Today my boss got mad at me because I told him I’d prefer to work on a particular project because it would net me a bigger bonus.

[ToddBonzalez]

I work in a creative industry. There are 2 ongoing projects at my office. On big one that's pretty much sure to to be a success and a small on that's on somewhat shaky ground. The two teams get bonuses based how much of a profit their respective projects generate.

I tell my manager I want to be moved from the small project to the bigger one.
He asked me why and I told him it was because I wanted the bigger bonus.

He seemed surprised then scolded me. I was told that we're doing this work to be creative and not to try to make as much money as possible. And that my heart is in the wrong place.

Am I in the wrong here? Should I have obscured my actual motivations instead of being honest?

 

[lucebuce]

Am I in the wrong here?

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No.

Should I have obscured my actual motivations instead of being honest?

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Yes.

 

[danm999]

He seemed surprised then scolded me. I was told that we're doing this work to be creative and not to try to make as much money as possible. And that my heart is in the wrong place

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Lol then why are the projects compensated differently

But yeah realpolitik you might not have wanted to call him on his bullshit and made something up.

 

[Spine Crawler]

maybe you should try to renegotiate. point out that the smaller project is on shaky ground and pulling that one of should be compensated higher.

 

[turbobrick]

Am I in the wrong here? Should I have obscured my actual motivations instead of being honest?

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No and Yes. Never be honest with management

 

[Poppy]

jobs are basically shitty games you have to participate in and nobody who is above your position can ever be trusted

so i think your reasoning makes perfect sense but generally at work i lie about anything unimportant if it makes me look better

 

[BlackSalad]

He's right, your heart is in the wrong place for that company and/or type of work, you fucked up

Everyone wants money but the valuable employees are ones that actually care about the work

 

[Deleted member 18502]

Being honest has hurt many careers.

 

[Polk]

Lol then why are the projects compensated differently

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Different scope/timeframe?

 

[ToddBonzalez]

He's right, your heart is in the wrong place for that company and/or type of work, you fucked up

Everyone wants money but the valuable employees are ones that actually care about the work

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I do good work. This same manager told me this in my last performance review where I got above average ratings. I'd just rather be doing good work on the project that will get me $$$.

 

[Cenauru]

Everyone is working for money but for some reason you gotta pretend you care about working more than money. Basically who can lie the best in their favor. It's all a shitty game.

 

[danm999]

Different scope/timeframe?

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The two teams get bonuses based how much of a profit their respective projects generate.

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[Kraid]

Everyone wants money but the valuable employees are ones that actually care about the work

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Uh I mean sure? Not that it gets you fuck all.

And the hardest working employees are the ones who are best incentivized to do their jobs.

 

[Glasfrut]

There's a "When keeping it real goes wrong" joke here.

But yeah, you're thinking isn't wrong. You either should have given an alternative reason or asked for more from the smaller project (and argued that it's not a guaranteed win like the big one).

 

[Polk]

But it might be result of different scope/timeframe of those projects?

 

[Fat4all]

"I feel like I could contribute a great deal to this particular project, __________ is something I am very passionate/care a great deal for!"

shoulda just lied

 

[Westbahnhof]

I was told that we're doing this work to be creative and not to try to make as much money as possible. And that my heart is in the wrong place.

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That sounds like something you'd hear from someond trying to pay an artist with "exposure", hah

 

[ToddBonzalez]

"I feel like I could contribute a great deal to this particular project, __________ is something I am very passionate/care a great deal for!"

shoulda just lied

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I generally have a good rapport with this guy, so I just decided to be honest. Guess I kept it too real in this case.

 

[TAJ]

There's no way I could hear that from any boss and not laugh at him/her.

 

[Boiled Goose]

You were probably too honest... But it's on your boss to reflect about the skewed incentive structure

 

[tommy7154]

He's right, your heart is in the wrong place for that company and/or type of work, you fucked up

Everyone wants money but the valuable employees are ones that actually care about the work

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I wouldnt agree with this. I hate my job and think its extremely pointless, but at the same time I'm the best value/productivity wise they'll ever get.

 

[danm999]

But it might be result of different scope/timeframe of those projects?

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I mean, the OP would have to clarify, but his sentence about how the bonus is tied to revenue and his boss' reaction makes it sound like it isn't the case.

 

[darz1]

Lmao

Spoiler: Lmao

LMAO

 

[Kain]

I love it when managers assume you're working out of love for the company and not for money

 

[GameAddict411]

The reason is valid. Your mistake was to share that reason. Talking about money in any company these days usually yields negative results even when it's important. It's actually ironic especially in the us. So next time think about a valid reason to choose a project without referring to personal material reasons. But at this point, it's too late to do anything about it where you work since your boss will always assume this about your decision to choose a project in the future. But maybe it's a lesson for future work.

 

[Regulus Tera]

He seemed surprised then scolded me. I was told that we're doing this work to be creative and not to try to make as much money as possible. And that my heart is in the wrong place.

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Tell your boss your heart doesn't pay for the bills.

Jokes aside, never be honest with management.

 

[GameAddict411]

He's right, your heart is in the wrong place for that company and/or type of work, you fucked up

Everyone wants money but the valuable employees are ones that actually care about the work

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This line of thinking is naive. I work to get paid. If I enjoy the work it's a huge plus. It doesn't mean I am doing out of the goodness of my heart. My needs and my priorities will always be towards myself and people I care about. It's why people switching jobs because of better opportunities.

I think people who stay for very long at companies hold that mentality of yours, but it not always best own self interest.

 

[danm999]

He's right, your heart is in the wrong place for that company and/or type of work, you fucked up

Everyone wants money but the valuable employees are ones that actually care about the work

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If this was true you'd get a bonus for caring about your work or having your heart in the right place, and not the revenue attached to the project you're on.

 

[Lord Fagan]

Should have said, "ok boomer."

 

[Joni]

Everyone wants money but the valuable employees are ones that actually care about the work

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That is simply not true. You can have terrific employees that don't really give a fuck, and terrible employees that are really committed. The first ones can still be terrific, but the latter will still be terrible.

 

[Van Bur3n]

Some things you just don't say out loud. Come up with a bullshit reason to be moved. Saying you want more money had a 0% chance of working.

 

[Squarehard]

Should've just lied, and told him you wanted the challenge.

At the end of the day, that manager is fucking full of shit too, and just doesn't want to move you off the current project most likely, because then he'd have to fill your spot anyways. If the project is on shaky ground, that means there's even more reason to try to keep someone more competent on it to ensure it doesn't fail.

You need to look out for number 1 at the end of the day, and unless you're friends with that boss, there's really no reason you should be THAT honest with them when it comes to your pockets.

 

[Akira86]

tell the boss "fool, I obviously work for money."

and its entirely possible your boss is snowjobbing you and making an excuse because someone else already asked him, or it would be a hassle to move you.

 

[Deleted member 8593]

being honest with management


good lawd

 

[Hoa]

If this was true you'd get a bonus for caring about your work or having your heart in the right place, and not the revenue attached to the project you're on.

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120% facts right here.

 

[Arex]

Your manager is wrong, he probably just doesn't want the hassle of looking for replacement who wants to be in that sinking ship project.

You can be creative AND get the bonus money with the bigger project lol

 

[Deleted member 8852]

It's the unspoken truth, you're not supposed to say those words directly.

 

[Paz]

Your manager is awful and actively working to create a fake relationship with you, so now you know to treat them like an asshole and lie about everything.

It's unimaginable to me that a manager would prefer their subordinates lie to them but here we are.

 

[Aurica]

I was told that we're doing this work to be creative and not to try to make as much money as possible.

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Being told this by your boss is obviously horseshit.

 

[NameUser]

"I feel like I could contribute a great deal to this particular project, __________ is something I am very passionate/care a great deal for!"

shoulda just lied

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Yup! Sucks you can't be honest. This is how you should always approach it. Talk about how you can add improve something. That's what I did when I wanted to be a Team Lead and my crappy retail job years ago. The money was all I gave a damn about. I framed it like I could make the team more productive under my leadership. Which was somewhat true, but I didn't have a damn about productivity 😂

 

[Dead Man]

Asking to leave the failing project to ensure you maximise your bonus is not a great look. What happens when the rest of the project so the same? What happens to those already on the succeeding project? You should have renegotiated the bonus structure instead.

 

[CaviarMeths]

I mean no offense to any bosses, but I work to get paid. I feel like our business relationship is predicated on this entire concept

But you probably should have lied.

 

[HandsomeCharles]

What a ridiculous bonus structure. How could they possibly expect that people wouldn't feel this way when they are directly manufacturing an "us vs them" mentality.

A proper, fair bonus structure would be that all projects collectively contribute to a shared pool, and then distributed to each employee based on their individual performance. That way nobody ends up getting a large bonus just due to "luck of the draw".

OP, you're totally in the right and your manager seems like a bit of an arsehole.

 

[shaneo632]

Tact is incredibly important at work, being blunt won't go down well with most people, especially if your boss was being genuine and favours creativity over profit.

 

[reminiscingLemon]

He's right, your heart is in the wrong place for that company and/or type of work, you fucked up

Everyone wants money but the valuable employees are ones that actually care about the work

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oooff what a silly post, screw this attitude OP. You gotta put food on the table, you deserve to be compensated for your work.

Not everyone can just fall back on mummy & daddy to pay for their lives, if your good at something OP dont feel you have to do it for free to prove you 'care'.

If your employer cared about the work he'd be paying you all fairly.

 

[ethranes]

When keeping it real goes wrong

 

[s_mirage]

I hate bullshit like this. There will of course be exceptions, but most people work to live, and I really hate the attitude that some bosses have that you're supposed to pretend that you work simply because you love what you do.

As another poster said, if the company doesn't want people to only be interested in getting on lucrative projects, they should structure the bonuses so that they're based on the success of the company or division as a whole.

 

[electroshockwave]

Tact is incredibly important at work, being blunt won't go down well with most people, especially if your boss was being genuine and favours creativity over profit.

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Then why would the team with the more lucrative project get the bigger bonus? Why not give bonuses based on "creativity" or at least pay everyone equally?

 

[Deleted member 5129]

Ah yes, we also have that shitty bonus system. There's a really successful GAAS game in dev here and that brings in a ton of money - and the people lucky enough to be on that project get a massive bonus every year. While the ones that are working on something unreleased, for example, get significantly less.

I feel like the exact same thing would happen if any of us here asked to switch projects just because of the bonus haha

 

[shaneo632]

Then why would the team with the more lucrative project get the bigger bonus? Why not give bonuses based on "creativity" or at least pay everyone equally?

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Totally agree. My main point is that being 100% honest about your intent/motivations in a job is a sure-fire way to not get ahead, unfortunately.