‘I would’ve asked if it was missing a couple zeros’: Worker says boss told him his bonus would be ‘life-changing’—it was $250

A TikToker shared a story labeled "Boomer Story Time," about a boss who promised him a "life-changing" bonus—only for that bonus to be a paltry $250.

The video comes courtesy of creator Sam Pelissero, attracting more than 3.1 million views since getting it up on the platform Jan. 20. It starts with a stitch of a video complaining about how boomers are "so out of touch with what the going rate is for everything."

Then, the creator reveals, "I actually love sharing this story" before starting in.

@sampelissero #stitch with @maryefrost I don’t think there was every a period of time where that much money was life changing 😭😭😭#fyp #boomer #storytime #poor ♬ original sound - Shmee

"I used to work for a production company and half of my income went to rent a month which is, you're not supposed to do that." Clarifying that you're only supposed to spend a third of your income on rent, he revealed, "I had no choice but to take one of my paychecks and put it towards rent every month. I only had another paycheck to cover all my bills and all of my groceries and whatever, which was not a lot of money."

He went on to explain in the video that his boss knew he felt he was underpaid, that he was asking for more work to earn more, and was eventually relegated to driving for Uber and Lyft to make ends meet.

"I'd worked there for about six months at this point," Sam continued, "and he brought me into the office to give me my Christmas bonus. And he said, 'In this envelope, Sam, is your Christmas bonus. Just want to say I know how hard you've worked the last few months of being here. I see your potential to be a long-time employee. I just know how much you don't like driving for Lyft and Uber.'"

Then, the boss hit him with the promise, "The money in this envelope is going to change your life."

The boss then added, "You'll never have to drive for Uber or Lyft."

The creator then shared, "Going back to my desk, my stomach was all butterflies because I think it's gonna be thousands of dollars. It's going to be like $10,000. It's going to be $5,000."

Then, with a dramatic pause, he noted, "It was $250."

Commenters shared in his amazement.

"It's like when grandma gives you that birthday card with $5 in it," one said.

Another suggested, "If he really said, 'it's going to change your life,' I'd tell him it won't even buy my car tires."

"I would’ve asked if it was missing a couple zeros," yet another observed.

Some commenters pondered how good the boss must have felt for doling out such a "generous" bonus.

One predicted, "He patted himself on the back after that one. He went to church on Xmas and just knew he was a job creator."

Another offered, "My boss being like 'here's a ham for the holidays' and I'm like 'thanks I don't celebrate and I'm vegetarian."

That led the creator to respond, "One time he sent me apples and I’m allergic. I swear he was trying to kill me."

Several made jokes about what little the money could buy.

"So you bought eggs?" one asked.

"I bought one egg," the creator quipped back.

Another marveled, "I’ve tipped more at restaurants."

A few commenters encouraged Sam to find a different job—and, as it turns out, that the $250 gift was life-changing after all.

"Ouch. Time to look for another job," a commenter observed.

"I started my own business shortly after," he responded.

The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment.

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