Full time remote workers - what does your workplace do for holiday parties for you if anything?

[Anonymous]

Something tells me if this person had been invited they wouldn't attend anyway. Just looking for a gift card hand out equivalency.

And who the heck wants to attend a work holiday party?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Besides the OP and the gift card foolishness there is so much resentment for remote workers in this thread. What kind of grunt work are those of you who are in the office required to do? Why do you need to be onsite? If you hate it so much can you switch to the remote side since your company supports it?

Grunt work: showing up for client meetings, working in the office on physical products, networking (remote people pretty much do ZERO networking. Whenever they need something, they ping everyone else and ask where to go. And they don't even retain any of that knowledge because they don't care to remember any of us), team building, mailing out stuff to remote people (laptops, products, headsets, etc). Remote people never have to stay late, they just all disappear at like 4pm. They just aren't integrated into our mission, nor do they care about their work as much as the rest of us.

Even setting up for the holiday party is a lot of work. It's fine and I enjoy it, but do remote workers have to set up? Nope, they just show up and then immediately leave.

I do not want to be remote and I really like hybrid, but don't think there's not a lot of resentment towards remote workers.

[Anonymous]

OP here with an update that many of you will not like: All the remote employees got a $150 gift card for Goldbelly this afternoon with a thoughtful note about how they wanted to recognize we are part of the team. It was nice - and appreciated! Though not expected.

[Anonymous]

We’re having lunch next week and bought the boss a very thoughtful gift. Not my idea.

I work around another group and there was a “retreat” where the c-suite people patted themselves on the back.

Haven’t heard anything about a bonus yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Besides the OP and the gift card foolishness there is so much resentment for remote workers in this thread. What kind of grunt work are those of you who are in the office required to do? Why do you need to be onsite? If you hate it so much can you switch to the remote side since your company supports it?

Grunt work: showing up for client meetings, working in the office on physical products, networking (remote people pretty much do ZERO networking. Whenever they need something, they ping everyone else and ask where to go. And they don't even retain any of that knowledge because they don't care to remember any of us), team building, mailing out stuff to remote people (laptops, products, headsets, etc). Remote people never have to stay late, they just all disappear at like 4pm. They just aren't integrated into our mission, nor do they care about their work as much as the rest of us.

Even setting up for the holiday party is a lot of work. It's fine and I enjoy it, but do remote workers have to set up? Nope, they just show up and then immediately leave.

I do not want to be remote and I really like hybrid, but don't think there's not a lot of resentment towards remote workers.

I think a lot of this is a management fail: if the job actually requires face to face meetings then remote workers can't have that same job: duties should be different. And my (great) boss has cracked down on people who ping everybody with questions they ought to know the answer to.

But I also think it's weird to say you don't want to be remote but you resent remote workers. That feels like you want them to prefer the same things you prefer.

[Anonymous]

You are off. You are saving thousands one dollars a year by working at home with the privilege of sitting in your pajamas, going shopping during the day and getting errands done. Stop complaining bud you don’t like it, go into headquarters. Enjoy your house in queens.

[Anonymous]

About 10 years ago I was remote and part of a remote team all over the country, with a manager in the mid-west.

Said manager, with about 4 days notice, declared a mandatory holiday party for his team. This holiday party was to be held at a hotel near his home, two days before Christmas. And of course a mid-west snowstorm in the forecast for around that date.

100% of the manager's direct reports (including myself) told him they would not be able to attend the mandatory holiday party, so it was cancelled. Manager was forever perplexed as to why his holiday party invitation was so poorly received.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remote employees are ridiculously entitled. They don’t show for team building. They don’t show for client meetings. They get out of mentoring. We have to do extra work trying to get the video com system to work for every meeting. But if you have a party they want a gift sent to them?

Right, because we don't have time for nonsense and socializing. Someone has to keep the business running while the in office crowd socialize, takes breaks, orders in lunch and on and on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Something tells me if this person had been invited they wouldn't attend anyway. Just looking for a gift card hand out equivalency.

And who the heck wants to attend a work holiday party?

Making up your own facts to support your argument sure is fun isn't it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sitting in my St Louis home office chatting over Slack with the other full time remote employees as the office enjoys a festive holiday dinner in NYC, where the office is based. There was zero acknowledgement to any of us that anything was happening other than one remote employee (who is 1.5 hours away from NYC) being told by his manager to stay tuned for details of a holiday party in NYC with no follow up.

I think they should have sent us a gift card or something...am I off here?

Your gift is multitasking your family and home chores during the work week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remote employees are ridiculously entitled. They don’t show for team building. They don’t show for client meetings. They get out of mentoring. We have to do extra work trying to get the video com system to work for every meeting. But if you have a party they want a gift sent to them?

Right, because we don't have time for nonsense and socializing. Someone has to keep the business running while the in office crowd socialize, takes breaks, orders in lunch and on and on.

Client meeting? Mentoring? You consider that nonsense? You made the point about being ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are off. You are saving thousands one dollars a year by working at home with the privilege of sitting in your pajamas, going shopping during the day and getting errands done. Stop complaining bud you don’t like it, go into headquarters. Enjoy your house in queens.

100% agree.

[Anonymous]

If you want to be in the mix, then be part of the team. If you never go to the office, then why would you want to go to the party?

Or are you really just angling for something special equivalent to the party? Like a gift card?

ICYMI:

1. Being permitted to be fully remote is your gift.

2. Gift cards actually should be taxed…although your employer could opt to cover the taxes.

I’m stumped by all the holiday-related requirements. A party is nice for the team. Individual gifts and over the top mushy messages aren’t necessary imho. We are colleagues, not lifelong friends.

[Anonymous]

I dread the holiday party! I see these people all day every day and I’d rather just go home. I like the people and I’m sure most of them would like to head home as well. One benefit of the pandemic was no holiday parties for a couple of years.