and say “Oh, you misunderstood point X. No bonus for you!” I’d be pissed.
It goes the other way, too. If I just take a laissez-faire attitude toward the whole thing and don’t worry about the bonus, I’m worried they’ll be going “WTF? We told Athena she’d get this great bonus if she works hard, but here she is only working 40 hour weeks! She’s an ungrateful wrech.”
I think turning it down is only an option if you’re ready to leave. Accept, do what you can to meet the guidelines, and if they screw you you know where you stand.
This is precisely why variable compensation becomes a demotivator instead of a motivator. There are way too many instances where work is performed to a stellar level and “other circumstances” prevail to deny the reward. Hence, the workforce become dis-incented to work hard. The fix is pretty simple - either detail to a mutually acceptable level the deliverables that are to be achieved and the compensation associated with them (preferably on a per deliverable basis) or provide a reward to high achievers after the results are in without having dangled a carrot to begin with.
Sounds to me like your bosses have a tough time getting things clearly defined in the first place. The agreements they h ave with their clients are probably just as vague (if not, tell them you want things spelled out like they are in your client agreements). This is one of the worst types of work environments, when you are being measured by criteria you either don’t know about or don’t understand properly.
I’d continue pushing back, saying that the bonus program isn’t defined clearly enough for you. You need, at a minimum, to know which bugs they are talking about, and that for Project Y, that your input will be considered when selecting the timeline (ie hey boss, I said it will take three weeks to get this done. getting it done in 2 days is not possible). I’d also ask that they tie the bonuses to individual projects as opposed to all of them. After all, what’s to stop one from going to hell in a handbasket, nullifying all fo the work you did on the others?
As for retaliation, well, if that’s the type of bosses you have, be glad you found this out 2 years into your employment and not 20.
How about you define your own criteria? Say to them something like, “I really like the idea of a bonus, but I felt that the terms you suggested needed a more rigid specification, so I’ve taken the liberty of suggesting these. What do you think?”
That’s pretty much what I’ve done. They haven’t come back and said “Forget it” but I did mention things in passing to one of the bosses, who said “well, they’re subjective criteria” and didn’t seem all that willing to discuss things further.
Basically, if they want to give you the bonus they will find a way. If they don’t want to give you the bonus, they won’t give it to you. Forget about the criteria. Typically the reason for bonuses is make their compensation package a little more elastic. They can cut back on the bonuses, but it is much harder to cut back on salaries.
Actually, I missed it before, but you say that they’re expecting you to work extra hours for this bonus which they might not give you? Sorry, but IMHO that’s an utter no-no. If they want you to work extra hours, they should pay you overtime or renegotiate your contract.
Working extra hours is pretty much normal for software developers. Most jobs I’ve had expect extra hours around the project due date and don’t offer any extra money or bonuses, so that part doesn’t much bother me.
And yes, meeting the due dates will almost certainly mean some overtime.
It sounds like they’re trying to get somebody else to take the heat from them in the future, because they already relize that they’re not likely to get 4 important items done on time, because of things already falling behind that they won’t tell you about until you accept.
Urk? If nothing else, this should clearly be stated, i.e. “Athena will receive the bonus upon successful completion of Project #4,” or “Athena will receive bonus at the end of Fiscal Year 2019,” or whatever the terms are. A bonus given at some unspecified time for unspecified work to be completed by unspecified deadlines doesn’t strike me as a bonus at all. It sounds more like a stick to beat you over the head with should you not perform up to whatever level authority deems you should be performing at the time.
I haven’t worked in the software development industry (all the sofdev I’ve done is either for academic use or proprietary applications) but I’ve known people in software development that got latched onto for their competence and burned out by progressively demanding expectations. I think you would not be out of place to insist upon better defined guidelines for success, or at least a per-project bonus so they can’t string you along indefinitely, and you wouldn’t be amiss to put your request for clarification in writing. crazyjoe makes some very astute comments in this regard. You also need to get the final agreement in writing and carbon copied in your personnel file in the case that things go sour. You may want them and the company to success, but not at the expense of leaving tracks on your back.
They are setting you up to take the blame for when the projects are late. (They will be, and they already know it.)
They want you to work lots of unpaid overtime. Nice for them. For you, it amounts to a pay cut. For a salaried employee there is a fine line between dedicated employee and schmuck. Only you can decide where that line is, but at least think about it. How many hours do your plumber, auto mechanic, doctor or dentist work for free?
You will never see a dime of that bullshit bonus.
I wouldn’t refuse the bonus. That would look bad, but don’t let yourself be goaded into working a crazy amount of unpaid overtime. Life is too short.