The View | Why the psychology behind year-end bonuses is flawed
- While most companies persist with the annual performance-linked bonus, some have offered incentives linked to exercise or body mass index
- However, a better work environment and training, more respect, a recognition of employees’ efforts and revenue-sharing models can be as empowering as cold, hard cash
The business world is no stranger to senior management making eye-popping, even eccentric demands on their employees, sometimes for the sake of their own health. Nowhere is this practice more evident than while handing out those coveted year-end bonuses.
If an employee runs 100km every month, they will earn 130 per cent of the stipulated monthly bonus. Running 50km will secure the full monthly bonus, whereas those who manage 30km will receive 30 per cent of the bonus.
“A company can last long when its employees are healthy,” said Lin Zhiyong, the company’s chairman, who is an avid mountain climber and who reached the summit of Mount Everest twice according to his WeChat account.
This has triggered debate on social media. While some admired the company for considering the well-being of employees to be critical to its growth, others saw it as controlling and even interfering with people’s personal freedoms and choices.
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