Employee Appreciaton Week

[shugknight]

So here are my lovely and wonderful job, we are celebrating Employee Appreciation Week.

Our company loves us so much that they decided to spend not just 1 day on us, but a total of 5 days!!!

I wanted to see what other companies offered their employees for EAW. I took one look at my list, and LMAO. Literally.

These are some of the things we are "obligated" to do:

Monday - "Favorite Color Day" Wear your favorite color.
Tuesday - "Sports Day" Wear your favorite sports jersey
Wednesday - "Superhero Day" Wear your favorite super hero costume
Thursday - "Company day" Wear your favorite company shirt
Friday - "Vacation Day" Wear your favorite vacation shirt

This was the EXACT week long activities we had last year as well. Talk about creativity.

I also forgot to mention that they brought in bagels Monday with the worst flavors for cream cheese/bagels.

Tuesday they had "Fat-Free" Yogurt, not from Pinkberry, or Red Mango, or other big name franchises, it was from what seemed like a local grocery store yogurt filled with frozen fruit (strawberries)

We have our company picnic this tomorrow, but the thing is, its 10 minutes away, they're not providing transportation and employees with no car are suggested "to find a ride there"

Really? I don't feel very appreciated.

[Dirty Turtles]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

Do you work at a high school and this is spirit week?

[shugknight]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

Do you work at a high school and this is spirit week?

I wish I could say that.. It would make for a much better story.

[AUChase]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

Absolutely nothing.

I've never even heard of Employee Appreciation Week

[rspencer86]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

I think to most companies, Employee Appreciation Week is any week that includes a payday.

That's about it.

[shugknight]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

Well unfortunately, my company, who is being run by idiots, is a sad place to work at.

This week of "festivities" is to make up for the past 5 years of no bonuses/raises/promotions within the company. This is basically the executives at my corporation basically stating:

"Well, as hard as you work, we can't give you a raise what so ever, but guess what we'll do? We'll let you wear your favorite color shirt on Monday and we'll call it even."

Believe me, I would gladly take a day off compared to this week of jokes.

[Chef Matt]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

I work at a a hospital. I am the Executive Chef. Therefore I am the one who gets the headache every year of pulling EAW off. Mind you we have 1,000 employees.

This last May we held it,

Monday - Free root beer floats in the cafe all day with a ticket. The ticket doesn't mean **** though. People take 2 and 3 anyway.

Tuesday - Yogurt and fresh fruit bar all morning. (Again with the stupid ticket).

Wednesday - Banana splits in the afternoon and evening. (****in ticket only, yeah right)

Thursday - BBQ Picnic out on the south lawn.
BBQ Chicken, dogs, burgers, hot links, mac salad, potato salad, watermelon, ranch beans, etc... (ticke...you get the idea)

Friday - Free breakfast all morning long. (Again stupid ticket rule nobody follows.)

During the week they give free **** away, have a raffle etc... Movie tickets, cases of sodas, gift cards to local restaurants and stores, stereos, golf vouchers, etc...

I usually take my 1st vacation after this week, the one we all know in my kitchen as hell week.

[areobee401]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

Hold up! 5 years of being neglected and they give you superhero day? I'd be insulted.

[mjb2124]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

Never heard of EAW. Shugknight - I'd feel appreciated that your company is even doing that for you despite the hardships of the past 5 years - which most companies have been going through. Most companies aren't doing anything for their employee's because they have the belief with this poor economy that the employee should be happy to just have a job. My boss is the IT Director and I already know that would be his response if I said that I wanted to do something nice for my employee's for EAW.

With that said, I suppose I did get one thing for EAW...that being that my team found out this week that we're going to be needed to work every Saturday in September for multiple power upgrades in our datacenter and upgrades in a datacenter at our distribution center 1 hour away. So that means a month of close to 70 hour work weeks for me and 50-60 hour work weeks for my team with no OT or Comp Time (I asked Sr. Mgmt for either and was rejected). Exciting!

[shugknight]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

Never heard of EAW. Shugknight - I'd feel appreciated that your company is even doing that for you despite the hardships of the past 5 years - which most companies have been going through. Most companies aren't doing anything for their employee's because they have the belief with this poor economy that the employee should be happy to just have a job. My boss is the IT Director and I already know that would be his response if I said that I wanted to do something nice for my employee's for EAW.

With that said, I suppose I did get one thing for EAW...that being that my team found out this week that we're going to be needed to work every Saturday in September for multiple power upgrades in our datacenter and upgrades in a datacenter at our distribution center 1 hour away. So that means a month of close to 70 hour work weeks for me and 50-60 hour work weeks for my team with no OT or Comp Time (I asked Sr. Mgmt for either and was rejected). Exciting!

***Warning ahead of time MJB, this anger is not directed to you, but the executives at my corporation. Don't take this personally. ***

Woah woah woah!! WTF?!??! I didn't know that my CEO also posted at OS!! But that is exactly what my he said. At our townhall meeting, our employees specifically asked about the morale in the office and how we have not been getting recognized for the hard work and the fact that we all were able to get out of not 1, not 2, but 3 bankruptcies.

You want to know his asinine response was???

"Your morale should not be effected by how much money you make. You have to look at yourself in the morning and ask, what makes me happy?"

WTF?!?!?!?!

And please don't give me that "hardships" and "economy problems" thats all BS. Yes the economy is in tough times, but when your senior executives are still getting bi-monthly bonuses of 6 figure checks, than I think the company is in a fine state to hand out bonuses/promotions/raises.

MJB, I also work in IT, and if you think that's bad.. thats a typical day here at work. 60-70 hour weeks, 22 hour nights, and yet we can't get paid for them.

[The GIGGAS]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

Jeez, I thought I felt unappreciated.

Mutiny or GTHO, for your own sanity, guys!

[Buckeyes_Doc]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

I'm guessing your usual work clothing is business atire, so It would be cool to be able to wear a different shirt or something more comfortable for a day. Obvisouly that is not on the same level of a raise or other benefits. Is your company picnic mandatory?

I hate in the military we have "mandatory fun days." Picnics, go to the beach, some other outing where we have to go and it is always boring and pretty awkward at times. The bad thing is it extends your work day. I just want to go work and come home, or let me leave early, I'll have fun on my own time. End Rant.

[AUChase]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

We have Birthday Wednesday (bi-weekly) where they buy cake, cookies, chips, etc. to celebrate everyone's birthday for that month.

I'm also the head of the 'Employee Committee', so I help take the 'employee fun money' they give us and expand it so we can do other stuff, like have lunch at least once every week or two. I took a freezer and put it in the break room with a pad lock on it and filled it full of microwavable dinners and we sell them out to the employees, if they didn't bring anything or don't feel like fighting the traffic to get something. It's usually only a dollar or so profit, but it adds up pretty quickly.

When we had our meeting last Sunday, they had went to Arby's and got biscuits for everyone, along with juice, chocolate milk, and other breakfast items. I was pleasantly surprised. It could be a lot worse, but we don't have an actual 'Employee Appreciation Week'.. there's no time to even organize anything like.

[shugknight]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

Believe me, if we were to ever organize a strike, 100% of our workers will be walking those lines.

And yes it is nice to not have to wear business attire, but at the same time do they have to specify what type of clothing we have to wear? Why couldn't it just be casual clothes week?

And where do we find the time to do this?

Well here's a small fact at our company.. at the start of this year (2011) our HR department, at the most had about 6 people working. Those same 6 people would multitask and do multiple jobs a day. As of today, our HR department has ballooned up to 12. Basically, what we payed 6 people to do 6 months ago, we're now paying 12 people to do so.

About 8 out of those 12 people DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in this office other than walk around. We joke that the entire HR Department has created a schedule where half of them are able to take the week off, and the other half works, then switches it up. They're never here.. they collect paychecks that are 10x more than what users that have been with the company for over 10+ years make. And then they are given the responsibility of creating an EAW.

[mjb2124]

Re: Employee Appreciaton Week

***Warning ahead of time MJB, this anger is not directed to you, but the executives at my corporation. Don't take this personally. ***

Woah woah woah!! WTF?!??! I didn't know that my CEO also posted at OS!! But that is exactly what my he said. At our townhall meeting, our employees specifically asked about the morale in the office and how we have not been getting recognized for the hard work and the fact that we all were able to get out of not 1, not 2, but 3 bankruptcies.

You want to know his asinine response was???

"Your morale should not be effected by how much money you make. You have to look at yourself in the morning and ask, what makes me happy?"

WTF?!?!?!?!

And please don't give me that "hardships" and "economy problems" thats all BS. Yes the economy is in tough times, but when your senior executives are still getting bi-monthly bonuses of 6 figure checks, than I think the company is in a fine state to hand out bonuses/promotions/raises.

MJB, I also work in IT, and if you think that's bad.. thats a typical day here at work. 60-70 hour weeks, 22 hour nights, and yet we can't get paid for them.

Shug - I get what you're saying, but I guess I've seen this so frequently that it doesn't bother me anymore. I see the CEO making 1.5 MIL per year and getting paid a bonus each year of 1.5x his salary (that doesn't count his stock options that are near 20MIL). I work frequently with the CIO who's making over 400K per year and getting bonuses in excess of 1MIL and stock in the 5-8MIL range. I also see myself with a nice salary, but no stock options arriving at the office before both these people and often leaving after them....only to go home and work more remotely. I guess that's life?

I disagree with your CEO's statement that morale should not be affected by money (and I've heard that before from the CIO when fighting for more money for one of my guys). People can say what they want, but money's important...that's the bottom line for me. I wouldn't work the hours or put in the time if it weren't for the money. However, I wouldn't be upset with not getting much for EAW. Just a gimic IMO anyway.

I usually work 60+ hours most weeks as I have 2 guys working for me and we support over 150 servers, 700 retail stores (west coast as well...with no second/third shift) and 300 internal users so we don't have the manpower to support our environment. I'm the boss so I try to protect them and suck it up and deal with the extra hours/work when I can, but what annoys me is being at the office every Saturday for an entire month for outages...it's simply too much for a small team to handle without cracking. To top it off, all I've asked is for mgmt to give my employee's comp time and apparently that isn't going to happen. It's very rare to see a company offer OT to a salaried employee. If that was an option, I'd have no problem working the extra hours.