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America's Worst Christmas Parties

Posted by Zonk on from the corporate-scrooges dept.

Ant writes "Slate Magazine asked its readers to submit reports of horrible office Christmas parties, gifts, and bonuses. Of nearly 200 submissions, they've chosen quite a few tales for The Corporate Scrooge Contest Results ... and they're not pretty. From the article: 'A contract consultant sends word that the company to which he is currently assigned recently sent out an e-mail to some 2,000-odd consultants. The company would give away two $100 gift cards--to two of the brave souls who would commit to work 80 hours between Dec. 18 and Dec. 31. As our correspondent noted: "Hey, if you work Christmas, we'll put you in a pool of 2,000 other folks to maybe win a hundred bucks."'"

9 of 406 comments (clear)

  1. Christmas Vacation by Pharmboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    At least it isn't what happened to poor Clark Griswold, getting a "Jelly of the Month" certificate for a Christmas bonus.

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  2. Bah humbug. by IANAAC · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I'll get modded troll for this, but...

    When I was working for corporations, I always expected a bonus, gifts, whatever at holiday time and was nearly always dissapointed.

    Now that I've been working for myself the last couple of years, I don't make as much money as I did with corporations, but I'm generally a happier person, in that I can set my own hours (well, somewhat) and spend more time with my family and friends. That to me is far more useful than any trinket or bonus.

    I've also come to realize that token gifts from the company NEVER meant anything, and was never anything I could ever use - the corporate logo paperweight fits that bill - much like the years of service gifts with the coporate logos on them.

    Sure, when I got bonuses the extra money was nice, but really, it's not something anyone should come to expect.

    Don't expect anything and you won't be dissappointed. They're already paying you to do you job.

    1. Re:Bah humbug. by felix+rayman · · Score: 5, Interesting

      When advice on to how to deal with the current state of the employment market is summed up as, "Don't expect anything and you won't be dissappointed", perhaps it is time for workers to get pissed off, and start doing something about it.

    2. Re:Bah humbug. by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      When advice on to how to deal with the current state of the employment market is summed up as, "They're already paying you to do you job," perhaps it is time for workers to get pissed off about people who deliberately misquote summaries.

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    3. Re:Bah humbug. by rjshields · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's actually quite sound advice. Take the scenario that you are contracted to a do certain number of hours, but often work over that for whatever reason, and then feel hard done by that you get nothing in return. If you just try a bit harder to stick to those contracted hours, you won't feel so bad. People might also respect you more for not allowing yourself to be treated like a bitch.

      --
      In this world nothing is certain but death, taxes and flawed car analogies.
    4. Re:Bah humbug. by killjoe · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You are right. Every working person should realize that they are just cogs in a machine. You don't matter to your employer, you are just a body easily exchanged for another body or better yet some machine. You should do your job, collect your money and never ever give your employer anything beyond exactly what you are paid to do. By the same token demand to be paid for every minute you work and demand that your employer define exactly what is expected of you so that they are not asking you to do a bunch of stuff for free.

      Remember your company is not a person. You don't owe it anything beyond your time and the terms of your employment. Anything else has got to cost more to your company. Also demand as much money as possible, they will never ever give you a penny above that.

      Finally, unionize. Your employee is trying very hard to reduce your pay as much as possible, you need a way to fight for what you are due.

      It's a war, fight to win.

      --
      evil is as evil does
  3. We have to pay for our christmas party. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Where I work the christmas party is $35. This year the ticket count was so low that one of the people in charge sent a company-wide email telling people it was in their "best interest" to attend.

    Did I mention we get nothing in terms of bonuses, etc?

  4. No alcohol or ciggies at Le Mart de Wal by lee+n.+field · · Score: 5, Funny
    From the linked article:
    offered employees a $25 Wal-Mart holiday gift card, but that the card couldn't be used to buy alcohol or cigarettes.

    I'd blow it on ammunition anyway.

  5. Ah, yes! My first Christmas bonus. by flabbergasted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I was straight out of graduate school. I took a job in the Northeast, and the company paid all of my moving expenses to relocate me from Texas to Massachusetts. Five and half months later I'm sitting in my office when the vice president comes around to give me a bonus check. Now I wasn't even expecting a bonus, so I was thrilled to get it! Then I opened the envelope and discovered that they had given me a bonus of $2400...from which they then deducted my moving expenses, leaving me with $59. In a matter of seconds, I went from being thrilled to get any kind of a bonus (no matter how small!) to feeling like I had been servered a piping hot bowl of cream of shit soup.