8 ms·

I don't necessarily think he should have been compensated based on the (theoretical) loss of money. He was employed after all. And properly someone else would h

I don't necessarily think he should have been compensated based on the (theoretical) loss of money. He was employed after all. And properly someone else would haved saved the day early enough anyway. But 25$ is quite an embarrassment. Nothing would have been better in that case.

ElfinTrousers 4y ago
I mean, if you want to do it on the cheap, it only takes a few minutes for the dev's boss' boss' boss' boss' assistant to handwrite a note saying "Nice work saving the company, you are officially my hero" or words to that effect.
kevinmchugh 4y ago
It's tricky to reward outstanding work for salaried folks, since it can mess with intrinsic motivation or misalign incentives. Here it's probably appropriate to have a five figure spot bonus for the line employee who made the fix, and a promotion, if they still had the junior title. And also a very long uncomfortable conversation with whichever architects or seniors decided it was okay for Black Friday pricing to only be uploaded five minutes before midnight - what the hell is that about?
- hnbad 4y ago
  Salary is literally extrinsic motivation. The problem isn't bonuses, the problem is when bonuses become so regular and frequent that they turn into an informal part of the salary and not paying them becomes equivalent to withholding part of the salary. If you pay a one-off bonus for outstanding work, make sure you tie it to something specific the employee can understand. If it's a reward for a massive deal decide in advance if you want to pay out similar bonuses for similar deals in the future and what the rules are. An employer-employee relationship is not a friendship no matter how much you like each other. It's a dependent relationship and it needs rules to protect both sides. A five figure bonus is a big deal for many employees so treat them with the dignity they deserve by making sure they can understand the conditions. If you think there aren't any that just means you haven't spelled them out or don't want to be held accountable.
lupire 4y ago
> And properly someone else would haved saved the day early enough anyway. According to the story, no. The regular employees in the regular system failed, and OP person decided to act like an owner and save the company, outside of job responsibilities, covering up for management's failure to build and test a reliable system. Did the OP person get paid like an owneror promoted to a leadership position for being a leader? No.
- pc86 4y ago
  OP's friend didn't get paid like an owner because he wasn't an owner. If you want to be an owner you have to take on the risk as well. If they had missed it, and lost the 5M, you wouldn't support them taking back half of this guy's pay for the next 6 months to help make up for it.
vorpalhex 4y ago
It sounds like he went above and beyond the call of duty.

ElfinTrousers 4y ago

I mean, if you want to do it on the cheap, it only takes a few minutes for the dev's boss' boss' boss' boss' assistant to handwrite a note saying "Nice work saving the company, you are officially my hero" or words to that effect.

kevinmchugh 4y ago

It's tricky to reward outstanding work for salaried folks, since it can mess with intrinsic motivation or misalign incentives. Here it's probably appropriate to have a five figure spot bonus for the line employee who made the fix, and a promotion, if they still had the junior title. And also a very long uncomfortable conversation with whichever architects or seniors decided it was okay for Black Friday pricing to only be uploaded five minutes before midnight - what the hell is that about?

hnbad 4y ago
Salary is literally extrinsic motivation. The problem isn't bonuses, the problem is when bonuses become so regular and frequent that they turn into an informal part of the salary and not paying them becomes equivalent to withholding part of the salary. If you pay a one-off bonus for outstanding work, make sure you tie it to something specific the employee can understand. If it's a reward for a massive deal decide in advance if you want to pay out similar bonuses for similar deals in the future and what the rules are. An employer-employee relationship is not a friendship no matter how much you like each other. It's a dependent relationship and it needs rules to protect both sides. A five figure bonus is a big deal for many employees so treat them with the dignity they deserve by making sure they can understand the conditions. If you think there aren't any that just means you haven't spelled them out or don't want to be held accountable.

lupire 4y ago

> And properly someone else would haved saved the day early enough anyway. According to the story, no. The regular employees in the regular system failed, and OP person decided to act like an owner and save the company, outside of job responsibilities, covering up for management's failure to build and test a reliable system. Did the OP person get paid like an owneror promoted to a leadership position for being a leader? No.

pc86 4y ago
OP's friend didn't get paid like an owner because he wasn't an owner. If you want to be an owner you have to take on the risk as well. If they had missed it, and lost the 5M, you wouldn't support them taking back half of this guy's pay for the next 6 months to help make up for it.

vorpalhex 4y ago

It sounds like he went above and beyond the call of duty.