When Facebook eventually goes public to raise some $5 billion in the largest net share offering in history, it’s not just co-founder Mark Zuckerberg who stands to gain.
Rumours are flying that one third of the company’s 3000+ employees will become instant millionaires. Or, more accurately, some will become instant millionaires and others will become millionaires for the second time. Or third. Or fourth.
You get the picture.
They were given stock options when they were hired (you might remember the diluting of shares that snagged co-founder Eduardo Saverin as told in the movie Social Network) and those shares are about to propel them into great(er) wealth.
Nice boss, right?
Well Zuck himself will be worth more than $1 billion for every year he has been alive. That’s $28 billion for 27 years. So he’s done well out of the business and employees who got in on the ground floor will cash in.
It’s been a week for nice bosses and an even better story originated right here.
Did you catch the generosity of Ken Granda, the bus company owner who splashed $15 million on his 1800 employees when he sold the business?
The SMH reported:
“The 79-year-old boss handed out an average of $8500 to each of his 1800 employees using the proceeds of the sale of the family owned business.
Workers thought their banks had made an error when they discovered thousands of dollars in their accounts.‘‘I get totally dismayed when you see some of the salaries the CEOs get paid,’’ he told radio station 3AW this morning. ‘‘It is far beyond what somebody is worth.”
Mr Grenda said the decision had prompted calls, emails and flowers from his employees, some of whom had worked with the company for several decades, as had their parents.
On ABC, Ken’s son Scott said it was the family way of saying goodbye to a true family business:
ELEANOR BELL: Scott Grenda told PM the benevolent gesture was an obvious extension to the ethos underpinning the company.
SCOTT GRENDA: Grandma, I can remember as a kid, she used to make fruitcake for all the employees at Christmas time. And we used to have employees coming and staying the night and those sorts of things. And growing up it was very much a family culture and it hasn’t changed.
Makes your cheeks glow, doesn’t it?
Who was the best (or worst) boss you’ve ever had? Are you a boss and how do you treat your employees?
Top Comments
My boss certainly not the best - just been made redundant when returning from Maternity leave.... Not that position is not there anymore, but because we couldn't reach an agreement on flexible working arrangements (eg: shorter hours so i could pick up kids from daycare, work from home etc)
Sorry only just happened so i'm still pretty worked up about it.
Oh Katy, I feel your pain. I am in the process of negotiating comin back - doing all the things the need of me and I am sure I'll be made redundant. These types of bosses are shit and I truly believe that karma will bite them, sizeably, in their arse.
I just keep thinking that this is the bet way forward. Better be at home with a gorgeous baby than to be putting up with crap from an idiot.
Worst boss I ever had? I used to work for a top tier commercial law firm, my 6th year working for top tier firms. It all started ok but month by month my workload was increasing. I was originally working for a Partner and a couple of his offsiders (the normal workload) plus a paralegal who worked in Intellectual Property (the only one in Victoria). Working for a Partner is easy, the offsiders do all the work. Over time, the Partner left and I was made to work for up to 6 offsiders at a time who were all extremely busy. I was forced to do unpaid overtime whilst being forced to use annual leave if I was ever a few minutes late for work - there was no flexibility whatsoever. Towards the end, my manager was requesting so-called "catch up" meetings with me to discuss my performance which was apparently lacking. He would type up a dated list of every minor mistake I made and then present it to me in this meeting, alongside someone from HR, and then berate me about my sliding performance. I considered this list a form of harrassment because it meant that I was being watched like a hawk by someone who was just as prone to making mistakes as I was (so I started a list of my own detailing his failings). When HR asked their usual pointless questions such as "Is there anything going on that we should know about? Is everything at home ok? Is there anything we can do to help you?", I told them that my workload was far bigger than anyone elses (for instance, while everyone complained about doing 6 bills once a month, I was doing around 60 bills all month round whilst still trying to keep up with my other work). Instead of acknowledging this as a HR-related problem (understaffing/overworking), they said that I wasn't being treated any differently to anyone else and offered me counselling, as if that was supposed to reduce my workload. I found it offensive and after putting up with that for months and receiving two written warnings for whatever they could think of, I simply left. It was my birthday and, once again, I spent the morning throwing up because I was so nervous about going to work. So I simply didn't. I called the 2IC to tell her I was not coming in ever again and, unsurprisingly, she was late again (without reprimand, of course), so I left a voicemail. It was like breaking up via SMS. Rude, impersonal and sensationally satisfying. Now I work for a plaintiff law firm where the working conditions are 1000% better and I am so much happier! Best thing I could have done! Quitting on the spot like that meant I never got to present my own list of my managers mistakes but, to be honest, although it would have been a good laugh, it would only have got me out the door quicker and this time on their terms. Not on my watch.