What is Digg?38 Comments
- tomboy501, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31This article has inspired me to think about spending less time surfing the internet and messing around on digg during work. I could be the queen of the performance-linked bonuses if I wasn't so easily distracted :(
- aarona, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14I was recently offered a job that would be considered a pretty big promotion in terms of seniority and position within my company, but they offered me less than 3% more than what I make now to take what would have been a 30% workload increase. They supplemented this with an offer of a performance-based bonus, which they claimed could "potentially increase my earnings per anum by 50%" Given that no one has made bonus in the last 6 months due to some drastically over-hyped budgets, I declined the offer.
What surprised me is how shocked they sounded when I declined them. My boss told me later he thought I was "setting a precedent" by declining the promotion. I asked him why I should continue to make effectively the same pay to do a harder job.
In this day and age there's more money in moving laterally from job to job. It's not uncommon to make 10-15% more by moving to a different company. I haven't stayed in one place for more than two years, since there's more money in taking the same job elsewhere at higher pay. A good buddy of mine pulls in $20K/year more at his new location working less hours and doing less work than he did working the exact same job at another company this time two years ago. My last move was more profitable than my last 3 raises combined.
Company loyalty is dead. Companies don't take care of their workers, and if they don't want to give their workers the benefits of higher guaranteed pay, workers can find that higher pay elsewhere. - kurupt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Here, here. I can completely empathize, as I am just as guilty as you are for doing the same. As an earlier digg story reported, most workers don't WORK their full 8 hours to begin with. There are times at work where I will be caught up in my work to the point where nothing can stop me. But, breaks are necessary and, digg is certainly a mandatory and satisfying break from the mundane tasks you might encounter at your job.
Plus, I look at it like this: I don't wanna have to come home from work, tired, and have to digg through pages of submissions and find all the stories that I missed out on while I was at work. I'd rather get that out of the way while I'm at work, so that I can limit my time on digg to begin with once I return home. :) - cantankerous, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Less work! More pay!
- Fhwqhgads, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8That's the reason they prefer bonuses. It's cheaper for them and they aren't required to give you one.
- tomboy501, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6...heh, I did say I'd "think about it".
- mozzer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Whatever tomboy. That inspiration will last about a day or two. Digg's siren call is irresistible, and you'll be back here with the rest of us workday diggers. :)
- wibblewibble, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I would prefer less working hours and more time off to be honest. ITs worth more than a one off bonus.
- qwickone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Makes total sense on the corporate side. From my perspective as an employee though, it kinda sucks because I'd rather have more money over the course of a year that get a big bonus check at the end and live on my tiny paycheck.
- kurupt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'm in favor of the bonus model to some degree, even though I feel I am not getting paid enough as it is (different story.) I also see it as a motiviational tool to make me want to strive to work that much harder to achieve that extra bit of cash, the incentive earnings. Maybe then I will cut down on my browsing of digg and focusing more on work, haha. :P
I've seen this work on our sales team, as they continue to exceed sales goals each month in order to earn that bonus. Now, if only it would transfer over to my division. :) - mtalon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Sorry but bonus < raise in this employee's mind. I've been screwed out of too many bonuses because of the underperformance of a company that had nothing to do with my personal performance. Because the sales department couldn't get their act together, any effort I put out had no impact.
I definitely agree with the above posters about people changing companies. If a company does not offer competitive wage increases, they lose people. In IT, that means seeing valuable knowledge walk out the door. Yeah, you can get another .NET guy, but it will take months if not years to get him up to speed on the business. Any company that thinks bonuses are a better incentive than merit raises is a company with high turnover as the employess get their wage increase through lateral motion. - brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I agree, Damn this adiggtion
- stonebear, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Who does this article thing it’s kidding? The title is just another way of saying “Employers increasingly favor not giving raises.” WOW, WORD UP!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Bonuses are taxed at a higher rate because it in pay for time not worked. My Bonuses are taxed almost 40%. I'd rather get it on my weekly check so I can hide it for taxes on my 401k .
- hangtown, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Anyone who is in favor of the bonus model isn't thinking. I know people who count their bonuses as income, and then in years where the company isn't doing as well and bonuses are smaller, they are hosed. Bad idea.
Bonuses always cost the company less, and you more, because the company does not have to increase your salary on a permanent basis. They give you one or two good bonuses, then start feeding you a line about something in your performance that means you aren't getting one this time. Or the company as a whole doesn't do as well and bonuses tied to company performance shrink.
You can't win this way. It's just a way of shrinking your overall earnings. - spurtle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Bonuses aren't taxed more, but have more witheld from the check since the payroll software thinks that you're now in a higher tax bracket because of the large sum of money. Come tax time, you should be getting that money back in a refund, or not pay as much if you owe.
- NatalieMac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@listrophy
I'd say that you are very, very lucky.
I've been bouncing around from company to company every couple of years just trying to find a company I felt good about working for and bosses that didn't treat the employees like crap. I don't understand why it's so hard to find an honest, decent person or company to work for. It's so discouraging.
And there's some truth to the lateral move thing - I've gotten some really good pay raises making almost lateral moves, and am currently making almost three times what I was making five years and four jobs ago. - TheKingInYellow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5i find that bonuses are only a temporary fix and raises are better in the long run.
example: i make $x per year. i can't afford to pay 100% of my bills. delinquent payments add up. i get a bonus and catch up on bills. repeat cycle. no matter how relieving a bonus is they never relieve situations for more than a month. instead of bonuses, i would prefer on overall raise to my salary to evenly compensate my expenses monthly. - brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@zoombusa:
Yeah, that policy is working GREAT for Sears.
/sarcasm - josegutz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I don't believe I'll be getting a raise or a bonus anytime soon surfing Digg all day long...
- borchard76, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yes, but bonuses could be made monthly, quarterly or semi-annually. In honesty, this is a good idea, and bonuses should be used. That said--the base salary has to be sufficient for living--otherwise people will get depressed if they miss their bonus.
Also, the actions & effort necessary to get the bonus has to be absolutely clear in order for it to have any motivational force. Otherwise people will be unsure what you want them to do. - gwinerreniwg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Certainly this strategy makes employer's payroll more elastic, but when the next article on Digg talks about the impact of inflation, I am more concerned about my ability to keep my salary in line with real-world costs. A bonus is cold comfort the next year when bonuses are reduced due to market conditions, or crummy project performance sabotages your bonus that period. And in case you haven't applied for a loan lately, it makes it extremely hard to justify your income, when a good portion is performance-bonus based.
- copyright1968, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Many companies offer raises as a percentage of pay, such as 3 or 5% of base pay. By offering bonuses instead, they keep the base pay lower so when one does get a raise the amount is smaller.
- TheKingInYellow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3i agree with you, aarona. where i'm working, most people havn't seen pay increases or any monetary compensations in several years. most of them have also left the company to pursue higher paying, less stressful jobs.
you're better off looking for the bigger better slice. i've only had three professional jobs in my field since i graduated college and that was in 2001. each job had significant pay increases which is why i accepted them. don't get me wrong the money was great but the work was stressful and there were other factors, such as the cost of living per job location, which were major factors in deciding whether or not to move to new jobs.
i was living in nola before katrina and couldn't find a job. now, i'm considering moving back because there are jobs a plenty at excellent salaries. a taco bell manager in nola makes more than i do working at an international distribution company/national television network. does that make any logical sense? - gwinerreniwg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3That is not correct - Bonuses are taxed just like any other income at the Federal level (perhaps your state or local laws vary on this). While there may be a higher UP FRONT deduction from your paycheck, at the end of the year on your W2, it shows as normal income and subject to the same federal tax rate as your other income.
- fucknut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Right before you receive your bonus, submit a new W-4 form with your boss, changing the number of exemptions on your payroll. By increasing your exemptions, the government will withhold less taxes. Then, after you get the bonus, submit another W-4 to restore your exemptions to the normal level. This fools the computers into giving you the money that is rightfully yours."
details here:
http://www.ricedelman.com/planning/taxes/bonus.asp - TheKingInYellow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i can't agree more.
being at one place for so long allows you to learn how it works. i know where all the files are, i know when the deadlines are, i know how to get everything done with a certain level of quality and in a timely manner. how long will it take the next guy to figure it out once i'm gone? we had an intern about 6 months ago that was here for 90 days and never figured it out. take care of me when i'm struggling financially and you won't lose money in the long run by having to waste time on new employees who have to learn the ropes.
valuable knowledge walking out the door indeed! - zoombusa, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It is called working on commission. Been around for years. You only get paid for the work you do.
With this commission based model:
Worker has incentive to work harder.
Company employees happy workers.
Favoritism is non-existent as everyone is expected to reach similar goals.
Less frequent lay-offs and firings (if that is a word). If the person does not meet their goals they will quit because they are not making any money.
Company will make percentage of money according to the work that is performed.
Less risk of company losing money. If workers are not working they don't pay.
Win-Win for both workers and management. - listrophy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Company loyalty is dead."
I disagree. The small company I work for (~60 employees) is holding onto its employees almost entirely through loyalty. We genuinely like the people we work with and for. We like the location. We like the projects. Every single one of us could make 10% extra elsewhere... a few of us better than 20%. The number one reason for people leaving is lack of job security.
Of course, YMMV. - dcoolidge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://software.ericsink.com/articles/Compensation.html
- Beanlover, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ listrophy
Well...it's been mostly dead all decade. - gd007, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Employers are making employees work harder for their money." -- let me go back to work then. bye kevin!
- TubaTechno, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And if its not directly a cash bonus, then companies don't have to pay taxes on them.
- kkl3218, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Bonuses are taxed higher than an equal increase in salary. I hope employees and employers keep that in mind.
- kevinp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0If this trend continues, it will become more difficult for most of us to qualify for a conventional mortgage. If you have a job with a low base salary but with the expectation of large bonuses, you have to remain at that job long enough to convince the underwriter to accept them as part of your income.
"No-doc" mortgages typically require a larger down payment and have higher interest rates.
So much for an ownership society. - NanoStuff, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0"Digg's siren call is irresistible, and you'll be back here with the rest of us workday diggers. :)"
I hope you're willing to accept the fact slackers are going to be amongst the first to be replaced by robots. Robots don't post on digg about how they're not working while they should be working.
Unless you're willing to cut your pay, work some 40 hours overtime and raise your WPM to around 1000 or so.
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