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Money Favoritism Assertiveness

We received our bonuses for last year, and I am not satisfied with mine. I was under the impression that if I did a good job and the company made its numbers, I would get a larger bonus. How can I go to my manager to discuss this without sounding like an ingrate?



Depending on how you approach the topic of your bonus, you can come across as an ingrate or as an inquisitive employee.

It sounds like there is confusion regarding your company’s bonus program, and you could profit by learning more about it. It is important that you operate with much more than an “impression” of the way that your company’s bonus plan works.

If you believe that you met all of the criteria required for a larger bonus, you should discuss your concern with your manager. However, you should not simply meet with him or her and blurt out your dissatisfaction. A better approach is to say nothing about your actual bonus, but rather indicate that you are confused over the bonus program and would like to know more about the way that it is structured.

Perhaps there are formulas related to company performance that you know nothing about, or there may be a stronger discretionary aspect than you realized. If you still believe that your bonus is too low after hearing the explanation, then you can say that you are confused over the amount of your bonus. Whether your current bonus is adjusted or not, you will have a better idea of what it takes to earn a larger bonus next year, and that information is actually a bonus of sorts.



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