7 ms·

how would you even allocate the money fairly besides rolling it into the company to keep it alive and successful (and maybe the added profit increases the bonus

how would you even allocate the money fairly besides rolling it into the company to keep it alive and successful (and maybe the added profit increases the bonus pool if that exists)? The engineers didn't do it in isolation - how much of a share goes to the office receptionist that answered the phones and kept visitors out of the way of the engineers? How much goes to the Finance department that kept the engineering paychecks coming while they did they work? How much goes to the salespeople who kept the deals flowing and money coming in that filled the disks in the first place... and so on and so on. Once a company exits the "a few devs in a garage" stage, many people contribute to the company's success.

franga2000 5y ago
Let's face it, increasing your employer's profit margin will only benefit the employees if the company is struggling and they were about to be laid off because costs were starting to eat into the margins. The only case where it does is with a bonus or with workers owning shares with dividends. "keeping it alive and successful" only matters if that wouldn't have happened otherwise and even then not much if you have good job mobility. No need to allocate. Something like "our clever engineers managed to save us $2M per year, so we're giving everyone a $500 bonus this month" seams entirely reasonable.
- Johnny555 5y ago
  I don't know about this company or if it's profitable, but in many small startups, saving money decreases the burn rate, which extends the time before the company runs out of money, can become profitable, or needs to close another round of funding.
jes 5y ago
I have worked in high tech since 1983. Over my career, I have received unsolicited bonuses, stock grants, and other perks, from time to time. At the same time, when I thought I had made a material contribution to the company's success that was above and beyond my normal role, I would ask for compensation of one kind or another. At times, I was told no, and at other times, my request was granted. I believe Wayne Gretzky said something like "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take." My lived experience is that life is not fair. In the organizations where I was an employee, owner or executive, it has never been the case that everyone, in their "heart of hearts," really believed everything was entirely fair. I think it's right and proper to recognize and work to correct injustices, to the extent possible, yet I think it's also true that people vary all over the map and on a perhaps uncountable number of dimensions, and trying to achieve complete fairness is simply not possible. I will also say that my belief that life is not fair does not require us to go through life constantly angry and frustrated. I could be wrong, and I don't wish to put words in your mouth. Interested in your thoughts, if you want to say more.

franga2000 5y ago

Let's face it, increasing your employer's profit margin will only benefit the employees if the company is struggling and they were about to be laid off because costs were starting to eat into the margins. The only case where it does is with a bonus or with workers owning shares with dividends. "keeping it alive and successful" only matters if that wouldn't have happened otherwise and even then not much if you have good job mobility. No need to allocate. Something like "our clever engineers managed to save us $2M per year, so we're giving everyone a $500 bonus this month" seams entirely reasonable.

Johnny555 5y ago
I don't know about this company or if it's profitable, but in many small startups, saving money decreases the burn rate, which extends the time before the company runs out of money, can become profitable, or needs to close another round of funding.

jes 5y ago

I have worked in high tech since 1983. Over my career, I have received unsolicited bonuses, stock grants, and other perks, from time to time. At the same time, when I thought I had made a material contribution to the company's success that was above and beyond my normal role, I would ask for compensation of one kind or another. At times, I was told no, and at other times, my request was granted. I believe Wayne Gretzky said something like "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take." My lived experience is that life is not fair. In the organizations where I was an employee, owner or executive, it has never been the case that everyone, in their "heart of hearts," really believed everything was entirely fair. I think it's right and proper to recognize and work to correct injustices, to the extent possible, yet I think it's also true that people vary all over the map and on a perhaps uncountable number of dimensions, and trying to achieve complete fairness is simply not possible. I will also say that my belief that life is not fair does not require us to go through life constantly angry and frustrated. I could be wrong, and I don't wish to put words in your mouth. Interested in your thoughts, if you want to say more.