Worker Shares Employer's 'Reward Program' That Allows Staff To Get A $25 Bonus After 5 Years & A $200 Bonus After 50 Years
That was their way of showing "appreciation" to their staff, but it seems they don't understand what that means.
Amorn Suriyan | Shutterstock A husband took to Reddit to share an image of the employee "reward program" offered at the hospital where his wife works. Staff are eligible for a $25 bonus after five years of service and a $200 bonus after 50 years of service. Sounds like this couple won't be retiring early.
Often, when employees hear that they will be receiving a bonus of some kind at work, they assume the amount of money they will be given will be substantial in some way. Seriously, though. The whole purpose of a bonus is to incentivize employees to not only perform their best, but also to remain loyal to their employer. This hospital's bonus structure is so abysmal, it would probably be better if they simply didn't offer any rewards at all.
The hospital's 'reward program' allows staff to earn $25 for 5 years of service and $200 for 50 years.
In a Reddit post, a husband explained that his wife had recently sent him the "rewards program" she was now eligible for at a large hospital where she worked. "What an absolute joke..." he wrote in the caption of the post.
In a screenshot of the program, his wife's employer had made sure to let workers know that the rewards program and bonuses for eligible staff were to give them an "opportunity to celebrate Caregivers' achievements and take the time to say 'Thank you' for a job well done."
Reddit
Unfortunately, their gratitude didn't seem to extend as far as their words did. The staff would only be issued a minimal amount of money for every five years that they worked for the hospital. For example, if workers had been there for five years, their bonus would only be $25.
For 10 years, the bonus would be $50; for 15 years, $50, and so on. The highest amount that an employee could earn was $200 for working at the hospital for 50 to 55 years. Not only is this a slap in the face for employees, but it also highlights the fact that many healthcare workers and hospital staff are already underappreciated and underpaid.
Healthcare workers and hospital staff are severely undervalued and underpaid.
cheapbooks | Shutterstock
According to the American Medical Association, patient care assistants earn an average annual salary of $17,000 to $27,000. In contrast, certified nursing assistants earn on average $22,000 to $31,000 per year, depending on the state in which they practice.
Despite working full-time or more, these workers are rarely able to live on their wages alone. In 2019, nearly 20% of care workers lived in poverty, and more than 40% received public assistance.
According to payroll company Everee's 2024 Healthcare Staffing Report, 66% of healthcare workers are living paycheck to paycheck, and 46% are considering leaving their jobs for better pay. If the best they can hope for is committing to an employer for over 50 years and earning a measly $200, who could blame them?
Many workers earning low wages, especially home health aides, patient care assistants, and certified nursing assistants, bring critical emotional knowledge to their jobs as caregivers, which makes it all the more distressing when they realize they are not being paid fairly to reflect that.
The worker's hospital 'reward program' wasn't surprising to other healthcare workers.
What's truly sad about this hospital's insulting "reward program" is that it's not an outlier. "Looks about right," one commenter shared. Adding, "I work at the largest hospital in my state. For my 5 [year] gift I got 'points' to purchase a gift from a website. Then they taxed me for it on the following paycheck."
Another user added, "The hospital I work as a nurse at lets employees pick a reward from a gift catalog every 5 years, with new tiers of options being unlocked each half-decade. My first 5yr reward I remember struggling to pick between a fancy pen with the company's name stenciled on the side, or a chocolate bar ... For my upcoming 10-year I'm eyeing a coffee mug that was too high-tier to select at the initial 5yr mark."
"I've worked at a hospital for 17 years now. Once they gave me a gift card for $50," another healthcare employee shared. "They no longer give gift cards to celebrate anniversaries. If you have perfect attendance for a year, you get a $5 gift card for a coffee shop now."
While some hospitals and healthcare organizations might prioritize fair compensation and strive to address these issues by implementing measures to improve salaries and working conditions for their staff, unfortunately, it's not widespread. It wasn't so long ago that hospital staff were being applauded and celebrated as the true heroes on the frontline of the COVID pandemic, but now, all that seems to be forgotten. As one wise commenter on Reddit noted, "I wonder what the CEO and board members make in bonuses?"
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
