The holidays are a season of giving, but generosity is a subjective term.

A recent r/AskReddit post by a user who goes online as AdHour6144 sparked a conversation about the most insulting job benefits and bonuses employees have ever received.

From cheap gift cards to the "privilege" of being able to listen to your company's podcast, some decision-makers need to seriously reconsider what they see as perks.

After all, when livelihood is concerned, it's not just the thought that matters.

#1

"Free water for the employees"

Wow thank you!

Green_Caterpillar_99:

I work as a waitress right now and we are allowed free tap water. Cold or hot.

Image credits: myhamsterisajerk

#2

"Flexible work hours."


Must be in office between 8 and 5, but you can show up even earlier or stay even later if you want.

cyclika:

"Of course we support flexible working options! You're free to work from home nights and weekends." 
Said with absolutely no hint of irony nor awareness.

Image credits: WritingImplement

#3

Once worked at a place where the 'benefit' was free access to the company gym... which was just a treadmill in a dark, windowless basement room. No thanks, I'll pass on the dungeon workout.

Image credits: hottievickyyx

#4

I told our HR person we were losing employees because of low pay. I showed examples of similar jobs that were paying 25% more at other firms. She told me that the casual work atmosphere was a huge benefit and should be taken into account. My response was that I could buy a lot of neckties for $10K a year. I resigned a few weeks later and they tried to counter offer. Idiots.

Image credits: Caspers_Shadow

#5

I worked at a radiology clinic where they would provide a single bread roll for staff for lunch on Wednesdays. No fillings or spreads. Just a plain white bread roll.

Image credits: Milled_Oats

#6

Worked at an Amazon warehouse and management told us we were the most efficient warehouse in the entire national system during peak on some metric and will be getting a prize soon. In February, someone writes on the suggestion board asking what that prize is going to be, they reply It’s on its way now.

The prize was that one of our Kivabots that delivers the shelves to our workstations will be autographed by Jeff Bezos. He never actually came to our warehouse so they probably printed a sticker and put it on one of the machines. So every once in a while, we will get to see the great one's signature on the robot that delivers us tasks.

Image credits: Cinnabon-Jovi

#7

I had a job where we were allowed to pay to wear jeans. You can’t even make that s**t up.

Image credits: Atlgal42

#8

Staff appreciation bbq where all the staff was invited, but we still had to cook for all 300 employees. Everyone got to go but the kitchen staff and they never made it up to us.

Image credits: -letsfuck-

#9

Worked crazy OT for a month to get vital computer security updates done (every computer had to be touched individually). Those of us who were salaried were promised we would be taken care of for the 20+ hours of overtime each week.

Hourly people earned time and a half.

Salaried people got a company embroidered baseball cap as a 'thank you'. Oh, and so did the hourly people.

Image credits: greenjelloland

#10

Two GMs started a podcast they expected us to all listen to.

Image credits: kurafuto

#11

A $15 gift card for 15 years of service as a Nurse in LTC.

Image credits: mimijane73

#12

I worked for a big Chinese corporation that offered ramen noodles packet if you stayed till 9 pm.

Image credits: ExistingDamage7369

#13

I made it to the five year mark working a laborious job for little pay, after 08 recession “you’re lucky to have a job” phase. They acknowledged my milestone with a 5 dollar Starbucks gift card. At that point why bother?

And I can’t count how many “thanks for working the holidays again, there is pizza in the break room!” (Btw, no pizza left by the time I was able to make it).

Image credits: deliciatemoan

#14

This was in 2004. Our 'Christmas bonuses' were hyped up for months. We got a pizza party in the breakroom with a DJ (the guy who ran the mailroom) and they handed out envelopes to everyone.

It was a Target gift card with $5 on it. My department was so angry we decided to pool our cards and buy supplies for a chemo care package for one of our people who was fighting breast cancer. That made us feel a bit better.

Image credits: Time_Ocean

#15

I started a bar job and the people who were supposed to take over from my shift quit, so I worked three shifts in a row my first day. After working 23 hours my boss said he’d give me a bottle of liquor as a thank you. He gave me a half bottle.

Image credits: Lingonberry_Born

#16

We will make a donation in your name to our church.

I also have to add... he was the pastor of the church.

Image credits: Tightfistula

#17

Costco I work at is low on seasonal workers so for any current employees that can bring in a friend or family member, we get a free hotdog.

Image credits: TeamCameltotem

#18

We were allowed to "buy out a day". Meaning, we had 2wks of PTO, and if we wanted more days, we could buy a PTO day from the company. So I'd be paying $180 to not go to work for a day.

Image credits: MinimumCarrot9

#19

They signed a deal with a gas station chain, employees would get a certain amount off on gasoline/diesel. This was paraded out with a full company meeting and everything.

The price reduction was less than normal customers that got a card with that gas station chain.
So they had spent months working out a deal that was worse than what anyone could get by signing up at the gas station chains website.

Image credits: Evil-Bosse

#20

When I worked at a local mental health facility they had a crazy high turnover issue across the board, but particularly with clinical staff. One of their solutions for the morale issue was to throw an employee appreciation fair. Free food, games, music, the works.

The first problem was, they expected the support staff to set up and man everything (maintenance constructing the booths, IT setting up and managing the sound system, kitchen staff doing all the cooking.)

So not only did they (we, I was IT) not get to enjoy the event, we ended up a full day behind on our normal tasks as well. The other problem, the BIG problem, though, was that any of the staff that interacted with patients, particularly the clinical staff they were having trouble retaining, couldn't cancel those appointments to attend.

So the event just ended up being administrative staff and the office pool having a big party for themselves while the rest of us either served them, or heard the festivities coming from outside while they were stuck inside doing actual work. As you may imagine, it did not have the intended effect, but the C-Suite liked it so much it became an annual event.

#21

They got a food truck to come out and park behind the building for us. They didn’t pay for any of the food or consult us on the type of food we wanted. So basically the benefit was “you can pay for your lunch if you happen to like this food” but they hyped it up as some grand gesture.

Image credits: NewApartmentNewMe

#22

Free pizza parties if everyone chips in 5 bucks.

#23

We got an email telling us to click on a link for a holiday appreciation gift from the company. If you clicked on it, you had just fallen for a phishing test to see if you would click on links in emails. Your gift was three hours of mandatory security training.

#24

A vacation to a lake in Kansas (didn't know there were lakes there) where I would cook for my bosses friends in a waterski tournament. That guy hated me forever for calling him out and declining the vacation.

#25

I get free gym access at a local gym, but it's not walking distance from the office and the free access is only up til 3pm weekdays... during which time I am working.

#26

We got fake company “dollar” bills for good work or going above and beyond that we could save and spend for one time use “perks” like an extra break, some a company shirt or hat, or a vending machine snack maybe. The highest one was a pizza, and if you and your work crew put all yours together it could be a “pizza party”. Well me and my guys pooled ours together and ordered 3 of the most expensive pizzas we could every time we had enough bucks. They changed the rule after that to a $20 lunch that you needed a receipt and they would reimburse your lunch.

#27

An escalator. The store had an escalator. They put that in the benefits section.

#28

Company Christmas party I would need to buy tickets to attend.

#29

Free parking. And it was 1km away from the place of work.

#30

Employee of the month got lunch with the CEO. The CEO was a total unlikable k**b, who forced employees to socialize with them. You would never nominate someone you actually liked for this 'award'.

#31

For Employee Appreciation Day, they offered free shipping on items purchased from the company store website. We are a software development company.

#32

I was working at a shop and was actively pursuing a job as a teacher, which was not a surprise to anybody. I got the job with the understanding that when I finished my degree I’d be pursuing a teaching job.

I needed to come in late one day due to an interview. Literally just needed to be an hour late. Boss said “go ahead and take an extra 15.” I thought he was being nice. Turns out, dipping below 7 hours was what he needed to deny me a lunch break that day.

#33

Direct deposit.. Like wow, do yall provide a free sh**ter also?

#34

A few years ago I interviewed with a nonprofit and when asked my salary expetation, I said about a 10k raise from where I was at the time (which was also within their listed range so I thought it was reasonable). I was working for the state at the time, and since salaries are open, the hiring manager was able to find out what I make. She offered me a salary 1k more than what I was making, and on top of that I'd lose the state pension and have to pay for Healthcare out of pocket. She told me in our last meeting that she knew how much i made, and I should just be grateful for getting a raise at all.

In the same time frame, I got a 30% pay cut (everyone did across the board). I interviewed with another company, who I'd done projects with prior and knew pretty well. The manager offered me exactly what I'd been making before the cut. I'd told him about it, in confidence, because I knew and trusted him. He told me "with the paycut, this should feel like a raise." I've happily been with another company that made me a great offer, and has consistently shown up with great raises and promotions, for 3 years.

#35

For teacher appreciation week, the school gave us a ‘gift card’ to Chik-fil-a, to be redeemed for a free breakfast sandwich. Also, it could only be used at one specific Chik-fil-A near work, and it had an expiration date.

A coupon. That’s called a coupon.

They also fired me a few weeks later, which was honestly a much better gift… because f**k that school.

#36

I was in my mid-30’s at a large nonprofit and HR made us complete a questionnaire like: What’s your favorite color? What’s your favorite candy? and we were told this would inform the way they would reward us.


I just wrote “money” as my favorite everything. Pay me in money, please. What am I, five?

#37

I once worked on an assembly line in a factory. Big factory. Easily took 15-20 minutes to walk from my end of it to the front of the building where corporate was. That's an important detail here.

So one time they asked us all to pull a lot of overtime for a few weeks to catch up on some promised production numbers they oversold or some BS. As a "thank you" they announced they were going to bring in some ice cream trucks for us all to get free ice cream. They brought the trucks to the end of the building near the offices. Our break wasn't long enough to get to the ice cream and get back to work on time. Only the suits got free ice cream. So in summary, to thank the production workers for doing extra hours they bragged to us that the desk job guys who caused the trouble in the first place got free ice cream and we didn't. That one pissed me off.

Another time they asked us to work over the night before Christmas eve. It should have been a shutdown day. They promised everyone a free lunch for giving up our holiday time. 12&1/2 hour shift and no food ever showed up. They forgot and we were all starving. The next shift when everyone was there we were told not to say a word about it publicly or we'd be fired.

Anyway, I learned two lessons from that job. 1 never trust your boss when they promise you free food, bring a backup meal just in case. 2 never agree to get paid in stock, at my level it will never be worth more than the salary they'll probably ask me to give up for it and it makes taxes hell.

I spent 2 years working there. I won't say their name but they build electric cars in Fremont CA and their owner is a South African who recently purchased twitter and the White House.

Other fun stories are the times a guy lost a foot getting run over by a forklift, a guy getting electrocuted to death, numerous fires in the paint department, multiple class action lawsuits for making us doctor out time cards, and so many other messed up things. But the ice cream thing, that is the one that still really makes my blood boil almost 8 years later.

#38

I interviewed with a place earlier in the year that walked me around the facility, including their employee dining room, and the guy said (enthusiastically) "we're right next to the employee dining room so there's never any reason to leave the office for lunch!"

The office and dining room were in the basement. Zero sun or windows, all day every day. What a bonus that I can grab my lunch and bring it right back to my desk for more work!

#39

Paying me on time. It’s not f…ing optional. You have to pay your staff on time, they have bills to pay for goddamn sake.

#40

Employee discounts for products. They’re always out of stock and most are only available to ship to the USA. We live in Poland.

#41

So, i work at a nursing home. we aren’t allowed to accept gifts from the residents (which im completely fine with) but they have it practically posted everywhere for the residents to donate to the workers for our holiday bonus..which gets taxed..and most higher ups don’t interact with the residents let alone the employees actually working.

#42

They promised to get us a coffee maker. They got it one day.

Reader, it was a coffee wending machine. Pretty s****y one too.

Corporate then kept asking everyone why don’t we use the machine and go to the coffee shop instead, and then made a big drama about how they had to remove the machine because it wasn’t profitable enough.

#43

I was a repairs specialist working in quality control, my job was to repair defects for a major automotive manufacturer. The last line of defense before it goes out the door.

Quality-was-my-job.

We won a JD Power award for quality, a prestigious industry award.

The office got thousands in bonuses, and they all got a Rolex.

You know what I got? Or my department rather?

A waxy piece of chocolate the size of the palm of my hand that said *JD Power* on it.

That's it

That's all

I told them thanks for f*cking nothing and threw it in the garbage and told them I won't be working there much longer. They actually had the balls to say that I should be grateful. I replied ill be grateful when I leave this sh*thole and I never have to step foot on this property again.

#44

I look at job offers with clients regularly and some keep saying "free drinks" and "regular meetings with bosses".

#45

I once worked grueling nights at an airport freight hub. The company had started an 'incentive pay' yearly bonus the previous year. But this year the numbers were down, so the bonus was reduced. I got seventeen cents.

#46

My org gave out benchmark service awards. Usually they’re trophy glass with a name and length of service. When I hit 5 years, they gave me an org branded plastic travel mug - the same mugs we give out as promos to people at events.

It was presented to me in a paper bag. All dolled up with decorative paper. The bag was worth more than my award. 
There were clear plastic garbage bins outside the venue the party took place at. I threw my mug in there. Everyone who attended, including the CEO who presented it to me, had to look at it on the way out of the venue. .

#47

I worked on a team that would force us to have a pizza party like every month or every other month, but nobody wanted to pay for it. It wasn’t covered in the company’s budget, like there was no extraneous “fun” money to treat us, but they kept making us have it. So it usually ended up being “up in the air” as to who would pay for it.

Our team lead, who I’m assuming was responsible for mandating the party, made no attempts to hide his irritation at covering it the few times he did. I don’t know who paid the other times, or why we kept having them if it was such a sore spot. It wasn’t the type of company where the president would’ve given enough of a s**t to force him to do it.

I was the lowest paid (and the only PT team member with no benefits) and recognized all of the resentment around it, so I didn’t even eat anything. I didn’t feel comfortable eating.

This same team insisted we go out to lunch to welcome me as a new employee, but when the check came it sat awkwardly on the table for a few minutes before my manager made a big reluctant show of standing up to retrieve it. It was extremely awkward and uncomfortable.

I have no clue why employers force these things if there isn’t “team-building fun money” allotted in the budget. It just makes managers/directors resentful and the atmosphere strained, so nobody has any fun.

#48

My job just sent me a congratulatory pdf for my 5-year anniversary.

#49

I worked at a McDonald's in high school. We were allowed to buy food on our breaks for 50% discount, but only food for you (so no bringing dinner home for the family or whatever at 50%). If there was anything leftover at the end of breakfast/the end of the night we had to write it down in the logbook and throw it in the trash. If someone wanted to take it home or save it for their break they had to pay for it.

#50

All of our Staff got Vouchers for local Supermarkets, the sum was 40€, well it was Christmas, and I am not complaining, it was a present after all. Problem was that the Vouchers were empty, someone forgot to charge them...I found out, while beeing at the cash register, with a lot of people behind me.

#51

25 vacation days.

This is not a "benefit" this is the f*****g law in my country. Trying to imply that you're giving me vacation time out of the goodness of your heart while in fact you're obliged by law to do that is stupid.

What's next? Say that I'm allowed to breath while I'm working?

#52

"When we send you overseas, we book you a 'discreet' hotel that doesn't ask ages."

WHO DAFUQ YOU GOT WORKING HERE?!?!

#53

Instead of hiring more people to help out with the insane, borderline abusive demands brought on by understaffing, they hosted a professional development course on how to deal with workplace stress.

"Here, let me teach you how to be more okay with me taking advantage of you".

#54

Chaplain services. Once a week two knock off priests came in and asked if you wanted to pray with them.

#55

A former boss gave us all small buckets of peanuts ? in the shell.... being born outside of the country in the former USSR, he never heard of the phrase "working for peanuts ?. " He was educated real effen quick. It never happened again.

#56

Company I worked for made a big song and dance about how we were being given health insurance, we only had to pay about £20 a month in taxes (or contribution I forget how it worked) for the benefit. You may have noticed the flaw in their logic based on the currency symbol I used. Yep, this was in the UK, I am already paying for my nationalised healthcare through tax, private healthcare does not intrest me in any way and actually having to pay for it would be a f*****g joke (especially considering it was more than my contribution in tax for healthcare!). They were shocked when I signed out of it and didn't blindly accept it and pay for it like all the other employees.

#57

Not insulting just funny to me. Our "perk" was free DVD movie rentals. You could borrow a DVD if you worked until close, 10pm. It had to be returned by 11am the next day or you paid a late fee. This wasn't very many years ago.

#58

We could wear jeans on Friday! So fun!

#59

After 2 years of working there, they announced with great fanfare that we were generously being given two paid sick days per year. I later discovered that they were just complying with recently passed legislation here in Quebec, Canada.

#60

I worked at a company with an arcade room, ping pong tables, “free snacks”, gym (steam room, Finnish sauna), free soda pop.

HOWEVER, you could use these at anytime but there were accountants that would walk around and ask if you if you hit your “production commitment” that day. If you didn’t they would tell your boss and you’d go back to your desk to finish. The thing is your commitment was almost impossible to hit by 5pm. So no one ever had the ability to use any of the benefits.

The free snacks and pop weren’t free and could only be bought with “quality points” which were points given for passing an audit or given from your boss. Audits only happened once a month and my boss handed them out once a year. And each snack or pop cost like 5 quality points…

Lastly, you could lose quality points from a bad audit or literally anything. There was a POS c**t that we worked with who would get pissed if anyone used those points (as she never got any) or was able to use any benefits and would tell on us for random made up s**t. She did it to one girl and that girl punched her in the face and obviously got fired. Same girl told HR about a guy with 3 kids, he was a top guy in the company and would finish early and ahead of everyone. SUPER NICE dad and great guy. She told them that he was sexually harassing her and he got fired. This guy left the building and took a baseball bat to her car, cut the doors off with a grinder, used the grinder on the interior and poured syrup in her gas tank.

When I got a new job and put my two weeks in. I just clocked in and went straight to the arcade and played games. And accountant came by and told me I had to go finish. I told him no and just to fire me. He was pissed and then more people joined me and soon 25% of the company was using the benefits and not going back to work. They couldn’t fire that many people. So it happened for last two weeks until I left. They tried to threaten me and another guy with security but I’m an abnormally large human and the other guy was 6’10 just a massive mother f****r. And when security came he just said “no come back with more people you’ll need it” lol they didn’t come back until the end of the day on my last day.

Last I heard, they had mass exodus 3 months later and had to let people use the benefits or they were leaving. And a good 40% left in 2 weeks.

#61

The coupons on stuff I still cant afford to buy. Oh 10% off a car, or cruise? Thanks, Still no christmas bonus or anything.

#62

I was in a division and one of the units in the division had reached a milestone in a big project.

It had been a lot of work and there was lots of congratulations given. The top bosses decided to have a little thank you party and cakes were purchased but we were advised that we had to bring our own coffee.

#63

One half day friday in the summer.

one.


half day.

#64

Branded pens that don’t write.

#65

I went into HR and told them I'd found another job that was hybrid remote from home (2days in the office a week) and that I was going to take it to benefit my studies from home, but said I don't want to switch companies if it can be avoided.

They're counter offer was giving me contractual benefit of 1 uninterrupted hour per week to study & they were proud to offer me that.

I handed in my notice immediately.

#66

I got a 5lbs block of cheese for thanks giving and travelers insurance for a job that started most out at 15-18 dollars an hour.

#67

Amazons employee discount is 10% off of items sold and shipped by Amazon up to 100$ total a year.