> What exactly are these "peer bonuses"? Is it real? Is it what I think it is?

Each month, you can nominate another employee for a small bonus. This is designed to be given to coworkers who have gone above and beyond what was expected from them.

> Do people actually use them as bargain chips?

From my experience it's so over-the-top absurd that it would be difficult to have someone interpret such an offer as anything other than a joke or a meta-joke.

https://blog.bonus.ly/a-look-at-googles-peer-to-peer-bonus-s...

Yes they are real, it's in the low hundreds of bucks range. They must be approved by the recipients manager. Its also limited how many a employee can send (but the limit is fairly high). There is also "kudos" which comes with no money, but has no limits or approvals required.

They are intended to be used for going above and beyond, not for stuff that falls within the scope of ones job. Using them as bargaining chip is explicitly against policy.

You can send a small, semi-official "thanks for a job well done" to someone else and it comes with a few bucks attached. People joke about using them nefariously (as people tend to joke), but I've only seen them used appropriately.

People don't use them as bargaining chips most of the time--it is explicitly against policy. I'm sure it happens some times.

What they do do is send one when someone else does something nice (like fix a bug from a project they have left or whatever else). If you ever need something similar again, the person you peer bonused has warm fuzzies about the experience and a hint that they might get it again.

People also use peer bonuses during perf time to demonstrate that the work they are doing impacts other people enough for a somewhat uncommmon thank you.

you get some money ($150/bonus, IIRC) for helping someone out, assuming manager approval

akin to the usual corporate "thank you" gift card, but more money and generally easier to distribute