Are you expecting a holiday bonus?

In Get Your Bonus Yet?, CNN encourages every American to expect one. Though less than half of employers surveyed actually give holiday bonuses, CNN says that lots more give performance bonuses, so their article gives tips for bonus-hungry holiday shoppers.

My favorite: “It shouldn’t be a surprise.”

Even if you get one – and the odds are stacked against you – your bonus won’t be getting any larger, though, according to CNN’s article Workers want more cash; CFOs scoff. In this article, CNN reports that most Americans should not expect a better bonus next year than whatever they’re getting this year.

In a poll of more than 1,400 corporate Chief Financial Officers, less than one third said they planned to give their workers better raises in 2006 than in 2005. For those that did, the average bonus will increase about 5%.

Why is this? A recent New York Times article suggests that companies are shifting from a lifetime employment model to that of a contract of convenience. Employers don’t care if workers are not happy – as long as they are productive.

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