Hey Smarter Vets, CJ Burnett here to explain to you why Christmas bonuses are simply a waste of money.
A lot of people that I’ve met with, when I ask them about reward programs or recruiting programs or retention programs, they typically will say something along the lines of they do A, B, and C, and D, and then somewhere along that list is, I also give a Christmas bonus.
And what this is is, it’s some ambiguous amount of money that is decided every year for each person within the business. They get a check for 50 bucks or 100 bucks or maybe more depending on how much they contribute to the business or not. And I think what irks me the most about the term “bonus” is that we can’t really call it a bonus if the employee didn’t have anything to necessarily directly do to earn it.
In other words, the ambiguity of it is dangerous. If you hand somebody $100 for Christmas this year, what are they going to expect next year? At least a hundred bucks, probably even more.
And so to a certain level, to a certain degree, a Christmas bonus, we probably want to move away from calling it a “bonus” because it’s not directly tied to anything that they did. And they don’t know what they can do next year in order to get that same thing again. It’s essentially the adult version of a participating trophy. Like, congratulations, you participated, here you go, here’s a bonus, not really sure why you’re getting it or how you got it, it’s Christmas and we’re just going to be generous.
Maybe what we can start doing is not calling them Christmas bonuses, we can start calling them Christmas gifts. Because a gift, you didn’t do anything to earn it, you’re just getting it because you’re awesome. So let’s start moving away from making a Christmas bonus, this sad and expensive tradition, and move towards a reward system, a bonus structure that the employee knows what they’re going to need to do in order to get it, and can consistently increase your revenue, decrease your cost. Or even increase your profits in order to get that bonus. If we’re doing reward systems, we want to reward behavior, not just simply existing. Let’s focus on building a culture of real recognition and get away from adult participation.
Video Summary:
Are Christmas bonuses really motivating your employees — or doing more harm than good? In this video, CJ Burnett breaks down why traditional holiday bonuses often fail to inspire performance and can actually create entitlement and confusion.
You’ll learn:
✅ Why Christmas bonuses feel more like gifts than rewards
✅ How ambiguous bonuses damage morale and performance
✅ What a structured, behavior-based reward system should look like
✅ Tips for designing incentives that truly drive business growth
If you want to transform your company’s bonus structure into a powerful tool for growth and employee engagement, this video is for you.
Watch now to rethink how you reward your team!
This material is intended for general public use. By providing this content, Park Avenue Securities LLC and your financial representative are not undertaking to provide investment advice or make a recommendation for a specific individual or situation, or to otherwise act in a fiduciary capacity. Guardian, its subsidiaries, agents, and employees do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Consult your tax, legal, or accounting professional regarding your individual situation. Tom is a Registered Representative and Financial Advisor of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). Securities products and advisory services offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. Financial Representative of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. Florida Veterinary Advisors and The Next Step Planning Group are not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. California Insurance License #0K80141. AR Insurance License #15823672. Florida Veterinary Advisors is not registered in any state or with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Registered Investment Advisor. The individuals associated with Florida Veterinary Advisors do not maintain specialized licenses or qualifications for the financial services provided to veterinary professionals. 7989827.1 Exp 5/27