Reality comes to the workplace.
The era of extravagance is over, and it's not just the signing bonuses and free BMWs for management. With the IPO window shut for most startups, with VCs tightening purse strings and with most employees' stock options worthless anyway, the dream of instant wealth for worker bees has been put on hold. Start with compensation. Employees want old-fashioned cash, according to Randy Ramirez, a pay expert with Buck Consulting in New York. They still want stock options just in case, but they think of them as lottery tickets.