Asian employees demand bigger bonuses

The bonus expectations of employees in Asia has gone up by 24% this year, with more than half (55%) anticipating a bonus of more than 20% of their salary.

According to a report by EMR, which surveyed over 6,000 marketing, digital and communications professional in Asia, only 44% of respondents received a bonus of over a fifth of their salary last year, making this the largest jump in year-on-year bonus expectations.

However, only 45% of respondents this year are expecting bonus payouts of less than 20% of their salary, a 10% drop from 2013.

Those in product management had the highest salary expectations, with 41% hoping to receive bonuses between 20-29% of their salary, and 18% expecting over 30%.

Other areas looking forward to bigger bonuses include those in brand management, business development, and corporate communications and PR.

“In light of this and the mixed satisfaction levels from 2013, employers will need to carefully manage employee expectations in order to avoid job dissatisfaction,” Monica Bermeo, managing consultant and practice lead at EMR, said.

The report also revealed male employees expected bigger bonuses than their female counterparts.

Just under a third of women expect bonuses of less than 10% and 25% expect bonuses of between 10-19%, compared to 5% and 20% of their male counterparts respectively.

But the tables turn further up the bonus scale; 50% of males expected a bonus of between 20-29% and 20% expect more than 30%, compared to 35% and 20% of the women respectively.