I'm 41, been around the block, set boundries with corporate types from the get go when hired. I'm not looking for advice, but want to tell my story. Currently, I'm in charge of 5 CNC machines and 2 multi-million dollar stone saws on the night shift where I work. There is of course, an expectation to perform, which I'm fine with, the goals are close to realistic and there is some movement from leadership to help make them happen. That said, I worked a 6 day week two weeks in a row, with the second sixth day a Sunday morning (I'm normally 2-12:30 Mon-Thur). I worked the Sunday to A: take some pressure off of my younger brother who is the manager on days, and B: Earn the bonus.
Outside of this, I've taken over the manager position on the night shift in this factory, with the promise of a 2.00 raise (this is eclipsing a year, and a standard raise for CNC operator, so I'm a bit shafted to begin with). I'm not an experienced saw operator, and management has saddled me with two noobies on the saws. I've got the two other CNC operators on nights trained well and they are capable at this point, but I'm lacking in the ability to support the sawyers. I've been coming in early/days off to learn the basics of running and programming the saws so that I can help the new sawyers. These hours are clocked. The plant manager supports this. He's a reasonable, intelligent person, but ultimately there a lot of corners cut on the production side so that he can earn his bonuses.
My latest pay period should have had both the bonus and pay raise attached, neither are there…
So tomorrow, since I'm now in the corporate e-mail, I will e-mail and then call him, asking when I should expect to see the bonus and back pay. If there is any bullshit involved, my exact response will be this:
'I like you and understand you are an intelligent and reasonable person with some leadership qualities. If this was not the case, I would not be employed at this location at this company. However, this is not my first rodeo; I know who I am and what I am worth. I do not chase carrots on sticks, nor do I leave money on the table. I expect this issue with payroll to be addressed post haste or I will be started at a better paying job this coming Monday. Again, no hard feelings toward yourself, but I come here and perform my duties for compensation, and I expect that compensation to be correct. Best Regards, XXX.'
Keep in mind this kind of response will not earn you corporate bonus points nor will the boss you send it to promote you again. However, this is exactly the kind of response you should be prepared with if you get jerked around on money at your job, especially if put in the impossible situation/overly high expectations.