Were you happy with your year-end bonus?

If so, what industry to you work in?

I work for an Investment Bank in Manhattan. My bonus was okay... I'm not thrilled though. These firms expect you give your lives to them. There is no work-life balance... Your life is work! And I just think that you should be compensated for that committment. I don't want to sound greedy, but what's the value proposition for dedicating myself?

Ugh...Sub-prime. Thanks alot.

I work for myself and was quite happy with the bonus that I paid myself.

For my staff, I sit down with them in early december and define the comp plan for the next year. I use a balanced scorecard formula that's partly wieghted on company performance and partly on individual performance. Yes we have disagreements on what just compensation is but typically someone who puts in a tonne of productive hours usually delivers more and gets more bonus.

For me I had the same issue as you. I was a managing consultant for a big 5 firm, and spent 8 years in that organization. I spent 100% of my time on the road, reached or exceeded inside sales targets, and was making just as much as the guys who had the cushy clients in my home town and 0% travel. Our managing partner kept thinking I wasn't serious about leaving even though he and I argued about it all the time.

I maintained that I should see a travel prosisio of 30% higher salary than the guys who didn't. I was also quite willing to give it up if I didn't travel.

I became too fed up, tendered my resignation, was countered but it wasn't enough, created my own company and have a nice, small manageable endeavour.

The first 6 months were tough. Now if I compare myself to myself when I worked in the big 5:
- I've lost 20 lbs of fat because I can dedicate time to exercise
- I no longer require lipid medications
- my daughter doesn't get angry on Sunday nights because she knows I'm going to be there on Monday
- my overall level of stress is much lower, so much that the stress related growths on my arms are almost gone
- I make more money now
- I'm happier now

I work for a Fortune 500 company. No year end bonus here!!!

Bonus? What bonus?

My year end bonus did not exist, so no.

no im not happy..... good for you

I'm with you...God forbid that we get compensated for making THEIR work OUR life.

I'm working for a R & D company, and don't plan on getting a bonus if it makes you feel any better.

I am not lucky at the end of this year because my tenant does not pay the rent, I have to do the eviction and I lost 3 months of rent. Another unlucky that my hubby does not get the bonus this year, hichichic

I work in a high profile law firm, and they gave me $70 before taxes, and they took 25% out instead of my normal 9%.

I got $44 out of it.

Bonus? You may get some nasty answers because a lot of us could be jealous. Personally, I was in the office in manufacturing and 3 times laid off (different companies and many others laid off too) -- this LAST time was 3 full months....unemployment gets here if you can live on it -- that is a major joke. I finally got a job in a hospital (a job I'm totally grateful for -- it is awesome) but I don't even get my 1st full paycheck until AFTER Christmas....we feel LUCKY we have a roof over our head. I would NEVER complain about ANY bonus.....that's not a guarantee AND every company expects you to give your life to them.....TIMES HAVE CHANGED and there are no longer any guarantees in life.

"I work for a Fortune 500 company. No year end bonus here!!!"

That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard? There are plenty of Fortune 500 Companies that give year end bonuses. A couple that come to mind are Cisco and then Goldman Sachs. GS gives very nice bonuses.

Ok, now from someone that actually works in your industry, and knows that getting a Bonus is the only reason for giving up your physical health to a job in the Financial World.

I work for a CDO adviser group, and got way more then I expected! Obviously I am proud of myself, my company and extremely happy. Sub-prime fiasco, surprisingly did not affect us as much as our team is extremely cautions in their Analysis, we are a new shop and doing very well.

That said, working for any firm, unless its the top 5, means, there is no job security. With the economy the way it is now, we could have a great bonus, but we could be closed by Spring! You may have a not so great bonus, but you're probably making do by staying in business and keeping your staff.. everything is give and take.

Be happy with what you got, but don't give up your life.. its too short for no matter whatever amount of money you want.

We don't get ours until Feb 2008, and hopefully it should be the same as 2007. But at any rate, I am happy to get any bonus looking at the market, and some other people who don't. Our company is an asset management firm and fortunately, we are not a giant corporation, but in the medium range of almost 6,000 employees world wide, and we did better than the giants with the sub-prime fiasco.

So the answer should be: happy to be working period.

I work as a manager at an insurance company in the NYC metro area which does offer work life balance. My bonus including deferred stock was $20K. Nothing too spectacular but I eat dinner at home every night and have weekends off.