Shit....income tax

End of last month I received my bonus. It was significantly higher than the previous financial year but somehow many of my colleagues were still disappointed after getting theirs. Perhaps the expectations of staff were too high as the management had painted a picture that it would be a very good year as the company recorded a whooping increase in revenue. I was not too disappointed as I know my rating wasn’t that good, so I didn’t habour high expectation prior to getting it.

Some of the plantation companies were giving a higher range of 6 to 8 months bonus as it was a windfall year as cruel palm oil was at very good price last year. But as a GLC, it is not so possible. Perhaps for big bosses, it was quite possible but for ordinary staff, with their meager income, the bonus is normally not so impressive. So after a year-long waiting, you can’t blame them if they voice out their grievances especially if their colleagues are getting much higher than them. It all goes down to your appraisal rating after all, if you score high rating, then your bonus will be higher than the rest. That’s the norm for most of the company.

The question is how good can a company appraise its employee? Of course some will use key performance indexes as the yardsticks but even then there will be a lot of disappointments as some companies are adopting the “Normal Distribution Curve” whereby only small percentage of the employee will be scoring excellent rating and majority of the employee will be sitting in the moderate ratings while small percentage will be very low rating. In other word, not many people will be getting high bonus or increments, and majority of people have to endure with average bonus.

Of course we know that bonus is discretion of the company unless it is a contractual one. Nevertheless, it is a morale booster for the staff especially the lower income one. If a company is sticking with the concept of strictly following the curve or the pyramid system whereby only small percentage of the employee will get the excellent rating, than most of the employees would not contribute wholeheartedly, after all if they know that they are only average materials, getting average bonus while their bosses are enjoying all the perks, high pay, big bonus, big company car and so on. But if the company is only rewarding the top management which comprises of probably 10-15% of the workforce, I can tell you that such company would not develop a “sense of belonging” if 80% of the people are not happy. Such company would not be functioning at a full gear as the workforce is dissatisfied.

Well, it is a happy thing to get the bonus letter. When you look at the amount probably you can smile all the way but don’t forget there is a clause saying that it is subject to deductions, of course we don’t mind the EPF because it is the saving for our old days but the sickening tax will cut short your happiness. After checking your bank statement, then you realize that the government had deducted your hard earned money, and bloody shit, that is a hell lot of it….xoxoxoxoxox.