I can vouch for the agreeableness of this system. I received a bonus from a similar pool when the company I was working at was sold. It came across to me and ev

I can vouch for the agreeableness of this system. I received a bonus from a similar pool when the company I was working at was sold. It came across to me and everyone else who received it as a genuine and thoughtful act. That may have been ameliorated by the fact that there was no expectation ordinary employees would get anything -- we just found out about this bonus at the same time we got our "Welcome to [Acquiring Company]" letters. The founders also had a very generous profit-sharing-equivalent project bonus plan as well, but as has been mentioned, this is in an industry where bonuses are more prevalent than equity.