DR Jason - Your story reminds me of my first and only "Christmas bonus" at the music store I was working at in Richmond. I had started there in March of that year as their new buyer and manager for their print/sheet music room. By the time Christmas came along, I had doubled the inventory, more than doubled the business, and I had doubled the profit for that room from the previous year - which had more or less been doing "steady" business for the past 15. So...
When I used to work at the store up in Falls Church, the owner was always generous when it came time for bonuses - Christmas or otherwise. Jim always took good care of his employees. -So I had some sort of precedent in my head now that I was down in Richmond. Well... After being shown the new spreadsheets outlining my accomplishments in Richmond, the manager hesitantly informed me that the owner there did not believe in bonuses. However, he did. And he gave me a personal check for $75.00. Yes, I was disappointed that I was not receiving more - especially after being just shown the "proof", but his generosity helped to ease the sting. In fact, it turned out my manager and his assistant provided the bonuses for everyone in the store out of their own salaries.
...Which made it very hard for me to leave the store a few weeks later when my road work started to come in... In any case...
Amidst all the gloom and doom, I hope there's at least one or two bright spots in your office - even if one of those bright spots is just a window with a view of the street.
