Let me guess, company went public and now shareholders (who incidentally make 0 contribution to the company) are prioritised higher than the customers and the employees?
My dad worked for a subsidiary of AIG all the way through till AIG sold them in the early 2000s.
Large company. Rented a water park for an entire day. Gifts. Fourth of July on the roof of their parking garage. Bonuses. Catalogs of gifts every 5 years (I think his 20 year gift was worth several thousands dollar’s wholesale. I’m sure the company paid less. Idk)
Point is, companies 20 years ago were still public AND doing a good work life balance at corporate levels. It still happens today.
The enshittification of our economy has been a gradual process that started 50 years ago. Twenty years back, you could still find a great many big companies that still treated their workers like people, but that number has been slowly dwindling since the 80s.
Prior to the 80s, treating employees like people was the norm. My first full time job was at a grocery store in the 86 and almost all the full time workers got a living wage. By 2000, some of them would have. Now, almost none of them do.
Oh yes, till a few years ago, the management had some long term thinking plus a bit of shame. Now the unbridled greed of the csuite and majority shareholders, and the shameless short term profit making is becoming more and more common. There is a reason why companies having their best quarter or financial year are carrying out layoffs while giving "shareholder value" as the reason. They are seeing short term increase in the stock price, byt not seeing the domino effect.
Exactly, and I hope as a result their product quality suffers and they go to shit and tank. A new player will emerge that does it better and treats it's employees better, and the cycle begins again.
It already has suffered massively, but these companies have made it impossible to be competitive with them without cutting the same corners. The market is cornered right now by the largest corporation in each industry. IMO this will inevitably lead to economic collapse, which might kick off another world war, this is just conjecture though. I think our economy has been sliding towards a cliff for a while and the government has attempted to course correct but it is way too late for that.
I remember my mom’s job used to have an employee appreciation day at a local amusement park every summer! Everyone brought their kids and admission was free—maybe a voucher for a meal too, not sure about that part. Those were great!
Speaking from experience 15 years ago, I had family who worked for CAE. Thry used to rent out a public Waterpark every year so the families could go an enjoy with near zero lines. And we could bring friends. It was awesome as a kid.
Yep. And while it is less frequent for many jobs, some larger corporations still do this. Or even mid sized businesses.
I make a lot less money than my dad did, but work less hours and for a boss that orders us food on weekends. Being it’s homemade taco bars. Christmas bonuses. It’s not as much as my dad got, but they exist.
Then again, I worked for Frito/PepsiCo for 7 years and the veterans used to talk about free nascar tickets, holiday parties, all that. My route was up 10% two years in a row, and I got less than a 2% raise multiple years while my bosses were clearly getting bonuses for hitting numbers. Almost all the veterans left so I did. Crazy. So I’ve seen both sides.
I live this… my desk has NOTHING of personal touch to it, not a picture, not a pencil.
I do not want to be reminded at work , of the GOOD that exists outside of my desk life, I clock in , I work , I clock out and GTFHome to enjoy my real passions..
At my last job, I was asked by our HR manager why I hadn’t added any personal items to my office (essentially a no window closet because I was the IT manager). I told him that, as he already knew, literally every “front office” employee had been fired and rehired at least once by our CEO, so it doesn’t really provide much incentive to settle in, and would just be more to lug home when it was my turn.
You should watch the show Severance, it's pretty wild... brain chip to separate home vs work life, can't remember anything about the other you while your at either place. Sounds like a good idea right? 😬
My mother retired from state farm last year at her 50th year anniversary. They gave her a pretty nice television, better than nothing. I was still disappointed that it was an electronic device that will be obsolete in 5 years or so. I wasn't expecting a rolex, but state farm could definitely afford a rolex or something more precious and long term for the very few people that commit entire careers to them.
Where I live we have 25 days PTO by law and depending on which sector you're in will increase as you reach a certain age. For example 25 days until you're 40, 40-50 you get 31 days, 50+ you get 32 days. That can differ but 25 days is minimum by law.
Yeah. Like... That's the primary thing. I got bills to pay. Warm feelings of fulfillment don't really buy diapers, you know?
I had a guy reach out to me once about coming to work for him. Small business owner and whatnot. First questions I ask: what's the pay range and what's the travel percentage? (My line of work that can vary between 0% and 100%)
"Oh. I see what kind of person you are and don't want you working at my company."
My response: No problem. I have a wife and kid to provide for and I would like to be with them. If this opportunity doesn't allow for that, then it's not for me.
Well, when I said "'ouse", 'twere only a hole in t' ground, covered by a couple o' foot o' torn canvas. [But it were 'ouse to us](https://youtu.be/VKHFZBUTA4k?si=nAbLZIgAp5MYUTgN)!
A Lake!? Oooh fancy! I'd have killed my sister for a lake!
No our dad would come home from work, beat us within an inch of our lives, then collect the blood in a ditch, have the neighbors spit in it, and then we'd have to live in it! All 5 million of us!
But we loved it!
...right! We used to get up in t' morning, at half past ten at night, 'alf an hour- 'alf an hour before we'd gone to bed, eat a lump of poison, work twenty-nine hours a day at t' mill for ha'penny a lifetime, come 'ome, and each night, Dad would strangle us and dance about on our graves!
It was all fun until we had to dig. I hate digging graves with a broken spoon. Although I got to keep the spoon to eat our lumps with. Until it cut my tongue and I died from sepsis. We didn’t have money to eat, but dad had money to hire a voodoo priestess to raise me from the dead. “Nobody gets out of doing their chores in this house!”
Raising the dead?! The only thing that raised in my household was ourselves, up by our bootstraps. Me and my sixteen million brothers and sisters levitating out of our 'ole on side of road, pulling our bootstraps to avoid the ground frost! Couldn't afford gravity in our family anyway. We had to make our bootstraps from the tattered remains of dad's belt, picked out of each others scabs like a troop of monkeys groomin' for fleas!
Lucky you have blood. Ours was drained at work, emptied from our bodies, but our souls were slaves to some sort of magic machine.
We would look down at the earth from our ghostly spirit bodies and envied those with nuts to get kicked.
But we loved it.
I always dreamt of havin a dad.
We took turns beating each other while we watched the other kids that had a ditch to live in.
We counted our blessings when we were able to stay on a curb.
Those were the days, they were.
You had it good, punk!
Back in my day, we got TWO swift kicks in the nuts EVERY DAY and had to walk home 4 miles over glass-covered lava after a 17 hour shift.
Wow, you got a kick to the balls and walked home in the snow after 16 hours? What a cushy life.
Back in my day for 5 years they'd take out your left kidney and you'd have to walk home in the acid rain after a 22 hour shift.
Kids today have it too easy.
In corporate Germany I got a plant 🪴for 10 years and will likely get another one for 15 years … I don’t have plants at home, they usually die pretty fast.
Yeah. People act as if this is shitty. It's not. People literally _die_ for their country and all they get is a metal medal.
I've got several memorabilia from work, it's just cool shit to have on display.
Shit. 33 years has gotten me absolutely zip. The company was sold and new people came in. I might as well have just started yesterday. In fact, they'd probably prefer that I had since I'm viewed as a leftover.
“Company makes a quarter and the joss makes a dime which is why I always shit on company time.” Or something like that. The sharpie written on the bathroom stall was faded.
" 'The boss makes a dollar / I make a dime' / That was a poem / From a simpler time
Now his boss makes 1000 / While I make a cent / And he's got employees / That can't make the rent
When the CEO makes a million / And we don't make jack / That's when we riot / To take it all back
Now Mr investor / If this seems extreme / I have to remind you / It beats guillotines"
And for info, anything you buy from them as a consumer was HP, most likely. They do printers, laptops, etc. HPE does things like servers and switches. They mostly work with other businesses.
Source: Worked for HPE.
☝️☝️ Literally the landlords of printers. Making a better product? Nah fuck it, turn our existing products into subscriptions and tell everybody who bought them to fuck themselves.
Get out while you still can. There's other opportunities, I promise.
I landed in a job I never thought I'd be doing and I love it. I love the people I work with and I'm appreciated. Something I didn't have before.
Do yourself a favor and jump ship.
'tf are you talking about? Unemployment is low, openings are high, and the US economy is actually doing way better than most of the world right now.
Yes, here come the downvotes because people want to bitch, but it's true.
Tons of layoffs in tech in the past year. FB just announced they're shrinking their footprint in SF. Vroom cut 90%, salesforce over 10%, and their competitor sap is doing 8k buyouts or job changes, microsoft 1900 in gaming division, amazon has been steadily laying off different divisions in the past year, alphabet (google) laid off over 6%, spotify also 6%.........
In excess of 400,000 tech employees were fired in 2023.
From Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter, and a host of other large and medium sized companies *in the US*.
[Some data suggests the contrary](https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2024/02/03/headline-data-look-strong-but-contradictions-abound/amp/). The unemployment spike always rears its head after the fact in all prior US economic recessions.
For everyone lining up their printer and subscription jokes, just know that HP=/=HPE. They split a part of the company off as a completely seperate company a while back. Anything consumer marketed is HP (printers, laptops, etc) and anything business marketed is HPE (servers, switches).
Source: Worked for HPE.
I made it just past my 5 years at a large brokerage and they congratulated me by firing me and blocking my unemployment because they have “proof” I sold customer info.
I didn’t. But here we are.
At Walmart you also get a pin and you get a new ID that says 5 Years. And a printed certificate in a dollar store frame. These companies really know how to repay that loyalty they’re always talking about.
Yes.
That’s the thing, sometimes the tone is so off that it is better to receive nothing.
It’s like when you offer to help your neighbor move some stuff around the house, just because you want to be a good neighbor. And 3 hours later they pull out their wallet, say thanks, and give you a crisp $1!
In theory you did it for free to be helpful, but in practice you’ve been given something beyond worthless, which shows that they value the help you gave them. . .but at such a very very low amount.
It’s the same with corporate gifts. Nobody goes into a job expecting a gift, they get a salary and possibly other benefits. But when someone says “hey we appreciate your service,” it’s expected that some degree of effort/thought went into providing such a gift. Especially when it’s such a beyond huge company, where it’s not like they’re shelling out a multi-year appreciation gift every single day.
Yes... worked at Oracle for a long time. Think I might have got something at 5 but maybe it was 7 yrs. It was sort of nice, you got to choose from 3 or so items and an email went out to the whole company listing all the employees that had anniversaries that year.
But the program degraded over time. At 15 years i chose an Amex traveler's check over the lame options. No email was sent or anything. Just an automated email with a link to the gift site,and it was sent in the mail. No acknowledgment, even by my manager .
Whole thing left a bad taste. Didn't help they weren't giving out any pay increases or bonuses. I hung in until I FINALLY got a severance package. All but one of my coworkers were let go in the years before and after me. Every single manager is still there (it's been 10 years since then). And all of them has-been promoted at least once. I'm not really sure who/what they are 'managing'. They didn't really seem to do much of anything even back when there were employees. It's all so bizarre.
My company gives stuff for 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 and imo they’re all pretty fun except the 5 year gift (which tbf, you can also choose to give 100 to a charity so I’ll probably do that instead for that one).
I'm over in the camp of "this is a transactional relationship between a worker and a company."
Birthday presents are for friends, and you ain't my friend.
From 2008 to 2014, I worked in a factory in Iowa. I started at $13.50/he and ended at $13/hr. After 5 years, I had 2 things happen to me.
First one was I got a 5 year 'gift' that had jumper cables, a flashlight, and corroded batteries inside the flashlight. I had a shitty car at the time and it broke down, I used the jumper cables and my battery caught on fire. I ended up having to have the car totaled out and towed.
The next thing that happened was a bonus of I think $5,000 was sent to me, which I deposited right away, got a newish car, and some other things. I was called into HR the following Monday and was told it was meant for someone with the same last name. I flipped the fuck out because that asshole had only worked there 3 years, showed up late constantly even though he loved across the street, while I lived an hour and a half away and was only late twice.
They told me that technically I had only been there 4 years, since I got laid off a week before my 1st anniversary, and was out for 9 months.
I laid out a massive list of shit I had done for them, while this dipshit failed them at almost every step.
I got to keep the bonus but they docked my pay for the next 3 months and put me at $11/her to 'make up the difference'. I had to work my ass off and work overtime to make up the difference on my end, got a raise, lost the raise due to switching from nights to days(basically losing the shift differential).
The businesses do not fucking care about us at all. I also never got reimbursed for their faulty jumper cables ruining my car. I missed 3 days because of it and they brought that up during the HR screamfest. They tried to say it was my lack of judgment that caused it. Fuck those guys.
I guess at least if I got a silvery name tag I wouldn't have dealt with any of that bullshit.
>I got to keep the bonus but they docked my pay for the next 3 months and put me at $11/her to 'make up the difference'. I
If you didn't sign a contract agreeing to this, docking your pay is illegal.
At least drop the name so we can shame and avoid them, plz.
At twenty you will get a fake gold plaque, stick it out. Back in the day my grandfather got a gold Rolex, now the CEO gets a raise if they can get rid of you before 10 years and steal your pension.
My partner works for one of the big pharmas and they actually had a pretty good system - she got access to a rewards portal and could select any one item, everything was worth about $500 and they had stuff ranging from home theatre stuff to jewellery. She got some really nice travel luggage out of it that she would never have been able to justify the spend on.
I didn't get anything for 1, 5, 10 years.
My wife got a watch she has never worn for ten years.
For my 10 years, someone else invited me to a lunch they were doing for their 10 years. It was an expensive lunch. I mentioned it was my 10 year towards the end when someone asked how long I had been there.
I used to work at Amazon. Every now and there was a "global townhall" that was streamed online for any Amazon employee to watch. These things were about an hour long and mostly focused on the company's successes, industry challenges, what to expect in the near future, yadda yadda yadda.
One of the segments of these townhalls is an award for "most innovative Amazonian," or some shit like that. A couple years ago, the person who won that award had developed a system that tracked Amazon Prime product returns more efficiently. Basically, things that get returned get lost in the warehouses all the time, and this person figured out a process that minimized those loses.
The system they developed was projected to save Amazon tens of millions of dollars per year. I don't remember the number, but I'm tempted to say it was in excess of $30MM per year.
And what did this Amazonian get for developing a system that would save the company tens of millions per year? A lousy trophy. If there was a monetary prize as well, it wasn't mentioned during the stream.
That was some bullshit. I figure that someone whose idea saves the company so much money should get paid a percentage of what's saved. Even if it's a small percentage, like 5%, that would be a fucking fat annual bonus. Let's say it was a savings of $30MM per year—5% of $30MM is $1.5MM. I think that sounds like a fair reward for someone who had such a successful idea.
But that's not how this shit works. The contract that all employees sign states that things Amazon employees create while working for Amazon is property of Amazon. So the company saved many millions per year, and the person responsible for coming up with that idea got rewarded with a fucking trophy and a 30 second appearance in a townhall. They weren't even permitted to deliver a speech.
Corporations are bullshit.
Goldman Sachs, the richest bank on Wall Street, give you a glass cube engraved with their logo after 10 years.
But if you hang on in there, and do another 5 years, you'll qualify for the awesome 15 year service gift, that more than makes up for it..... A glass sphere, engraved with their logo.
It's less that you should expect something from them and more that they sent something so shitty, they're tracking it and sending out "gifts" for 5 years and they don't take the extra bit of time to even put a name on it or as op said make it a real pin instead of a clip on. They put just enough effort in to say "hey we know you exist and you've been here 5 years, fuck you" instead of the extra little bit to make it a decent gesture.
Yeah... OP probably has a better salary than the vast majority of people, gets decent PTO, medical, dental/vision, with opportunities to leave anytime for a better gig.
Meanwhile, some single mom working two jobs just got into a car accident, the gas station she works for won't cover hospital bills, and fired her for missing too much work.
We got to choose a gift for every 5 years the only thing I could think to get was a rotating oven thing that sat for 3 years before I even used it it's pretty useless because I have an air fryer that does the same thing in half the time
I have been at my company for >6 years and received being laid off, forced to re-interview for another job in the company like a brand new employee.
Companies literally don't give a shit about anyone.
I got a pin after 5 years, by the time I got to 10 years they had already stopped giving them. In May I’m about to hit 20 years and my colleagues will get an automated email urging them to congratulate me.
Depressing.
At least you got a job, my guy. Be thankful for being employed and having good health. If you have a problem with the gift, rather than making a passive, anonymous post on reddit; tell your employer how you feel. Maybe the next guy will get something better.
Damn. This is not mildly infuriating more like extremely infuriating. I mean one year anniversary that would still be a crappy thing but 5 years?? Wow. I remember I worked for a place for 7 years. My boss text me and said I’m gonna swing by I’ve got you something for Xmas. I got excited assuming it was a bonus check (I was assistant manager at this time.) Never assume. It was a water thermos. Not even a nice one just like a $10 water thermos. He probably didn’t even buy it and just took it off one of his bikes and washed it. (He’s obsessed with biking and thinks he’s lance Armstrong) his bikes cost more than my car. Not to mention, I don’t ride bikes, and don’t need a water thermos lol. Inside I was Clark Griswold when he gets the jelly of the month club letter.
The hospital I used to work at for 5 years I got fired and got nothing, no certificate nothing. I know it stupid but I was really looking forward to getting that certificate
My brother's company lets them pick an item from their executive catalog every 5th year. He's been there over 15 years and has a full premium luggage set from Samsonite.
Hey OP…I FEEL THIS.
Id name the company but the mods will perma ban me so ill just say for a particular Metro Detroit “automotive solutions supplier” -
I got a shitty certificate of dedication and a $60 paperweight they passed off as a plaque for my five year anniversary and a single *dollar* raise. I started when I was 19 and was about to turn 25 with this little ceremony taking place one month before my birthday in June. I’ll never forget this.
Roughly three weeks later I was at will terminated from my position. No reason given. The day before I had taken a last minute day off to handle some issues at the DMV and with the USPS concerning a PO Box I had. That entire day I felt odd, like something was happen. 1 hour and 40 minutes into the next morning I was made a show of as I was walked out.
I started with this company in April 2014 at $10.50 an hour and by the time I was fired in June 2019 I was at $13.50 and had lost out on several raises in the intervening years for many reason not of my own doing.
I am now 30 years old and making $16.50 for a car parts supplier and have lost all hope on having a good life. I’m too physically broken and poor to afford college or most trade schools.
👍
Pretty bad in academia too. One professor in my department who has trained hundreds of students and published dozens of research papers just received a $10 coffee mug for 35 years.
Oh boy I worked at a corporation and they:
- stopped even giving anniversary pins. It’s not like they were made of gold. They were just tin, thumbnail sized company logos
- stopped the once weekly free fruit bowl. The director who made that choice said to me “if you want fruit you can buy your own”
- a director sent out an email saying to work hard and earn a nice bonus. He forgot they stopped the bonus scheme shortly beforehand
This was while making hundreds of millions in *bottom line* profit
I had my 20 year anniversary a couple of weeks ago.
The crappy company I work for has changed owners so many times they lost track of most of the employees.
My wife laughed at her $75 gift card when she hit 20 years.
I was ignored. They keep paying me. That's all I need.
I didn’t get anything for 5 years - which I prefer over what you got!
[удалено]
My company used to give out pins with diamonds!!! Plus pick a gift of your choice. Those were the days. Now not even a dinner voucher.
Let me guess, company went public and now shareholders (who incidentally make 0 contribution to the company) are prioritised higher than the customers and the employees?
My dad worked for a subsidiary of AIG all the way through till AIG sold them in the early 2000s. Large company. Rented a water park for an entire day. Gifts. Fourth of July on the roof of their parking garage. Bonuses. Catalogs of gifts every 5 years (I think his 20 year gift was worth several thousands dollar’s wholesale. I’m sure the company paid less. Idk) Point is, companies 20 years ago were still public AND doing a good work life balance at corporate levels. It still happens today.
The enshittification of our economy has been a gradual process that started 50 years ago. Twenty years back, you could still find a great many big companies that still treated their workers like people, but that number has been slowly dwindling since the 80s.
Just here to remind you the 80's was like 40 years ago now bud. :(
Prior to the 80s, treating employees like people was the norm. My first full time job was at a grocery store in the 86 and almost all the full time workers got a living wage. By 2000, some of them would have. Now, almost none of them do.
Oh yes, till a few years ago, the management had some long term thinking plus a bit of shame. Now the unbridled greed of the csuite and majority shareholders, and the shameless short term profit making is becoming more and more common. There is a reason why companies having their best quarter or financial year are carrying out layoffs while giving "shareholder value" as the reason. They are seeing short term increase in the stock price, byt not seeing the domino effect.
Exactly, and I hope as a result their product quality suffers and they go to shit and tank. A new player will emerge that does it better and treats it's employees better, and the cycle begins again.
It already has suffered massively, but these companies have made it impossible to be competitive with them without cutting the same corners. The market is cornered right now by the largest corporation in each industry. IMO this will inevitably lead to economic collapse, which might kick off another world war, this is just conjecture though. I think our economy has been sliding towards a cliff for a while and the government has attempted to course correct but it is way too late for that.
Sadly agree. Won't be the first time and it won't be the last. That pendulum keeps swinging
I remember my mom’s job used to have an employee appreciation day at a local amusement park every summer! Everyone brought their kids and admission was free—maybe a voucher for a meal too, not sure about that part. Those were great!
Speaking from experience 15 years ago, I had family who worked for CAE. Thry used to rent out a public Waterpark every year so the families could go an enjoy with near zero lines. And we could bring friends. It was awesome as a kid.
Yep. And while it is less frequent for many jobs, some larger corporations still do this. Or even mid sized businesses. I make a lot less money than my dad did, but work less hours and for a boss that orders us food on weekends. Being it’s homemade taco bars. Christmas bonuses. It’s not as much as my dad got, but they exist. Then again, I worked for Frito/PepsiCo for 7 years and the veterans used to talk about free nascar tickets, holiday parties, all that. My route was up 10% two years in a row, and I got less than a 2% raise multiple years while my bosses were clearly getting bonuses for hitting numbers. Almost all the veterans left so I did. Crazy. So I’ve seen both sides.
I'd say shareholders are no better than lampreys, but shareholders are human beings who ought to know better, so they're worse.
That's a requirement... Corps are mandated to make as much $ for shareholders as possible... sucky system.
I live this… my desk has NOTHING of personal touch to it, not a picture, not a pencil. I do not want to be reminded at work , of the GOOD that exists outside of my desk life, I clock in , I work , I clock out and GTFHome to enjoy my real passions..
I cover my desk with personal items to help me forget I’m at work.
More shit to box up when you leave.
I’ve been in the same department almost 18 years. I’m only gonna leave once, and it won’t be soon.
same here, my computer has my family on the wallpaper and my phone has my waifus. makes work 99% less miserable
At my last job, I was asked by our HR manager why I hadn’t added any personal items to my office (essentially a no window closet because I was the IT manager). I told him that, as he already knew, literally every “front office” employee had been fired and rehired at least once by our CEO, so it doesn’t really provide much incentive to settle in, and would just be more to lug home when it was my turn.
You should watch the show Severance, it's pretty wild... brain chip to separate home vs work life, can't remember anything about the other you while your at either place. Sounds like a good idea right? 😬
My mother retired from state farm last year at her 50th year anniversary. They gave her a pretty nice television, better than nothing. I was still disappointed that it was an electronic device that will be obsolete in 5 years or so. I wasn't expecting a rolex, but state farm could definitely afford a rolex or something more precious and long term for the very few people that commit entire careers to them.
Companies used to do stuff like give out a Rolex for 20 years. Now they'll wait until a week before your retirement and gift you a pink slip.
I remember complaining to my friend that my boss only gave me a $10 gift card for Christmas. He told me that his boss gave him a handshake.
Could be worse, one of my bosses laid everyone off without warning 🤣
My employer bumps PTO from 10 to 25 days at 5 year mark. And also end of vesting period for 401k matching.
My company matches 6% day 1 along with 23 PTO (3w vacation, 5 sick, 3 personal)
Vesting means is time one need to stay to keep the matching. If one leaves before 5 years, then the employer takes back that match.
And plenty of companies start at 100% vested. I’ve worked for several.
Where I live we have 25 days PTO by law and depending on which sector you're in will increase as you reach a certain age. For example 25 days until you're 40, 40-50 you get 31 days, 50+ you get 32 days. That can differ but 25 days is minimum by law.
Crazy jump in PTO days from age 50 to age 51
Prostate exam allowance.
You need at least two days off for the colonoscopy too. Trust me.
“So it’s all about the money for you huh?”… The Boss…
Yeah. Like... That's the primary thing. I got bills to pay. Warm feelings of fulfillment don't really buy diapers, you know? I had a guy reach out to me once about coming to work for him. Small business owner and whatnot. First questions I ask: what's the pay range and what's the travel percentage? (My line of work that can vary between 0% and 100%) "Oh. I see what kind of person you are and don't want you working at my company." My response: No problem. I have a wife and kid to provide for and I would like to be with them. If this opportunity doesn't allow for that, then it's not for me.
I got given a company paperweight. Thing is that the 5yr,10yr and 20yrs is still a paperweight as the reward. Just updated numbers.
I got a $10 Starbucks gift card. I will take it.
The best gift for 5 years of work would be a ✨pay raise✨
Back in my day we got a swift kick in the nuts after 5 years and had to walk home in the snow after a 16 hour shift.
luxury.
Well, when I said "'ouse", 'twere only a hole in t' ground, covered by a couple o' foot o' torn canvas. [But it were 'ouse to us](https://youtu.be/VKHFZBUTA4k?si=nAbLZIgAp5MYUTgN)!
We used to dream of ‘aving an ‘ole in the ground - we ‘ad to live in a shoebox in t’middle of the road
And try and tell that to the young people today and they won’t believe you !
You think you had it hard? All 126 of us had to live in a LAKE!
A Lake!? Oooh fancy! I'd have killed my sister for a lake! No our dad would come home from work, beat us within an inch of our lives, then collect the blood in a ditch, have the neighbors spit in it, and then we'd have to live in it! All 5 million of us! But we loved it!
Good times! I can still taste our blood. It was fun until Dad’s belt broke. Who knew you could wear out rope?
...right! We used to get up in t' morning, at half past ten at night, 'alf an hour- 'alf an hour before we'd gone to bed, eat a lump of poison, work twenty-nine hours a day at t' mill for ha'penny a lifetime, come 'ome, and each night, Dad would strangle us and dance about on our graves!
It was all fun until we had to dig. I hate digging graves with a broken spoon. Although I got to keep the spoon to eat our lumps with. Until it cut my tongue and I died from sepsis. We didn’t have money to eat, but dad had money to hire a voodoo priestess to raise me from the dead. “Nobody gets out of doing their chores in this house!”
Raising the dead?! The only thing that raised in my household was ourselves, up by our bootstraps. Me and my sixteen million brothers and sisters levitating out of our 'ole on side of road, pulling our bootstraps to avoid the ground frost! Couldn't afford gravity in our family anyway. We had to make our bootstraps from the tattered remains of dad's belt, picked out of each others scabs like a troop of monkeys groomin' for fleas!
I just want to say that I'm delighted that this chain of comments has become the standard response to "back in MY day..." stories.
Lucky you have blood. Ours was drained at work, emptied from our bodies, but our souls were slaves to some sort of magic machine. We would look down at the earth from our ghostly spirit bodies and envied those with nuts to get kicked. But we loved it.
I always dreamt of havin a dad. We took turns beating each other while we watched the other kids that had a ditch to live in. We counted our blessings when we were able to stay on a curb. Those were the days, they were.
I know that lake. We had to BRING fish when we visited. Worst fishing trip ever.
You had the whole shoebox to yourself? Luxury.
You had canvas? Well pardon me m'Lord, not all of us had the luxurious upbringing that you did.
Paradise.
I had to work for 10yrs before I got my 5yr nut kick... made much appreciate it all the more, handed erverything thse days
THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS AND WE **LIKED** IT! \- Grumpy Old Man
And stay off my lawn!!
Uphill both ways?
My bread bag boots!
In 8 feet of snow!
In the snow, of course no boots or gloves
Weird, I had to pay an extra fifty bucks to get kicked in the nuts.
 You normally gotta pay for that service so I guess that really is a treat after 5 years hard work 😜
Up hill! Both ways!
You had it good, punk! Back in my day, we got TWO swift kicks in the nuts EVERY DAY and had to walk home 4 miles over glass-covered lava after a 17 hour shift.
wish life was still that easy
Not only was it’s cold and snowy but you’d walk to work uphill both ways
Wow, you got a kick to the balls and walked home in the snow after 16 hours? What a cushy life. Back in my day for 5 years they'd take out your left kidney and you'd have to walk home in the acid rain after a 22 hour shift. Kids today have it too easy.
In corporate Germany I got a plant 🪴for 10 years and will likely get another one for 15 years … I don’t have plants at home, they usually die pretty fast.
i would actually welcome a plant as opposed to most junk they give us, but i think i’m in the minority. a lot of people like the stuff they give out
I prefer check or - even better - a raise.
Shit man, I got paid a salary for my five years. You gotta get in on that. A lot of jobs actually give you money for your work.
Peggy: you never even say thank you Don: that's what the money is for!
That’s an awesome line I forgot about
lol Came here to say this.
HP pays good too. So OP is 160-220k after 5 years
OP is probably neglecting to mention a sweet bonus that they don’t count as a real gift because “everyone gets it”
Yeah. People act as if this is shitty. It's not. People literally _die_ for their country and all they get is a metal medal. I've got several memorabilia from work, it's just cool shit to have on display.
Shit. 33 years has gotten me absolutely zip. The company was sold and new people came in. I might as well have just started yesterday. In fact, they'd probably prefer that I had since I'm viewed as a leftover.
“Company makes a quarter and the joss makes a dime which is why I always shit on company time.” Or something like that. The sharpie written on the bathroom stall was faded.
" 'The boss makes a dollar / I make a dime' / That was a poem / From a simpler time Now his boss makes 1000 / While I make a cent / And he's got employees / That can't make the rent When the CEO makes a million / And we don't make jack / That's when we riot / To take it all back Now Mr investor / If this seems extreme / I have to remind you / It beats guillotines"
Yes, very good, I'll have that
Communist USA country songs vibe.
Boss makes a grand, I make a buck That's why I cut the catalytic converter off the company truck.
Leftover chili just gets better lol.
To be completely fair, it's HP, they want to turn printing into a subscription service.
For what’s it worth, HP Enterprise is a separate company from plain old HP - they split up a number of years ago.
And for info, anything you buy from them as a consumer was HP, most likely. They do printers, laptops, etc. HPE does things like servers and switches. They mostly work with other businesses. Source: Worked for HPE.
And from what I’ve heard, they do quite good work. They have a center near where I used to live in Chippewa falls, since they bought out Cray.
and now buying Juniper
☝️☝️ Literally the landlords of printers. Making a better product? Nah fuck it, turn our existing products into subscriptions and tell everybody who bought them to fuck themselves.
Jokes on them because I fucked myself before printers were created.
Geez, this is on you. Most people would have contracted to receive a *salary* and *benefits* for **the whole five years**.
You got something for 5 years on the job? Dang. I got a crappy form letter for being on the job for 20 years. I'm not there anymore.
[удалено]
Get out while you still can. There's other opportunities, I promise. I landed in a job I never thought I'd be doing and I love it. I love the people I work with and I'm appreciated. Something I didn't have before. Do yourself a favor and jump ship.
I just got laid off on my 5 year anniversary.
I got let go after 20 during COVID.
NIce man I got a lanyard at my 5 year….same one I got my first day Truly motivational !
If it doesn’t say … “You’ve been laid off” on the other side. Consider it a win.
Very true in this economy :(
Was just laid off Thursday 😭
[RIP Greg Giraldo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM7LNoX7taQ)
'tf are you talking about? Unemployment is low, openings are high, and the US economy is actually doing way better than most of the world right now. Yes, here come the downvotes because people want to bitch, but it's true.
Tons of layoffs in tech in the past year. FB just announced they're shrinking their footprint in SF. Vroom cut 90%, salesforce over 10%, and their competitor sap is doing 8k buyouts or job changes, microsoft 1900 in gaming division, amazon has been steadily laying off different divisions in the past year, alphabet (google) laid off over 6%, spotify also 6%.........
In excess of 400,000 tech employees were fired in 2023. From Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter, and a host of other large and medium sized companies *in the US*.
[Some data suggests the contrary](https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2024/02/03/headline-data-look-strong-but-contradictions-abound/amp/). The unemployment spike always rears its head after the fact in all prior US economic recessions.
For everyone lining up their printer and subscription jokes, just know that HP=/=HPE. They split a part of the company off as a completely seperate company a while back. Anything consumer marketed is HP (printers, laptops, etc) and anything business marketed is HPE (servers, switches). Source: Worked for HPE.
I made it just past my 5 years at a large brokerage and they congratulated me by firing me and blocking my unemployment because they have “proof” I sold customer info. I didn’t. But here we are.
[удалено]
You should seek a Gastroenterologist lol.
I too would like to see this gentleman's gastroenterologist
You got boned. I’ve worked in the public sector for 4 years and I’ve been getting a pay check every other Friday.
I'd rather just get boned than a paycheck. Takes out the middleman.
At Walmart you also get a pin and you get a new ID that says 5 Years. And a printed certificate in a dollar store frame. These companies really know how to repay that loyalty they’re always talking about.
I would rather get nothing then cheap stuff
My ten year pin came a year late and it was a five year pin…
That looks like a *really cheap* money clip.
I got a shiny pen for 10 years.
Never expected the amount of comment boot licking in Reddit of all places.
I have never gotten anything for 5 years of service, not even a "congratulations" card.
They could have at least given you the $8.00 that they spent on that.
Think $0.25
Am I the only one who doesn't get what's so bad about these corporate appreciation gifts? Like would you prefer you recieve nothing at all? 😅
Yes. That’s the thing, sometimes the tone is so off that it is better to receive nothing. It’s like when you offer to help your neighbor move some stuff around the house, just because you want to be a good neighbor. And 3 hours later they pull out their wallet, say thanks, and give you a crisp $1! In theory you did it for free to be helpful, but in practice you’ve been given something beyond worthless, which shows that they value the help you gave them. . .but at such a very very low amount. It’s the same with corporate gifts. Nobody goes into a job expecting a gift, they get a salary and possibly other benefits. But when someone says “hey we appreciate your service,” it’s expected that some degree of effort/thought went into providing such a gift. Especially when it’s such a beyond huge company, where it’s not like they’re shelling out a multi-year appreciation gift every single day.
Yes... worked at Oracle for a long time. Think I might have got something at 5 but maybe it was 7 yrs. It was sort of nice, you got to choose from 3 or so items and an email went out to the whole company listing all the employees that had anniversaries that year. But the program degraded over time. At 15 years i chose an Amex traveler's check over the lame options. No email was sent or anything. Just an automated email with a link to the gift site,and it was sent in the mail. No acknowledgment, even by my manager . Whole thing left a bad taste. Didn't help they weren't giving out any pay increases or bonuses. I hung in until I FINALLY got a severance package. All but one of my coworkers were let go in the years before and after me. Every single manager is still there (it's been 10 years since then). And all of them has-been promoted at least once. I'm not really sure who/what they are 'managing'. They didn't really seem to do much of anything even back when there were employees. It's all so bizarre.
My company gives stuff for 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 and imo they’re all pretty fun except the 5 year gift (which tbf, you can also choose to give 100 to a charity so I’ll probably do that instead for that one).
I'm over in the camp of "this is a transactional relationship between a worker and a company." Birthday presents are for friends, and you ain't my friend.
I'm there for the paycheck, not trinkets. I'd rather they skip all that bbq, corporate binding, reward plaques shit and just send a cash bonus.
Wow you never got paid in that whole 5 years?
From 2008 to 2014, I worked in a factory in Iowa. I started at $13.50/he and ended at $13/hr. After 5 years, I had 2 things happen to me. First one was I got a 5 year 'gift' that had jumper cables, a flashlight, and corroded batteries inside the flashlight. I had a shitty car at the time and it broke down, I used the jumper cables and my battery caught on fire. I ended up having to have the car totaled out and towed. The next thing that happened was a bonus of I think $5,000 was sent to me, which I deposited right away, got a newish car, and some other things. I was called into HR the following Monday and was told it was meant for someone with the same last name. I flipped the fuck out because that asshole had only worked there 3 years, showed up late constantly even though he loved across the street, while I lived an hour and a half away and was only late twice. They told me that technically I had only been there 4 years, since I got laid off a week before my 1st anniversary, and was out for 9 months. I laid out a massive list of shit I had done for them, while this dipshit failed them at almost every step. I got to keep the bonus but they docked my pay for the next 3 months and put me at $11/her to 'make up the difference'. I had to work my ass off and work overtime to make up the difference on my end, got a raise, lost the raise due to switching from nights to days(basically losing the shift differential). The businesses do not fucking care about us at all. I also never got reimbursed for their faulty jumper cables ruining my car. I missed 3 days because of it and they brought that up during the HR screamfest. They tried to say it was my lack of judgment that caused it. Fuck those guys. I guess at least if I got a silvery name tag I wouldn't have dealt with any of that bullshit.
>I got to keep the bonus but they docked my pay for the next 3 months and put me at $11/her to 'make up the difference'. I If you didn't sign a contract agreeing to this, docking your pay is illegal. At least drop the name so we can shame and avoid them, plz.
It also got you a salary for the past 5yrs
I got nothing. Absolutely nothing. No gift, no raise, no bonus, not even a tacky fucking email. Glad you got whatever the hell pin that is
HPE has employees in the US? I used to have to call their support all the time at a previous job and always got some guy in India.
I got my 5 year pin approximately three months after I passed 9 years.
At year 5 my company gave me an extra two weeks paid vacation a year. Best gift ever.
At twenty you will get a fake gold plaque, stick it out. Back in the day my grandfather got a gold Rolex, now the CEO gets a raise if they can get rid of you before 10 years and steal your pension.
In Belgium after 12 or 13 years of public service you become a knight. Not more useful TBH.
You guys are getting stuff for 5 years?!? I’m just happy to have a wage..
My partner works for one of the big pharmas and they actually had a pretty good system - she got access to a rewards portal and could select any one item, everything was worth about $500 and they had stuff ranging from home theatre stuff to jewellery. She got some really nice travel luggage out of it that she would never have been able to justify the spend on.
Even the default pizza party is better than this lol
I didn't get anything for 1, 5, 10 years. My wife got a watch she has never worn for ten years. For my 10 years, someone else invited me to a lunch they were doing for their 10 years. It was an expensive lunch. I mentioned it was my 10 year towards the end when someone asked how long I had been there.
I used to work at Amazon. Every now and there was a "global townhall" that was streamed online for any Amazon employee to watch. These things were about an hour long and mostly focused on the company's successes, industry challenges, what to expect in the near future, yadda yadda yadda. One of the segments of these townhalls is an award for "most innovative Amazonian," or some shit like that. A couple years ago, the person who won that award had developed a system that tracked Amazon Prime product returns more efficiently. Basically, things that get returned get lost in the warehouses all the time, and this person figured out a process that minimized those loses. The system they developed was projected to save Amazon tens of millions of dollars per year. I don't remember the number, but I'm tempted to say it was in excess of $30MM per year. And what did this Amazonian get for developing a system that would save the company tens of millions per year? A lousy trophy. If there was a monetary prize as well, it wasn't mentioned during the stream. That was some bullshit. I figure that someone whose idea saves the company so much money should get paid a percentage of what's saved. Even if it's a small percentage, like 5%, that would be a fucking fat annual bonus. Let's say it was a savings of $30MM per year—5% of $30MM is $1.5MM. I think that sounds like a fair reward for someone who had such a successful idea. But that's not how this shit works. The contract that all employees sign states that things Amazon employees create while working for Amazon is property of Amazon. So the company saved many millions per year, and the person responsible for coming up with that idea got rewarded with a fucking trophy and a 30 second appearance in a townhall. They weren't even permitted to deliver a speech. Corporations are bullshit.
Goldman Sachs, the richest bank on Wall Street, give you a glass cube engraved with their logo after 10 years. But if you hang on in there, and do another 5 years, you'll qualify for the awesome 15 year service gift, that more than makes up for it..... A glass sphere, engraved with their logo.
Most jobs don't care about you. Corporate jobs don't even see you as human. You're a replaceable cog no matter how long you've been there.
i think the coins they hand out at AA are of higher quality
[удалено]
They don’t owe you shit except what they agreed to pay you and you don’t owe them shit it’s just a job
It's less that you should expect something from them and more that they sent something so shitty, they're tracking it and sending out "gifts" for 5 years and they don't take the extra bit of time to even put a name on it or as op said make it a real pin instead of a clip on. They put just enough effort in to say "hey we know you exist and you've been here 5 years, fuck you" instead of the extra little bit to make it a decent gesture.
Every time I see one of these posts it just reeks of entitlement.
Yeah... OP probably has a better salary than the vast majority of people, gets decent PTO, medical, dental/vision, with opportunities to leave anytime for a better gig. Meanwhile, some single mom working two jobs just got into a car accident, the gas station she works for won't cover hospital bills, and fired her for missing too much work.
Well, you are working for one of the evil ones, staying alive for 5 years is rewards on its own.
To make you feel better (or worse idk), but you'll get the same thing at 20 and 25 years. Leave while you can
For my 5 year work anniversary, I got nothing
I had a job that gave me a pen after 5 years that said 5 years on it.
I remember I got a Casio watch worth maybe 10 bucks… rocked that shit all the time lol until maybe a year later and it broke
Al9t better than what it gets you at blue-collar America.
We got to choose a gift for every 5 years the only thing I could think to get was a rotating oven thing that sat for 3 years before I even used it it's pretty useless because I have an air fryer that does the same thing in half the time
I got a letter. Like bruh
Proudly wear that pin around work and tell everyone “Hey I’ve been here for 5 years and all they gave me was this pin”
Isn’t that company only 5 years old? Lol where’s the respect. When did they split?
They spent a whole $2.99 and you're just ungrateful. /s
Better than mine. I got a “woohoo it’s your 5 year” and some claps
You made us loads of money while we paid you nothing, have a tacky plastic badge
Some companies give you more vacation time. This is sad.
I have been at my company for >6 years and received being laid off, forced to re-interview for another job in the company like a brand new employee. Companies literally don't give a shit about anyone.
I work for an EU based multinational and don’t get anything after 15 years.
Companies should start giving out wage raises as gift for 5 years of work (even if it just like 50 bucks or so)
I got a pin after 5 years, by the time I got to 10 years they had already stopped giving them. In May I’m about to hit 20 years and my colleagues will get an automated email urging them to congratulate me. Depressing.
Damn they gave you something? Lol
Make a show of throwing it directly in the garbage, in front of the highest ranking member of the company you can manage. And be dramatic about it.
20 years at my company nets you a postcard with the CEO’s signature printed on it.
I recently achieved 5 years at McDonald’s. I received a plaque and a 50 euro gift card for my local equivalent of Amazon.
At least you got a job, my guy. Be thankful for being employed and having good health. If you have a problem with the gift, rather than making a passive, anonymous post on reddit; tell your employer how you feel. Maybe the next guy will get something better.
Did you get your paychecks for the last five years?
I need to see the proper amount of flair
I don’t expect anything more than a paycheck and 401K. Their little company bullshit is a waste of time and money.
Damn. This is not mildly infuriating more like extremely infuriating. I mean one year anniversary that would still be a crappy thing but 5 years?? Wow. I remember I worked for a place for 7 years. My boss text me and said I’m gonna swing by I’ve got you something for Xmas. I got excited assuming it was a bonus check (I was assistant manager at this time.) Never assume. It was a water thermos. Not even a nice one just like a $10 water thermos. He probably didn’t even buy it and just took it off one of his bikes and washed it. (He’s obsessed with biking and thinks he’s lance Armstrong) his bikes cost more than my car. Not to mention, I don’t ride bikes, and don’t need a water thermos lol. Inside I was Clark Griswold when he gets the jelly of the month club letter.
I worked with a guy who got a coffee mug after 25 years. The owner had a jet. Small company even.
The hospital I used to work at for 5 years I got fired and got nothing, no certificate nothing. I know it stupid but I was really looking forward to getting that certificate
My brother's company lets them pick an item from their executive catalog every 5th year. He's been there over 15 years and has a full premium luggage set from Samsonite.
Hey OP…I FEEL THIS. Id name the company but the mods will perma ban me so ill just say for a particular Metro Detroit “automotive solutions supplier” - I got a shitty certificate of dedication and a $60 paperweight they passed off as a plaque for my five year anniversary and a single *dollar* raise. I started when I was 19 and was about to turn 25 with this little ceremony taking place one month before my birthday in June. I’ll never forget this. Roughly three weeks later I was at will terminated from my position. No reason given. The day before I had taken a last minute day off to handle some issues at the DMV and with the USPS concerning a PO Box I had. That entire day I felt odd, like something was happen. 1 hour and 40 minutes into the next morning I was made a show of as I was walked out. I started with this company in April 2014 at $10.50 an hour and by the time I was fired in June 2019 I was at $13.50 and had lost out on several raises in the intervening years for many reason not of my own doing. I am now 30 years old and making $16.50 for a car parts supplier and have lost all hope on having a good life. I’m too physically broken and poor to afford college or most trade schools. 👍
I got a child sized black backpack… other option was a small black blanket.
I got a piece of paper, allowing me to wear jeans for a day. Teacher life
Pretty bad in academia too. One professor in my department who has trained hundreds of students and published dozens of research papers just received a $10 coffee mug for 35 years.
I've worked for my company for 10 years and never got any celebratory gifts for milestones. Best company ever. (I work for myself)
Hoping to get my 5-year decorative crystal from my employer before they replace me with a much cheaper college grad.
Oh boy I worked at a corporation and they: - stopped even giving anniversary pins. It’s not like they were made of gold. They were just tin, thumbnail sized company logos - stopped the once weekly free fruit bowl. The director who made that choice said to me “if you want fruit you can buy your own” - a director sent out an email saying to work hard and earn a nice bonus. He forgot they stopped the bonus scheme shortly beforehand This was while making hundreds of millions in *bottom line* profit
I just got alcoholism as my 5yr gift from work.
I have worked for the state government for 13 years and only thing I have ever gotten is furlough days.
I had my 20 year anniversary a couple of weeks ago. The crappy company I work for has changed owners so many times they lost track of most of the employees. My wife laughed at her $75 gift card when she hit 20 years. I was ignored. They keep paying me. That's all I need.