Company Plans 'Employee Appreciation Lunch', Then Charges Them $10 to Attend

No matter how often your manager tells you that he/she sees you as a part of his extended family, you know deep inside that it's far from the truth, especially when there are things you can't ignore. When companies take initiative to instill a sense of togetherness in the team, sometimes the efforts come out as fictitious or sometimes forced.

A Reddit user u/Rainbow62993 claimed that her husband's workplace was running an "employee appreciation day." While the initiative sounds great, it doesn't guarantee a wage increase, time off, or even a few dress-down days. The Reddit user said that the company was simply offering the employees a "hot dog, bag of chips, and a soda" while requiring the employees to pay $10 for the entry.

"A woman went around getting everyone on a list today and let them know to bring in $10 if they wanted the hot dog, chips, and soda. They’re showing employee appreciation by making them pay $10 for that little a** meal."

As per a recent article in Harvard Business Review, one of the trends that will be observed in workplaces in 2024 is they predict that "organizations will offer creative benefits to address the costs of work" a move that doubtless comes as a result of higher costs and desire for increased wages. 

In the now-deleted post, she writes "Everyone will be getting a candy bag for free!" and wrote that her husband did not participate. The comment section of the now-deleted post was filled with people questioning the company. “The sad part is there will be employees that will praise the management for the gesture and other employees who’ll go along with the sentiment," one such comment read.

As per a recent Gallup report, it has become a challenge for companies to be able to attract as well as retain top performers while increasing organic growth. Amid all this, companies are failing to pay attention to one of the proven strategies, employee recognition. As per the analysis, only one in three workers in the U.S. strongly agree that they received recognition or praise for doing good work in the past seven days.

The data further revealed that most employee recognition comes most often from an employee's manager (28%), which was followed by a high-level leader or CEO (24%), then the manager's manager which is 12%, and a customer which is 10%.

As per the report, workers perform best in a recognition-rich environment, with praise coming from every direction and everyone aware of how others like to receive appreciation. According to another survey conducted by OnePoll, almost 50% of American workers left a position because they felt unappreciated.

As an employee, it's important to set a clear expectation at work and not budge. Secondly, the sense of validation may not always come from external sources, which makes self-validation crucial. Having said, that, if you do feel that all your accomplishments are going unrecognized, it's best to schedule a conversation with your boss and let them know that you would like more feedback going forward.