Over half of white collars have no year-end bonus: survey

Less than half of white-collar workers in China said they expect to receive a year-end bonus for 2016, according to a recent report by the Chinese human resources website zhaopin.com.

About 39 percent of professionals surveyed said they received a year-end bonus, with 9.6 percent responding that their employer promised to pay the bonus after Chinese New Year.

Among workers who expect a year-end bonus, over 95 percent said they will be paid in cash and nearly 10 percent that they would receive goods instead.

The average score for year-end bonus satisfaction was 2.18 out of a possible 5 in 2016, remaining low but better than the 2.07 score in 2015. It shows most white-collar workers are not satisfied, the report said.

Employees at state-owned enterprises were more satisfied with their year-end bonus compared with workers at private or overseas companies. Those working in the finance sector said they can get 17,000 yuan ($2,464) at the year end on average, which topped other industries, with the average figure at 12,821 yuan.

White-collar workers in Beijing and Shanghai topped the list with year-end bonuses of 15,846 yuan and 14,640 yuan on average, followed by Shenzhen at 14,605 yuan and Hangzhou at 13,765 yuan.

Worker satisfaction with year-end bonuses may affect their career decisions in the new year, the report said. Thirty-nine percent of white-collar workers said they would consider changing jobs because of their bonus, a rate higher than in 2015.

The report also said over 41 percent plan to use the year-end bonus to buy gifts for the elderly, followed by 36.5 percent for saving, 28.3 percent for investment and 26 percent for shopping.