So...I got in this morning and I already had a message waiting for me.
It was the big French boss asking me to call him back. This meant one of two things -- either my coworker whose wife is pregnant needed serious medical care (he did leave early because she had a doctor's appointment yesterday) or it was time for me to head down to slaughter and get the numbers for my raise and bonus.
I had already been forewarned that the people on the trading floor were QUITE unhappy with their results and I pretty much went in expecting to get nothing as is my way. Considering that last year I walked out with NO raise for the second year in a row and a bonus that wouldn't even pay the therapy bills associated with the trauma of not getting a raise, getting ANYTHING would be better than last year.
My whole concept of going in expecting nothing comes from working for a company in Jacksonville, Florida, that I now refer to as "Hellspring", a small punny take their former name. I had a supervisor there who sang my praises to the higher ups about how I had exceeded her expectations with the process and I was her golden child, blah blah blah. When it came time for my review, she gave me a rating of "meets requirements" rather than the "exceeds requirements" that I thought I would be getting for all of my hard work and attention to the task at hand. Needless to say, the golden child was pissed.
She gave me some cock and bull story about how she has high expectations, yadda yadda yadda, and that I would have to make due with the pathetic raise that I was getting. In the employee response section of the review form, I wrote down, "I do not understand nor do I agree with this review considering the comments that have been made regarding my work performance to other managers in my presence."
My supervisor was shocked that I was write that down and I knew that all employee comments or "plans for action" would be going back though higher management for review and follow up as needed.
I never got a follow up.
But that is where my view of walking in expecting nothing in terms of a raise and/or bonus comes from...I went into that review expecting to be compensated for the long hours I had put in and, in return, I got nothing at all.
This year, I got more than they gave me last year. I got a raise and I got the highest bonus that I've ever gotten here. Granted it's not that much higher, but it's more than enough to get me a good flight for my prized trip to Italy this September with enough left over to invest in a good pair of hiking boots and maybe some hiking shorts as well.
Compared to everyone else, I'm happy with what I got. They could have given me the same as last year but, at the very least, I'm happy that I got more than last year which is all that I could really ask or hope for given the circumstances. This is just one of those situations where I know what it feels like to get the shaft (or as I like to call it, raped up the ass without the benefit of lube) but at least I'm getting something this year.
No complaints. Let the other people grumble about what they got. I, for one, am happy.
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