Ugh ridiculous. We do a potluck by choice but my boss doesn't pretend it's some holiday gift to everyone.

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.

Yep. There are several people in my office that talk a big game about their cooking skills and then you taste their food and it’s just… not good. People have gotten feeling’s hurt when no one touches their contribution. Stuff that’s supposed to be served hot is cold. It’s all so pointless.

How old is your boss? Non-profit/Gov't baby boomers and older loved potlucks. Getting rid of the office potluck is one thing gen-x can take credit for.

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.

Can I add to this——

Dear bosses,

Organizing a $25 Secret Santa for all employees across several locations, is not a holiday thank you. So I have to fork over $25 plus postage for you to make it seem like we are festive?

Super cheap. Even if it's coming out of the bosses pocket, it's unacceptable. At least order food, even buffet style from somewhere cheap. It doesn't have to be fancy.

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?

I have worked in several environments where a holiday potluck was the norm. Especially in the non-profit or government sector. Your problem isn't the potluck, it's the way they sold it.

The holidays seem to spur so many employers to stumble, or put their proverbial foot in their mouth.

I don't believe in effusive demonstrations of gratitude at the office, but I agree that in times of Covid, potluck is out.

One of my husband's old bosses at NIH used to invite all the lab to his house. We would each bring something, and the boss would cook something as well. Those who played instruments would bring them and play Holiday pieces (a few were classical musicians), some would sing, and at some point, SANTA would come (a long-time employee), and distribute presents to the kids (every employee was assigned a child to buy a present for in advance).

I still remember those parties fondly. It wasn't about gratitude for work, but about celebrating the Holiday together.

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.

Managers are so clueless... I guess that's why they are the managers.

Yeah first they should not be doing this during Covid. But second, I agree with you. Having to do a potluck at work is annoying. Especially for those of us who take public transportation. When I was working for the federal government we had to pay $40 each for our holiday party and the women would also inevitably get roped into bringing food, cleaning up etc. That’s not a thank you. That’s a pain in the ass

+1,000,000 Enough with the potlucks. My boss tries to get everyone super excited about them and then has the nerve to say things like “oh, we didn’t bring our A-game this time” when people pick up prepared food from a grocery store or something. Enough already.

Oh dear. I think it would be better to do nothing.

Covid aside. If your office or department is "hosting" a holiday meal for staff, don't make it potluck. If a group of co-workers want to get together and have a potluck, fine, but don't try to sell a potluck meal as "a thank you for all you do" to your staff. Sanitary issues aside, it is cheap and annoying.

Guess you can just tell what sort of holiday lunch email the boss just sent out.