EMPLOYEE CHIONG 25 YEARS FOR COMPANY BUT NO BONUS OR ANYTHING, ONLY GOT A TROPHY

25 years = $25,000 bonus… but not for me

So we recently had a company meeting where our CEO announced that 2 employees that have been working for 25 years will be receiving a $25,000 bonus..

But I’ve been working here 27 years and all I got when I had 25 years was a plaque/trophy.

I brought this up to the CEO and she said that “we weren’t doing the $25,000 when you hit 25 years.” One of the people who received that bonus check today has been working here 26 years.

I know my worth. I know that without me, this company would not be working. I take shorter lunches to help customers, and I’ve been working here the longest.

I don’t want to beg for money, but my god, that $25k would help me and my family out so much.

I want to meet with the CEO and discuss this in person. How should I approach this??

TLDR: They just announced employees that have worked 25 yrs get a $25k bonus, I’ve been working 27 and didn’t get anything. What do I do??

Netizens’ comments

1. Simple answer: they played favorites. Nothing complicated about it.
2. How many of you have been there for 25+ years? This is rotten.
3. Don’t help the company with anything but minimum effort for only your job tasks
4. As for what to do: they clearly don’t value you for the work you put in, OP. My suggestion: Start sending out your resume to other companies in your industry, then when you find one that actually values your experience (and respects your work/life balance, that’s really important); give this toxic workplace your notice.
   And in the meantime, stop taking shorter lunches or doing anything else “extra” for them. Work exactly according to your job description; nothing more, nothing less.
   Also (especially since you indicated you’ve been here a long time and are at a decently high level), expect them to pushback once you do put in your notice.
   They may try to offer you the $25,000 bonus (or a smaller “consolation” bonus), or offer a raise; even substantially more than what you were making before or even what the new company is offering. DO NOT ACCEPT ANY OF THESE OFFERS. This is a common bait-and-switch tactic they will use to lose you the other opportunity; meanwhile they will be hyper-scrutinizing every little thing you do, looking for any legitimate excuse to fire you for cause.
   DO NOT let any of your colleagues (managers, coworkers or otherwise) know you are looking for other positions.
   DO NOT sign anything they give you without going over it very carefully first.