Bonus thank you letters

[TD2K]

None of my jobs have ever included bonsues so this year's 'thank you' from the company was unexpected.

We aren't talking Wall Street bonuses here , it was about 5% of my yearly salary but it definitely beats nothing. I don't know how many people got it, I'm thinking it's not across the board as I've heard nothing about it from other people (in terms of our 401k plan I'm considered 'highly compensated' though I don't )

Now I'm torn if I should just say something to my boss or if this is something that calls for a written 'thanks' or would that potentially be bad form. I have a hard time seeing how a thank you would be viewed badly but I've never been in this position.

[Deleted]

I say pocket it and forget about it
If your boss mention it, say thank you. But I would not go out of my way to bring attention to it.

But that is me.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

I am with Caw...


We aren't talking Wall Street bonuses here

The above statement is very illustrative of how little the general public knows about and why we get the govt we deserve. I can quite accurately state that staffers who work in the financial sector(ie: Wall Street) routinely get 5% bonuses. Some, slightly more.
What you are referring to as "Wall Street" style bonuses are in fact incentive compensation and/or commission based payouts.

[Anne_in_VA]

Many companies pay bonuses, some annually and some not so much depending on how they did that year. We (management) normally get about a 5 - 7% bonus, this year it was over 10% because we had an outstanding year last year.

When my manager told me how much the bonus was going to be, I thanked him, but it wasn't really necessary. If your boss mentions it, go ahead and thank him/her if you feel it's appropriate.

Q? What are you going to do with that extra money?

[Deleted]

Did your boss tell you you were getting a bonus or was your direct deposit bigger one payday?

[Urban Chicago]

My industry almost never gives out bonuses. The most we've ever gotten (and I can see everyone else's bonus) is $100, about 5 years ago.

[schildi]

I would not write a thank you letter.
It may not be viewed as bad, but could be as "weird".
I have gotten several "Thank you bonuses", and I am pretty sure nobody ever sent a thank you notice to their manager. But it may depend on how big the company is. If it's just you, the owner and a couple buddies, maybe. In my case, my boss is effected by the bonus in the same way I am, e.g. he is not really "giving it out".

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Not sure what industry you are in Urban, but your observation is quite correct.
Industries such as financial firms, advertising, consulting firms, marketing firms, etc., typically pay out annual bonuses.
Other industries such as manufacturing, consumer goods, etc., typically do not pay annual bonus.
I am differentiating between annual bonuses and incentive comp.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

I would not write a thank you letter.

This is my position. The company is thanking you, the worker for what you did the past year, and since the company had a good year(ie: profitable), they are expressing this thanks through a bonus.

When we get reviewed here in my firm, each of us individually meets with our supervisors who then tell us "the numbers". I always thank my supervisor and leave it at that.

[Deleted]

If your boss during a conversation says : Did you get the bous or are you happy with you bonus? Just say yes and thank you.
Or if he mentions it prior to you getting it, you say thank you.

But don't go to him or write a letter that says: Hey boss, thank you for the bonus.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

If your boss during a conversation says : Did you get the bous or are you happy with you bonus? Just say yes and thank you.
Or if he mentions it prior to you getting it, you say thank you.

A year or two ago, I checked the payroll web site(adp) around the time that increases and bonuses are paid, and that particular year, I found out "the numbers" before my supervisor had a chance to sit with us.

[Anne_in_VA]

SF - that happened to me this year. I got a notice in my email that I had a paycheck in an off-cycle week. I checked and it was our annual management bonus.

[jeffreymo]

My company has an exempt employee bonus program that bases bonuses off of gross operating profit for the fiscal year. Since we're publicly traded it's fairly easy to track and I usually can predict whether or not we will make our target.

I've never sent a thank you letter, and we don't really broadcast it, because there are many hourly employees who do not get them. My boss usually hands them out during annual performance reviews.

[qofcc]

We usually get annual bonuses. Management has the discretion to divide up bonus money to reward the people they want to reward, the individual amounts are not tied to meeting a specific goal. I always make it a point to personally thank my supervisor and his supervisor (the people who decide how to divvy up the bonus money) for the bonus. I don't think a formal thank-you note is necessary or even appropriate, but most people like to be thanked when they do things they don't have to do. I don't know if my appreciation makes them want to give me a bigger piece of the pie, but I figure it can't hurt.

[cronewitch]

We only get bonuses for profit sharing but only the president decides who gets how much. I am given a list since I write the checks. I give him the checks to sign and he puts them with a note to each person thanking them for the profitable year. When he hands me my check that I wrote I always thank him because he had the choice on amounts. The shareholders give him the amount he can give in total and he divides it not even close to evenly. He gets the most and the other officers, then the superintendents, then me, then office staff, then foremen. Union workers might get up to 100 each. But not all people in a class get the same bonus, he uses the money to make the people who are most productive happy and might give one superintendent twice as much as another if one would be a major hole in the company if he quit and the other we might be almost glad to see go.

[dragon2008]

We get bonuses depending on how the firm did during the year. With the check comes a letter that says that the bonuses are given out at the discretion of the partners and could end without notice. I always thank the partner who stops by and tells me when the bonus will be paid and how much I will get. I also try to let the partners I work for know how much I appreciate that we get bonuses period. But no official thank you.

I also try to remember this gratitude when I have to spend my weekends at work!

[gaultamort]

Mar 28, 2011 11:56:47 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

We only get bonuses for profit sharing but only the president decides who gets how much. .

My company pretty much does the it the same way. Given that our CEO is somewhat the steroetype of an older Southern woman, I've always written her note because it's appropiate for my situation. She makes a HUGE production of going around at bonus time thanking each employee for his/her contributions throughout the year. I always write her a short note thanking her for these comments. Sometimes I might mention something special I'm doing for myself with the bonus.

But at other companies I've worked at doing so would be totally weird. Just it's another one of those that depend on the situation!

[mesquite77]

At my old firm, one of the partners or the COO would come by each of our offices to let us know what our bonuses would be. They really enjoyed this in good years and most of the parthers would come by later in the day with a beaming "How's that bonus treat you?" type question. I never counted on the bonus and was "surprised" each time. It was quite generous - 8-20% of my salary. I always made sure I thanked the messenger and any partner that came by asking that day.

Last year (my first year at a new place), my boss was busting at the seams to let me know about my 39% bonus. After I picked my jaw off the floor, I thanked her. She deferred all credit to her boss for fighting for my bonus program, so when I returned to my office the first thing I did was send a short thank you email and copied my boss on the email.

I negociate my salary, so my bonuses are truely a welcome surprise and generally at the option of the company or my bosses, so a thank you seems natural to me - just as they sometimes will thank me for busting my ass on a project.

[txengineer]

I think the company should have sent you a "thank you" letter notifying you of the bonus. I think it's good to be grateful, and I would verbally thank my boss when the time is right, but wouldn't go out of way to do it. The way I view it - they gave you a bonus because you deserve it, they should be thankful of the good job you've done.

[wvugurl26]

I agree I wouldn't write a letter.
I heard coworkers talking about bonuses today and I heard something about it while I was in training in December from other coworkers but I'm not holding my breath. I'm still waiting on my cash award for passing the cpa exam. Its a set amount and the director of HR told me I was getting it but this budget thing is mucking all of our operations up.
Lock them up and throw away the key until they pass a damn budget. Its freaking ridiculous, it comes around at the same time each year. No private corporation could get away with this level of inefficiency at least not in today's economy.

[TD2K]

Did your boss tell you you were getting a bonus or was your direct deposit bigger one payday?

Thanks everyone for your input. The announcement, to use that term, came via an email.

[hurricanegirl]

think it depends upon the situation

I worked in a huge manufacturing plant as their transportation manager

For approximately 15 years, I received a "one time only bonus".

This was not accross the board, rather the General Manager selected 20 or so employees and decided an appropriate amount. The amount was always 4 figures (one comma ha), and some years more than others depending upon our annual profits, I suspect.

The GM always called me to his office, and handed me the check in a sealed envelope and sometimes apologized if it was a little smaller than other years. He always thanked me for my contributions and let me know he valued me as an employee.

I always purhcased a thank you card and hand wrote a small message indicating my gratitude.

The Controlled cinfided in me that I was the only person ever to write a thank you note, and the GM sincerely appreciated my efforts

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2011 22:49:13 GMT -5 TD2K said:

Did your boss tell you you were getting a bonus or was your direct deposit bigger one payday?

Thanks everyone for your input. The announcement, to use that term, came via an email.

That is odd. In my experience when a company gives a bonus, supervisors use that as an opportunity to tell you good job, keep it up, etc.

[jkapp]

The bonus itself can be viewed as a "thank you" to the employees...so it may be more appropriate to say "you're welcome"