5 ms·

Is it common to ask for an award for doing your job? Is it like getting a tip?

fixedd 13y ago
Ask every sales person ever.
coolsunglasses 13y ago
It's not totally surprising when you can quantify how much money you just saved/made the company. There are better ways to handle such things though.
- tome 13y ago
  > There are better ways to handle such things though. Like what?
  - megablast 13y ago
    Asking for a raise or promotion?
    - caw 13y ago
      Raise or promotion implies you do it on a regular basis, and once you get that raise or promotion you're expected to do this level of work all the time.
jcampbell1 13y ago
I don't know. I was always turned down. I think the managers didn't actually have power to give one. I now work at a bootstrapped company where I get all of the (a/re)wards. I will point out that one of my co-workers was given an award for "safety" because he suggested windows be installed on every door so you can see if someone is coming... talk about rearranging deck chairs.
- lostlogin 13y ago
  About out safety. My workplace recently opened a new branch. Since it opened a year ago we have all been commenting about how we bang into each other or nearly do, surprisingly often. And just recently we have had 2x staff off with concussions after banging into each other. One of them periodically collapsed for a week or 2 after - I'm talking complete KO. Yes, they got and are getting medical care. If this suggestion was warranted, I not think its silly at all.
  - jcampbell1 13y ago
    It is trivial to install a piece of tempered glass into a door. Don't tell your boss to solve your own problem. Solve it yourself. Get quotes, ask for the company amex, and fix the problem. Don't be the guy that discovers problems, be the guy that solves problems.
    - lostlogin 13y ago
      Sorry, I get it. I thought you were saying the solution and problem were silly. You weren't - it's the approach to solving the problem. Be the guy that solves problems. This so very much.
    - rollo_tommasi 13y ago
      This is an excellent way to get fired in many medium-to-large corporations.
      - dirktheman 13y ago
        That's what I thought, too, You can't just pass both Facility Management AND Procurement. Don't you know we have contracts with preferred suppliers? Besides, why are you spending time on something that's clearly not your job? Does that mean you're having unaccounted time? Let's reflect on that in the next 360-degree feedback... EDIT Maybe I'm a bit sarcastic, but I've seen this happen. I actually had to write down everything I did in blocks of 15 minutes. I even had a 15-minute block for writing down what I did. Which is very depressing in a meta kind of way...
georgemcbay 13y ago
> Is it common to ask for an award for doing your job? Sure it is, most people expect to be awarded a paycheck in return for doing their job. But as to whether it is common to ask for an award over your paycheck, I think it is probably less common than it should be. IMO, it is perfectly reasonable to ask for a bonus if your actions result in a very direct, sizable and quantifiable gain or savings for the company above and beyond your normal value as an employee. Executives at these larger companies (you generally have to be pretty large to have a 'ghost employee' problem) are constantly giving themselves raises or bonuses based on such events, so why (other than the shut-up-and-do-your-job-serf mentality too often enforced by the serfs themselves) should the non-exec be guilted into not asking for them?
drsim 13y ago
I worked as a business development guy on a major contracts team. So my usual role was finding £100k+ contracts and negotiating the tender process. I'd regularly get bonuses when the deal was closed. However I really was a coder. I proposed a CD that we'd send to architects to showcase our work. It was a simple HTML interface that would pop up when they put the disc in. I did all of the coding, graphic design and packaging. Then mailed it to prospects and made it available to my team. I did this without pre-negotiating any kind of extra payment even though it 'wasn't my job'. I just knew it would be incredibly useful to have a high-res portfolio. I was very pleased when a Director gave me a £4.5k bonus for the work. Note that I completed all of the work on my salaried time. Too many people box themselves into a 'not my job' mentality. I don't think a bonus should be expected by the OP as it was just doing his job. No harm in asking though!

Ask every sales person ever.

It's not totally surprising when you can quantify how much money you just saved/made the company. There are better ways to handle such things though.

tome 13y ago
> There are better ways to handle such things though. Like what?
- megablast 13y ago
  Asking for a raise or promotion?
  - caw 13y ago
    Raise or promotion implies you do it on a regular basis, and once you get that raise or promotion you're expected to do this level of work all the time.

jcampbell1 13y ago

I don't know. I was always turned down. I think the managers didn't actually have power to give one. I now work at a bootstrapped company where I get all of the (a/re)wards. I will point out that one of my co-workers was given an award for "safety" because he suggested windows be installed on every door so you can see if someone is coming... talk about rearranging deck chairs.

lostlogin 13y ago
About out safety. My workplace recently opened a new branch. Since it opened a year ago we have all been commenting about how we bang into each other or nearly do, surprisingly often. And just recently we have had 2x staff off with concussions after banging into each other. One of them periodically collapsed for a week or 2 after - I'm talking complete KO. Yes, they got and are getting medical care. If this suggestion was warranted, I not think its silly at all.
- jcampbell1 13y ago
  It is trivial to install a piece of tempered glass into a door. Don't tell your boss to solve your own problem. Solve it yourself. Get quotes, ask for the company amex, and fix the problem. Don't be the guy that discovers problems, be the guy that solves problems.
  - lostlogin 13y ago
    Sorry, I get it. I thought you were saying the solution and problem were silly. You weren't - it's the approach to solving the problem. Be the guy that solves problems. This so very much.
  - rollo_tommasi 13y ago
    This is an excellent way to get fired in many medium-to-large corporations.
    - dirktheman 13y ago
      That's what I thought, too, You can't just pass both Facility Management AND Procurement. Don't you know we have contracts with preferred suppliers? Besides, why are you spending time on something that's clearly not your job? Does that mean you're having unaccounted time? Let's reflect on that in the next 360-degree feedback... EDIT Maybe I'm a bit sarcastic, but I've seen this happen. I actually had to write down everything I did in blocks of 15 minutes. I even had a 15-minute block for writing down what I did. Which is very depressing in a meta kind of way...

georgemcbay 13y ago

> Is it common to ask for an award for doing your job? Sure it is, most people expect to be awarded a paycheck in return for doing their job. But as to whether it is common to ask for an award over your paycheck, I think it is probably less common than it should be. IMO, it is perfectly reasonable to ask for a bonus if your actions result in a very direct, sizable and quantifiable gain or savings for the company above and beyond your normal value as an employee. Executives at these larger companies (you generally have to be pretty large to have a 'ghost employee' problem) are constantly giving themselves raises or bonuses based on such events, so why (other than the shut-up-and-do-your-job-serf mentality too often enforced by the serfs themselves) should the non-exec be guilted into not asking for them?

drsim 13y ago

I worked as a business development guy on a major contracts team. So my usual role was finding £100k+ contracts and negotiating the tender process. I'd regularly get bonuses when the deal was closed. However I really was a coder. I proposed a CD that we'd send to architects to showcase our work. It was a simple HTML interface that would pop up when they put the disc in. I did all of the coding, graphic design and packaging. Then mailed it to prospects and made it available to my team. I did this without pre-negotiating any kind of extra payment even though it 'wasn't my job'. I just knew it would be incredibly useful to have a high-res portfolio. I was very pleased when a Director gave me a £4.5k bonus for the work. Note that I completed all of the work on my salaried time. Too many people box themselves into a 'not my job' mentality. I don't think a bonus should be expected by the OP as it was just doing his job. No harm in asking though!