I don't know if that was the lesson I would have taken. The lesson I'd take is "don't work for a company that tries to manipulate employees to work ridiculous h

I don't know if that was the lesson I would have taken. The lesson I'd take is "don't work for a company that tries to manipulate employees to work ridiculous hours for the possibility of more pay". First of all, it's a bad idea for all of the classic Goodhart's law measure-becoming-a-target reasons. Management throwing money at a problem reveals a certain amount of stupidity fostered by desperateness. Second, it's a very devious practice. This person made 2,000, but most likely worked an extra 10-20 hours a week for a few months. That's 2,000/120 = 16.6 dollars per hour. The company effectively got a lot more work out of some employees for a pretty cheap price. Yeah, sure the other team got a lot more. But never, ever work your ass off for the possibility of more money. What's fascinating about this post is how the author manages to frame his exploitation in terms of how he was ungrateful or unreasonable. Yeah, sure, for your own benefit you shouldn't care that much about bonuses and you should be grateful for what you have. But that doesn't mean you should let your company exploit you! It's perfectly okay to fight your damnest to get more money from the company. Lord knows they're fighting to pay you the least they can get away with.