Bonus two achievement, unlocked.
Well, it might not be much of an accomplishment, but today I had the review of the completion rate for the quarterly bonus, and it was nearly all on point. However, since I don't have to get 100% complete to get 100% bonus, I will get 100% bonus paid. It will take a couple months to come in, but it will be very welcome after the summer vacation period.
This is the second full bonus in a row, but I am expecting there to be challenges to meet the Q3 requirements, since it is three months of work squeezed into two, with a month spilt between. I will put in the effort though, because it does make a difference to our family life, taking a little more worry off the table that something unexpected will wipe us out again.
I use some of the bonus to pay down our mortgage faster, but I always try to keep a little bit for something a bit more special, even if it is just a nice outing with the family. Reaching these milestones each quarter is not easy, but I do genuinely like the processes involved to get there and the satisfaction of completion, especially since the tasks I do add to other people's professional success also. I think I have always been someone who enjoys helping people succeed in some way, so I guess I am in a suitable role for my personality.
Have you ever thought if what you want to do is suitable for you? I mean, look at some of the dreams we might have had as children, where we wanted to be lawyers, doctors, firemen or teachers, yet, we didn't have much of an idea of our own personalities, or our future preferences. I know one person who spent years getting a double degree so she could teach and get paid more for it, only to wash out of the classroom in under two years because, she didn't enjoy teaching.
At least she realized it though, because I have had many teachers over the years who aren't suited to the job, do not like doing it and, do more damage to their students than good. It is probably one of the reasons why so many people hate school, because it is delivered by people who aren't necessarily motivated in their job to be great at what they do, which requires focusing on the needs of others.
I was reading some "trend" happening on TikTok the other day where young people are quitting their jobs publicly on the app. This is great! It is evidence why these people should never be hired in a serious job ever, because it shows a complete lack of judgement and class. They are bandwagon jumpers trying to get likes from strangers, so their value to a company is very, very low. It is no wonder they are quitting their crappy job, because they are also likely, crappy employees.
This is a funny thing too, as while everyone knows that corporations are evil, people never seem to consider that a lot of employees, are just not very good at their job. While companies are judged for trying to get people back into the office, those doing the judging might not necessarily be the hardest workers, whether in the office or at home. But, you aren't allowed to say that, because publicly, you are meant to take the position that all employees are saints who do the right thing, and it is only the companies that take advantage of the situation.
I suspect, the people who actually own businesses and have to pay employees are likely quite interested in having people work appropriately, because when people aren't it costs them directly. Similarly, those who have to pay their own salary probably are going to work harder than those who are working for a salary, because if they don't do enough, they don't get paid.
It is challenging having to pay one's own salary, and stressful. I did it for years and while I was surviving, I was earning less than I do now, but working more. I still have my business, but it isn't earning what it was earlier, but it still makes a difference. It take a lot of work still, but it is again worth it, because it means I can add a little bit more into my retirement fund directly. I am hoping that this will close the gap at retirement, because I am far behind the eight ball on this and have no family safety net to rely on. This is common for first generation immigrants - the second generation do much better normally. Surviving is the challenge. It is like a crypto project making it through the bear market - if it is able to hold on for long enough, the work pays off - if not, obscurity.
Having no safety net to rely on is likely why I work so hard, because I have to keep swimming, or sink. I am not even a citizen here, and with the changing political climate, there is a chance it is going to get increasingly harder for immigrants, especially those who aren't able to pay their way through society. Unfortunately, "same tax, same rules" doesn't apply, so someone who has lived their life on social benefits and never had a job, has more rights than someone who has worked their ass off for an entire career.
National cronyism?
It is an interesting way to look at it though, isn't it? If you were building a new country from scratch and could choose, what kinds of people would you want as your citizens? It is a bit like at school when two captains are picking football teams. Sure, they might pick a friend first, but it is mostly built on ability - no captain is going to pick all the kids that have no athletic ability. In a sense, it is a good illustration of a meritocracy in action - it isn't fair.
Some people just don't bring much to the table.
I try to not be one of them and instead try to bring something valuable, something tradeable, something that people are willing to buy - this is generally my ability to help people succeed professionally in various capacities, which is generally an in demand service, though rarely well recognized, because the results are seen in the targets, not through the source. Once there is a little time and distance, people don't remember what attributed to the success.
Like ungrateful children.
Self-made. None of us truly are, but we are all able to affect what we do each day. We make decisions on whether we are going to do what we should, whether we need to slow down a bit, or if we are going to quit on a public forum and prove we have poor judgement. We get to choose if we are going to put in the effort, or not.
How much effort is enough, and how much is not enough?
Sometimes, targets need to be hit with precision, otherwise there is no value at all. You don't get points for coming close to getting it in the basket. But, some goals are far more forgiving, so even if the result isn't perfect, it can still yield value. Most people's jobs are like this, where we don't have to drive on the edge of crashing in order to consistently generate value, but we also have to do enough to generate a bare minimum value to stay in the job. In between, there is a lot of room for movement.
Hitting bonuses gets me a small financial win, but more importantly than that, it gives me collateral in the company in the sense that I provide value and can be trusted. This is a value that provides some job security and, increases the chances of opportunity for raises and promotions, if that is the path wanted. When we have something of value to trade, we have options on what we trade it for. If we have nothing, we have to cross our fingers and hope for a handout.
While we might say we want to live in a world where people get what they deserve based on their merit, if we reflect on it, the wealth might change hands, but there would still be a wealth gap between those that can deliver, and those who cannot.
It would be interesting to see how much the distribution changes hands.
Or if it changes much at all.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]