Condoms, expired calendars given as bonuses

Some very strange bonuses are being handed out prior to Chinese New Year, including calendars from years past, packages of condoms and even seeds, according to a new survey.

The survey, conducted by Zhilian Zhaopin, a Chinese job-hunting websites, showcased its respondents’ weirdest year-end bonuses. Some said they have also received certificates of merit, stocks that could be sold after 10 years or hammers as their year-end bonus, items that they found “extremely confusing.”

According to the survey, only 33.3 percent of white-collar workers will receive a 2019 year-end bonus, compared with 66.1 percent in 2017 and 55.17 percent in 2018.

In the survey, 15.3 percent of white-collar workers said they were “not sure” about their annual bonus, and 40 percent were sure that they would not get it this year, twice as many as that of last year.

Cash still topped the list of year-end bonuses expected by white-collar workers, followed by big items like houses, cars and stock options.

The legal sector still offers the highest bonus level, with an average year-end bonus of 14,833 yuan ($2,153).

Meanwhile, the average expected 2019 year-end bonus for male white-collar workers is 10,922 yuan, 45 percent higher than that for women. The gap has widened further this year.

As an important decision-making factor in job selection, the year-end bonus is also an important factor in the decision to quit, with 38 percent of white-collar workers saying they would jump ship because of a bad year-end bonus.