One IC design engineer, who goes by the nickname "Hsiaoliang" said that although he only makes about NT$65,000 (US$1,960) per month, he can easily earn between NT$3 million and NT$5 million per year combined with the market value of his stock bonus.
He said that was why he was willing to sacrifice family time for work -- 12 hours a day, seven days a week -- hoping he could retire before 40.
However, the new system has thrown that plan into disarray. Because of the expensing, his company's profit sharing will mainly be in cash, which could deal a blow to stock prices. He calculates his yearly income will fall at least NT$1 million, which would greatly reduce his incentive to work as hard.
He admitted that he has been thinking: Why not take a less stressful job, punch in and out on time every day, look after his health and enjoy life a bit more?
"Compared to my earlier work, being able to leave work on time would be like enjoying early retirement," he said, when asked about plans of early retirement.
Many high-growth, high-profit businesses have been created by intellectual talent willing to work long hours. Without the incentive of employee bonuses, businesses will be faced with the challenge of providing other effective incentives.
Take Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (
Chi Mei offered 30,000 units of stock options last year at an option price of NT$32.13 per unit. The company plans to offer 50,000 units this year, although employees can only sell the stock options after a two-year lock-up period.
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