Tokyo Disneyland trip, Rolex watches: 5 times companies went above expectations to reward staff
One Taiwanese company gave employees year-end bonuses of up to 52 months' pay.
Paradise Group awarded Rolex luxury watches to its long-serving employees, while a Chinese crane manufacturing company treated its workers with a mountain of cash. (Images: Facebook/李嘉嘉, YouTube/TODAYonline)
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
SINGAPORE: Last month, the billionaire boss of hedge fund Citadel treated its employees to an all-expenses-paid weekend trip to Tokyo Disneyland.
The outing, courtesy of CEO Ken Griffin, commemorated the company's 30th anniversary in 2020 and sister company Citadel Securities' 20th anniversary last year. Both events were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
About 1,200 employees from the two companies' Asia-Pacific offices – Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Gurugram – received tickets to Tokyo Disney Resort. The employees were joined by their families.
There were also private performances by Maroon 5 and DJ Calvin Harris, US media reported.
Citadel's grand display of generosity follows others from across Asia, as firms in several industries rebounded strongly from the pandemic.
From Rolex watches to a mountain of cash, here are some other examples of workplace bonuses that went above expectations.
ROLEX WATCHES AND GOLD BARS
Earlier this year, Singapore-based restaurant operator Paradise Group dished out Rolex watches and Suisse gold bars to more than 330 workers. The company is behind brands such as Paradise Dynasty, Beauty in the Pot and Le Shrimp Ramen.
A video posted on Facebook in March showed staff members walking up to a table laden with Rolex watches.
The watches, which included models such as the Datejust, were reportedly gifted to 98 staff members who had been at Paradise Group for 10 years or more, regardless of their position.
The restaurant group told TODAY that the watches were procured from authorised Rolex dealers.
It marked Paradise Group's second Rolex-giving exercise, with a previous round of long-term employees getting their luxury watches in 2018.
Staff members who had served between five and seven years at the company got Suisse gold bars weighing 2.5g, while those who had worked for eight or nine years got 5g gold bars.
Eight employees received travel vouchers worth S$5,000 (US$3,675).
Paradise Group spent close to S$2 million on the event, which includes the cost of the watches and other gifts.
AN EVERGREEN BONUS
Shipping giant Evergreen Marine broke its own record for the highest bonus payout by a listed Taiwanese company when it dished out year-end bonuses of up to 52 months' pay to employees.
Most employees received year-end bonuses ranging from 10 to 45 months of wages, while the bonus payment for those with better job performances hit 52 months, reported local news outlet Liberty Times.
It came off the back of strong profits in 2022. Much of the firm's strong performance in 2022 was reportedly built on rising freight rates in the first half of the year.
Evergreen Marine followed up the record year-end bonus with a bumper mid-year bonus, reportedly worth about 10 to 12 months of salary.
Apparently, a rising tide lifts all shipping companies.
In June, fellow Taiwanese marine shipping firm Yang Ming Marine Transport reportedly awarded its workers bonuses of up to 30 months' salary, in addition to a year-end bonus worth 12 months of salary.
SIA TAKES OFF AGAIN
Another firm that enjoyed a bumper year was Singapore Airlines (SIA), which gave eligible staff around eight months' bonus following record earnings in 2022.
SIA Group reported a record annual profit of S$2.16 billion for FY 2022/23, reversing three straight years of losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The earnings saw the company rebound from a S$962 million net loss the previous year. Strong demand for air travel drove revenue, operating profit and passenger load factor, said SIA.
The payment comprised a 6.65 months' profit sharing bonus and an ex-gratia bonus of 1.5 months.
SIA's bonus is "based on a long-standing annual profit sharing bonus formula that has been agreed with our staff unions", said the airline.
A MOUNTAIN OF CASH
To call it a mountain of cash would be no exaggeration – a great heap of cash piled 2m high was the centrepiece of a Chinese crane manufacturing company's annual party.
Employees of Henan Mine took turns collecting their year-end bonuses from the pile of cash, with the top three sales managers taking home 5 million yuan (US$685,000) each.
More than 30 other workers were awarded at least 1 million yuan, the South China Morning Post reported.
The company also held a money-counting competition where the winner walked away with 157,000 yuan.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic taxing the Chinese economy, Henan Mine avoided having to lay off any of its employees, it was reported.
The firm also recorded sales revenues of 9.16 billion yuan in 2022, up by 23 per cent from the previous year.
