“I’d Be Busy That Night”: Company Higher-Ups Expect Staff To Shell Out $30 Each For The Corporate Christmas Party
Christmas is coming, that magical moment is just around the corner when all relatives or friends will gather for a festive party in anticipation of real Christmas magic, and there will be no place for any bad emotions on this joy-soaked evening… Or not.
Not all employees love festive corporate parties – after all, in many companies this is not done from the bottom of their hearts, but simply because corporate values and so on must be observed. And the events themselves often turn out to be quite boring, so many employees honestly admit that they only come to eat and drink for free… Or not.
This particular story first surfaced a few days ago on the Reddit Antiwork community, and u/caribbeanrumcake’s post managed to garner over 7.1K upvotes and nearly 1K different comments in a short amount of time. To say that the redditors were surprised would be a pure understatement. So let’s just see what happened there.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post works in a company that plans to have a Christmas and Thanksgiving joint party
Image credits: T.Tseng (not the actual image)
The author of the original post works for a company that is planning a company party for Thanksgiving and the upcoming Christmas in early December. This time the administrator, as always, sent messages to all the staff about the upcoming dinner, but the employees were in for a not entirely pleasant surprise.
Image creidts: u/caribbeanrumcake
The higher-ups told the staff they want them to pay $30 if they plan to attend the party
It turns out that this time, everyone who wants to come to the party and enjoy some tacos has to pay $30, and they are allowed to bring one guest with them unless they have children. All the money left after ordering tacos, the administration intends to spend on buying various drinks. This was followed by a deadline for donating money for the organization of the event.
Image creidts: u/caribbeanrumcake
This is not to say that the author of the post and his colleagues are such big lovers of freebies, but paying $30 for the doubtful privilege after a working day to look at the faces of people with whom you spend eight hours every day is, you see, priceless. And, in principle, all the world traditions of corporate events imply that everything is done at the expense of the company, and not employees.
Image credits: Image Genie (not the actual image)
Commenters thought that company must be having tough times with finances, yet the author clarified that it’s doing well
We must say that many people in the comments were also outraged by the behavior of the company’s management, but at the same time they warned the Original Poster that such a step is an alarming signal. The company may not be doing well with money, so maybe it’s time for employees to polish their resume. To this, however, the author of the post replied that the company is doing well financially, and they like to brag about it – including at corporate events.
However, this is the first time since 2018 that the employees are told to chip in
According to the general manager, the Original Poster says, the budget they were given is $500, while the taquero is $1,500, so he just wanted employees to cover the difference. The author of the post also admits that they have been working in this company since 2018, and this is the first such case in their memory. The dinner is always a potluck or whatever the kitchen cooks for staff with the $500, the OP recalls.
Image credits: Claudia_midori (not the actual image)
Perhaps the most witty comment the Original Poster received was “I’d be busy that night. Keep your taquero!” On the other hand, as the OP goes on to tell, the company currently employs 44 people, so someone will definitely come to the party. Plus all the kids they may have and their one guest. In general, most likely, it will turn out that the management will once again have someone to brag about their incredible financial success.
One of the people in the comments said that they had worked in different companies and teams for more than thirty years, attended hundreds of corporate events – and always, absolutely always, these events were financed entirely by the company. Therefore, as the commenters say, such behavior from the higher-ups is completely unacceptable and even outrageous.
If you too have ever paid to attend any corporate party, we are already looking forward to this fascinating story. But even if not – comments are always highly appreciated, so please feel free to leave them below this post.
Given that employee parties are often not really voluntary (i.e. not attending is frowned upon) and by definition involves talking about little other than work, I don't think it's okay to ask employees to pay.
Don't know why you got downvoted, so have an upvote on me.
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My boss throws a HUGE Christmas party for all the employees and agents. It is held in a hotel ballroom with live music, fabulous food, and open bar. He takes great pleasure in treating us in order to thank us for all the hard work we put in all year. The only thing he asks in return is that we get a room at the hotel or a ride home if we choose to drink.
My company is normal greedy corporation, but at least for xmas dinner they fly us to another country, give hotel, restaurant food, unlimited wine etc. If you can't or don't want to afford a proper get together, just don't do one, otherwise it's insulting
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In all my 48 years before I retired, never did I or anyone else that was an employee paid one penny for our holiday parties. That is called cheap A** employers.
Given that employee parties are often not really voluntary (i.e. not attending is frowned upon) and by definition involves talking about little other than work, I don't think it's okay to ask employees to pay.
Don't know why you got downvoted, so have an upvote on me.
Load More Replies... My boss throws a HUGE Christmas party for all the employees and agents. It is held in a hotel ballroom with live music, fabulous food, and open bar. He takes great pleasure in treating us in order to thank us for all the hard work we put in all year. The only thing he asks in return is that we get a room at the hotel or a ride home if we choose to drink.
My company is normal greedy corporation, but at least for xmas dinner they fly us to another country, give hotel, restaurant food, unlimited wine etc. If you can't or don't want to afford a proper get together, just don't do one, otherwise it's insulting
Load More Replies... In all my 48 years before I retired, never did I or anyone else that was an employee paid one penny for our holiday parties. That is called cheap A** employers.
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