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Office Policy: Paid-day off on birthday vs Work-on-birthday + cash bonus?

6 points by felixdennis ↗ HN
I have a policy of giving paid day off during my employees' birthday. However, I'm having a second thought about this.

My team is relatively small < 10. I'm naturally not a people-person so I feel awkward about party or any sort of celebration.

However, for the sake team building, wouldn't it be better for my employees to come to work during their birthday but he/she will receive a cash bonus of the equivalent of a pay-day-off ?

Here are the benefits:

1. Team building so co-workers can bond by celebrating each others birthday.

2. Due to psychology, people might feel better when they receive a birthday cash bonus vs just a paid-day-off.

What do you guys think?

11 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 36.4 ms ] thread
byoung2
I'd prefer the day off, since I usually travel on my birthday (my birthday and wedding anniversary are 3 days apart, so it's a reason to take a big trip), so it would effectively give me an extra vacation day. Just give them the day off and have cake when they come back.
dman
You also need a third option - a no-op for people who like to not make a big deal about their birthdays.
makerops
Yes, this. There is nothing I hate more than forced celebration w/ co-workers no matter what it is; I especially hate celebrating my birthday, co-workers or otherwise.
grumps
Ditto. I usually hide my birthday from everyone.
solve
In larger companies, people work these kinds of extra "vanity hours" to make themselves look like a hard worker and win their large bonus at the end of the year - as in, tens of thousands of dollars. Not for some petty cash worth one day of salary.

A development team can't afford for a single person to take a single day off? Something may be wrong here. If you're in a constant sprint, then you may burn out everyone fast. Or, it may be a sign that you have a weak handle on prioritization and putting in maximum effort for when it counts the most.

felixdennis
Not sure if you are replying to the correct topic. If yes, you do have an active imagination to fill in all the blanks...
AznHisoka
I prefer to take the day off. I don't like celebrating birthdays with coworkers, even if they're friendly and we get along.. I prefer to separate work and personal life.
codegeek
Here is what you can consider:

Employee chooses to opt-in:

----------------------------

- Option 1: Take the day off

OR

- Option 2: Come to work, celebrate the birthday with co-workers and get the bonus payment as well

Employee chooses to opt-out:

---------------------------

No celebrations. Employee will come to work but still get the bonus.

wikwocket
If you have a small team, why not ask them? Whatever answer here that you prefer, or that is theoretically "best," is statistically unlikely to be best for your 10 people, just due to individual preferences. :)