I think your company handled this very well. And it's true in contracting if you have specialized skills - companies will bend over backwards to keep you.

Anonymous wrote:So the private PM gets a message from higher ups that the cubicle area is a pigsty and have to be cleaned immediately, so he sends an email to all the folks whose cubicles have been identified as messy and tells them they need to come in asap for a critical issue. Except private PM doesn't know/remember that one of those people is on vacation. It just doesn't cross his mind. And now he is unemployed.

Nice.

Enjoy your big ass bonus, OP.

No...I am not quoting the entire email, but it was directed specifically to me (not cc'd or bcc'd), and referenced things that happened while I was out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This all sounds like a crazy fantasy! I have to admit that I'm a little confused about all the players and who is responsible here (gov't or client), but maybe that's because I don't work for the gov't or a contractor. Clearly I should think about switching over if they are giving spot bonuses when someone else messes up (god, in my org, it's usually a giant blame game mess when something like this happens, and even the innocent party gets pulled into the muck)! I'm in IT...what's your specialty, OP? Do you need a bright young lady on your team?

OP here. The thing is when you work on things that can not be discussed in the open, you have to assume that when you get called back, it is legit -- something happened that needs me, and they can not tell me what on my corporate email or cell phone. (see what Hillary Clinton is in trouble for right now). In my case, the company needs me more than I need them. Without me, they lose work -- and they will be unable to find a replacement.

Please, anyone is replaceable, I don't care what the job or industry is. I don't buy this story either. I have never heard of anyone get a bonus "out of the blue" like the OP is claiming.

OP here. There are people out there who have very specialized skills. If that skill is in demand and specialized enough, it becomes really hard hard to replace. With me comes about $20,000,000/year in work, or about 1.5 mil in profit. There are 5 other people with my expertise and my level of access. Two work for the gov't, and three work for competitors. Now, they could hire 3 people to replace me -- but that will cost more money.

Anonymous wrote:
Who are these people who think that just because it hasn't happened to them, it simply can't be true?

Unfortunately a lot of DCUM or one very prolific poster. I'm killing time the last night of my restful vacation reading DCUM, and I realize it's quite a buzzkill. You have to wade through a lot of nastiness and useless comments like I call BS to get to anything good.

Anonymous wrote:
Who are these people who think that just because it hasn't happened to them, it simply can't be true?

+1
I would have never believed this post to be true either. After 20 years in private sector, I was an executive appointee also at a three letter fed agency.
Long story short: a four decade career fed misrepresented to me an urgent need to come back for one day from my one week vacation for a meeting. Travel was complex (think rental car, ferry, plane, metro, etc...)
Anyway, after pushing back before I left and confirming I really was needed and that travel would be reimbursable, I came back for the pointless meeting.
On my way out (back to the airport after the meeting) the career employee pulled me aside and gleefully told me expenses were not reimbursable. He had intentionally filtered info and mislead everybody involved

Anonymous wrote:So the private PM gets a message from higher ups that the cubicle area is a pigsty and have to be cleaned immediately, so he sends an email to all the folks whose cubicles have been identified as messy and tells them they need to come in asap for a critical issue. Except private PM doesn't know/remember that one of those people is on vacation. It just doesn't cross his mind. And now he is unemployed.

Nice.

Enjoy your big ass bonus, OP.

That's how I read it as well.

Yes, bonuses do happen out of the blue if you're the right person for the job. I got a surprise bonus once, for rescuing a project that was going downhill. It wasn't high enough to take a vacation, though.

Who are these people who think that just because it hasn't happened to them, it simply can't be true?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This all sounds like a crazy fantasy! I have to admit that I'm a little confused about all the players and who is responsible here (gov't or client), but maybe that's because I don't work for the gov't or a contractor. Clearly I should think about switching over if they are giving spot bonuses when someone else messes up (god, in my org, it's usually a giant blame game mess when something like this happens, and even the innocent party gets pulled into the muck)! I'm in IT...what's your specialty, OP? Do you need a bright young lady on your team?

OP here. The thing is when you work on things that can not be discussed in the open, you have to assume that when you get called back, it is legit -- something happened that needs me, and they can not tell me what on my corporate email or cell phone. (see what Hillary Clinton is in trouble for right now). In my case, the company needs me more than I need them. Without me, they lose work -- and they will be unable to find a replacement.

Please, anyone is replaceable, I don't care what the job or industry is. I don't buy this story either. I have never heard of anyone get a bonus "out of the blue" like the OP is claiming.