At the end of September, the German manufacturer announced that it would no longer pay bonuses for individual performance, to any of its 290,000 employees. The management at Bosch believes that, in fact, the level of motivation resulting from individual bonuses is only limited. This is compared with a job “which has meaning” and is performed in a solidarity-based and participative working environment, where the work-life balance is taken very much into account. While the practice of awarding individual bonuses remains fairly widespread in Germany, it does appear that it is beginning to be called into question, in favour of a movement towards collective bonuses. The digitalisation of the economy influences this trend.
Individual bonuses called into question. Volkmar Denner, the CEO at Bosch, announced the news at the end of September; in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (a Frankfurt Sunday newspaper) he explained that “money can have a demotivating effect. That is why we have decided to cut extraordinary bonuses linked to personal performance… With business going well for Bosch, our colleagues will benefit through a collective bonus”. Bosch has not yet given any details as regards the way in...
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