Dear bosses, a potluck meal is not saying "thank you for all you" to your staff

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP, that sucks.

Companies are cheap as hell. I once worked somewhere that tried to pass off the opportunity to wear jeans to work on Fridays (in the summer in DC!) as a staff appreciation program. But in order to earn the right to wear jeans, you had to donate a minimum of $5 to a charity chosen by one of the management team members, and there was literally someone who would come around with a list to see who had donated and then look under your desk to see if you had jeans on.

I felt so deeply appreciated that I went and got a job somewhere else where I could wear jeans whenever I wanted and there was no compulsory charity requirement.

The Jean Pass Day, was it a law firm?

+1 (my initial guess also)

Why did you guys guess law firm? Is there one you have heard of doing it or is it a law firm thing to do?

[Anonymous]

Our private company would put on a big holiday party in better covid times, and have department lunch or dinner parties. Our company is made up of several departments that don't interact all that much sometimes, and would do a potluck. The management would order some basic Thanksgiving foods like turkey and mac n cheese. Young guys would bring platters or nuggets or cheeseburgers sometimes, but everyone usually contributed something. There was always plenty of food since there were about 60 people. We haven't done the potluck since covid and I kinda miss it. It was one day of the year that was fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP, that sucks.

Companies are cheap as hell. I once worked somewhere that tried to pass off the opportunity to wear jeans to work on Fridays (in the summer in DC!) as a staff appreciation program. But in order to earn the right to wear jeans, you had to donate a minimum of $5 to a charity chosen by one of the management team members, and there was literally someone who would come around with a list to see who had donated and then look under your desk to see if you had jeans on.

I felt so deeply appreciated that I went and got a job somewhere else where I could wear jeans whenever I wanted and there was no compulsory charity requirement.

The Jean Pass Day, was it a law firm?

+1 (my initial guess also)

Why did you guys guess law firm? Is there one you have heard of doing it or is it a law firm thing to do?

I don't know if the fundraising program is common in other businesses or other law firms, but my large firm does it and I heard bad things about the DC office practically harassing people over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Found out more annoying information. This is a very small company. The owner took the 5 managers from a different side of the company to a $700 dinner in a rented limo. The rest of us, our department of 7, gets $30 to spend on a ham, rolls, & pasta salad and the honor of potlucking the rest. ugh, just shaking my head. Bet he will try to say the potluck is also on our unpaid lunch hour.

WOW WOW, that sucks OP. But now you know where you and your department fit in. Question, are the other folks in Sales, or the bring in the money departments?

[Anonymous]

LOL i hate potlucks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP, that sucks.

Companies are cheap as hell. I once worked somewhere that tried to pass off the opportunity to wear jeans to work on Fridays (in the summer in DC!) as a staff appreciation program. But in order to earn the right to wear jeans, you had to donate a minimum of $5 to a charity chosen by one of the management team members, and there was literally someone who would come around with a list to see who had donated and then look under your desk to see if you had jeans on.

I felt so deeply appreciated that I went and got a job somewhere else where I could wear jeans whenever I wanted and there was no compulsory charity requirement.

The Jean Pass Day, was it a law firm?

+1 (my initial guess also)

I worked at a law firm that did this 15-ish years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP, that sucks.

Companies are cheap as hell. I once worked somewhere that tried to pass off the opportunity to wear jeans to work on Fridays (in the summer in DC!) as a staff appreciation program. But in order to earn the right to wear jeans, you had to donate a minimum of $5 to a charity chosen by one of the management team members, and there was literally someone who would come around with a list to see who had donated and then look under your desk to see if you had jeans on.

I felt so deeply appreciated that I went and got a job somewhere else where I could wear jeans whenever I wanted and there was no compulsory charity requirement.

The Jean Pass Day, was it a law firm?

+1 (my initial guess also)

I worked at a law firm that did this 15-ish years ago.

I work at a law firm that still does this or did pre-pandemic when we were all going into the office. We'll see if it restarts when we're all back in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. Why do this? The boss can just spring for some holiday cookies and have a festive little afternoon tea hour if they don’t want to pay for a meal. Potlucks are a pain and can be gross.

My rule of thumb is that no matter how much employees like their jobs, the best two ways to appreciate them are:

(1) Money
(2) Extra time off

That's it. If you can do real holiday bonuses, that's best. If you can't, smaller gift cards are a nice gesture. I've also heard of places doing surprise days off between Christmas and New Years (why not, people don't get a ton of work done then anyway) or doing "early off" for the last couple weeks before Christmas -- people can leave at 4:30pm barring an urgent deadline or meeting. It's a nice way to allow people to spend more time with their families or to get additional holiday-related activities done, plus it's the darkest time of the year so an early release feels really good from a mental health perspective.

But yeah, money and time. Those are the things people want and need.

Totally agree! Cheapo pot lucks are terrible! I am a baby boomer by the way and some earlier poster claimed boomers loved them. No, we do not. Especially during Covid, these horrid affairs should be banned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP, that sucks.

Companies are cheap as hell. I once worked somewhere that tried to pass off the opportunity to wear jeans to work on Fridays (in the summer in DC!) as a staff appreciation program. But in order to earn the right to wear jeans, you had to donate a minimum of $5 to a charity chosen by one of the management team members, and there was literally someone who would come around with a list to see who had donated and then look under your desk to see if you had jeans on.

I felt so deeply appreciated that I went and got a job somewhere else where I could wear jeans whenever I wanted and there was no compulsory charity requirement.

you seem overinvested in "jeans."

[Anonymous]

potluck=barf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP, that sucks.

Companies are cheap as hell. I once worked somewhere that tried to pass off the opportunity to wear jeans to work on Fridays (in the summer in DC!) as a staff appreciation program. But in order to earn the right to wear jeans, you had to donate a minimum of $5 to a charity chosen by one of the management team members, and there was literally someone who would come around with a list to see who had donated and then look under your desk to see if you had jeans on.

I felt so deeply appreciated that I went and got a job somewhere else where I could wear jeans whenever I wanted and there was no compulsory charity requirement.

The Jean Pass Day, was it a law firm?

+1 (my initial guess also)

Why did you guys guess law firm? Is there one you have heard of doing it or is it a law firm thing to do?

only a law firm could be that weird.

[Anonymous]

Dear Employees,

Thanks for a wonderful year. As per your employment agreement you have received your agreed upon compensation and benefits for the year 2021.

We look forward to another wonderful year in 2022. If you feel you are not appreciated enough by the agreement we reached during your interview process, please make sure to turn in your building access credentials to HR.

Signed,

Your Manager.

[Anonymous]

If a potluck is bad, it means you work with some really bad cooks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If a potluck is bad, it means you work with some really bad cooks.

Or, you don't know who cooks with their cat sitting on the counter, how long the mayo-based salads have been sitting out, etc.

People lack imaginations. There's nothing wrong with calling up a couple restaurants, asking if they will put out some appetizers and run drink tickets during off-hours (3-5 pm, for example). Management can spring for some easy finger foods and one drink per employee and let folks buy anything else they want. Or, set a limit at the bar - it turns to a cash bar after $500... something like that. I know potlucks are FREE, but there's a lot of daylight between a dinner at Morton's and Potluck if the goal is creating a warm social environment for building office comradery.

[Anonymous]

I would definitely be sick that day.