Employee appreciation day let down

[John Barleycorn, SASS #76982]

So my wife came home today and told me that her manager celebrated employee appreciation day by taking funds from the employees tip jar and bought them pizza. Gee thanks for buying us pizza from our tips, grrrrr!!!!!

[Rip Snorter]

Obviously an ass and / or not the sharpest blade in the drawer.  A great move for team spirit!

[Rye Miles #13621]

That’s insane! It’s actually stealing! 😡

[John Barleycorn, SASS #76982]

15 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

That’s insane! It’s actually stealing! 😡

Agreed! Every dime should be put back. 

[Dapper Dave]

We used to have a CO appreciation week where Admin would do food and "door prizes", but after COVID they used that as an excuse to stop doing it. I do random employee appreciation days to my staff either bringing in homemade goodies or stopping at the store on the way in to buy goodies. I do it out of my pocket and time, and never ever ask Admin to help. Which is funny, because I also bring in a 24 pack of bottled water every single week for all line staff who work out here, and twice the Captain has stolen it for Admin functions without replacing it. Oh well. 

That reminds me, I haven't done nachos in a while, probably should do that soon. 

[Eyesa Horg]

1 hour ago, Rip Snorter said:

Obviously an ass and / or not the sharpest blade in the drawer.  A great move for team spirit!

I'm going with ass & a thief.🤬

[Dapper Dave]

I'd be happy to donate to these hard working staff of mine monetarily, but I have this "cowboy gun" thing, you see...

[watab kid]

its interesting , i heard it was national womens day or something , is there any day , week , month that is not some kind of recognition day ? for the record im not going to recognize most of them , ill remember 09/11 , ill remember 12/07/41 and ill remember my kids birthdays , im not going to celebrate something every day of the week - particularly some of the crap that i keep hearing is getting celebrated 

[Rye Miles #13621]

2 hours ago, watab kid said:

its interesting , i heard it was national womens day or something , is there any day , week , month that is not some kind of recognition day ? for the record im not going to recognize most of them , ill remember 09/11 , ill remember 12/07/41 and ill remember my kids birthdays , im not going to celebrate something every day of the week - particularly some of the crap that i keep hearing is getting celebrated 

When is white man’s day?

[Dantankerous]

44 minutes ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

When is white man’s day?

¡Cuidádo, señor! 

 

😆

[Rye Miles #13621]

57 minutes ago, Dantankerous said:

¡Cuidádo, señor! 

 

😆

No Capisce 

[Dapper Dave]

I think that's Christmas...or was it, Independence Day? Maybe St Paddy's Day...could be...them Irish are mighty pale! Except when they get a wee bit flushed with a nice load of Guiness! 

What's funny is we borrow holidays from other countries who aren't even USING them, like Cinco de Mayo, so we can party hearty! 🤠

[Cypress Sun]

3 minutes ago, Dapper Dave said:

What's funny is we borrow holidays from other countries who aren't even USING them, like Cinco de Mayo, so we can party hearty! 🤠

 

Hallmark made millions from invented holidays. Kinda died in the last decade though as folks don't send cards anymore. Impersonal E-mails or texts seem to rule the "special day" now.

[watab kid]

20 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

When is white man’s day?

that one dont exist 

[Rye Miles #13621]

To be fair when is Asian peoples day? Month? Week? 

[Badlands Bob #61228]

On 3/10/2026 at 6:09 AM, Rye Miles #13621 said:

When is white man’s day?

April 15th.

[Rye Miles #13621]

Back to the OP, what happened John? 

[Matthew Duncan]

On 3/10/2026 at 6:09 AM, Rye Miles #13621 said:

When is white man’s day?

I should have read Badlands first…

Edited March 12 by Matthew Duncan

[Pat Riot]

Working in public agencies I have seen many similar actions but management. It’s very aggravating and it demoralizes employees. 
At one rail shop I worked at the manager would invite all of upper management to our holiday pot lucks and would not contribute a dime or any food items and he would say to the senior management  “Don’t worry about donating any money I have you all covered,”

Apparently his actions caught on with other managers because I saw that BS at other LA rail shops…it did not happen at the shops I managed. 
Funny thing is, that seemed to be the modus operandi of all managers and directors in LA transit. 

[Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062]

On 3/10/2026 at 9:09 PM, Rye Miles #13621 said:

When is white man’s day?

 

On 3/11/2026 at 11:29 PM, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

April 15th.

 

 ... are you sure it's not April 1st ? .......

[Dapper Dave]

I spent a little time baking last night, taking in ginger snaps and peanut butter Styrofoam cookies for staff tonight. 

Edit to add, I woke up early, so I made a nice batch of home made chocolate chip cookies, too. My people know I appreciate them. 

Edited March 13 by Dapper Dave

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

"Employee Morale?"  Har!!  

 

I've worked in a couple of places that could have spawned the old phrase, "The beatings shall continue until morale improves!"  In fact, those words were heard often when I was with a certain bank that used to be headquartered in San Francisco (now in Charlotte, NC).

 

The outfit I ultimately retired from ("Hardpan, you gotta get outta there before that place kills you or someone has to read you your rights!")  actually took morale seriously.  Kinda.  For a while.  We had "Employee Appreciation Day," where each department would have an entire day off to go do something recreational... day trip, golf, movies, dinner, whatever.  That was shortened to a half-day event.  Then scrapped for a less-than-fun "employee motivational conference."  My department often got to miss the "Appreciation Day," as we had work to do.  And the "conference" thing was mandatory, so we still had to work our butts off to make time to participate - then get back to work to make our deadlines.

 

Finally, it was announced that "Employee Morale" had been deemed to be a non-essential expense, and was thereby stricken from the budget.  Thank Gawd!  

 

        

 

 

[watab kid]

 

8 hours ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

"Employee Morale?"  Har!!  

 

I've worked in a couple of places that could have spawned the old phrase, "The beatings shall continue until morale improves!"  In fact, those words were heard often when I was with a certain bank that used to be headquartered in San Francisco (now in Charlotte, NC).

 

The outfit I ultimately retired from ("Hardpan, you gotta get outta there before that place kills you or someone has to read you your rights!")  actually took morale seriously.  Kinda.  For a while.  We had "Employee Appreciation Day," where each department would have an entire day off to go do something recreational... day trip, golf, movies, dinner, whatever.  That was shortened to a half-day event.  Then scrapped for a less-than-fun "employee motivational conference."  My department often got to miss the "Appreciation Day," as we had work to do.  And the "conference" thing was mandatory, so we still had to work our butts off to make time to participate - then get back to work to make our deadlines.

 

Finally, it was announced that "Employee Morale" had been deemed to be a non-essential expense, and was thereby stricken from the budget.  Thank Gawd!  

 

        

 

 

i was in a place like that for about a year , it convinced me never to seek employment in such a place again , i never did and i never regretted it , most of my career was a good time , but all that was a long time ago now , i retired twice - and i still work part time for a very good place in every case , 

[Sedalia Dave]

Always remember that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence because it gets more B$. 

[Pat Riot]

During COVID we had a pot luck at work. This was at my last LA job. 
We did not broadcast that we were having this pot luck but somehow the Covid SS (Schutzstaffel) found out about it. They showed up telling us that we needed to maintain the 6’ distance apart and that we had to eat with our masks on. 
I invited them to leave or break room as we were going to have a Covid Safety meeting. 
As soon as they left I ordered everyone to get whatever food they thought they could eat and had everyone pick out their eating location (our break room was huge. 15 people could maintain 6’ apart and still have a place to sit and eat. 
We put all the food away then I went out and called in the SS. 
They came in and looked around then the real reason for their visit became apparent. 
“Where’s all the food? We thought we could eat too.”

“Y’all weren’t invited. Now as you can see we are abiding by the Covid policies and you folks standing in here is infringing on the mandatory  6’ distance so I need you to leave.”

The leader, a very large and loud black Lady, said “You planned this just so we couldn’t eat!”

”No, we planned this so we could eat. Building morale and comradely during these troubling times. Here, let me show you out…”

 

They left and that was the end of it. 

[Dapper Dave]

It IS kinda of interesting how many people suddenly find reasons to "drop by" when I bring in chow...but I expect it and bring a lot of extra, plus it's line staff on graveyard shift, Admin is never around. I don't fuss. Now if I was on AM shift and all Admin suddenly discovered a need to wander in and take my STAFF'S food, yeah, we have a problem. In all these years I've had that happen three times with the bottled water I bring in, Admin or contractors taking it. They don't do that anymore.

 

So, either people eat it up or I take leftovers home. Usually, I don't take any leftovers home.

Payday I think I will get all the nacho's fixins...still have a HUGE jug of jalapenos. 

Edited March 15 by Dapper Dave

[Sedalia Dave]

3 hours ago, Dapper Dave said:

It IS kinda of interesting how many people suddenly find reasons to "drop by" when I bring in chow...but I expect it and bring a lot of extra, plus it's line staff on graveyard shift, Admin is never around. I don't fuss. Now if I was on AM shift and all Admin suddenly discovered a need to wander in and take my STAFF'S food, yeah, we have a problem. In all these years I've had that happen three times with the bottled water I bring in, Admin or contractors taking it. They don't do that anymore.

 

So, either people eat it up or I take leftovers home. Usually, I don't take any leftovers home.

Payday I think I will get all the nacho's fixins...still have a HUGE jug of jalapenos. 

 

Rather than Nachos this was the go where I used to work.

 

For every 4-5 people put one 16 oz of Velveeta, 1 can of Rotel, and a pound of browned and drained sausage in a crockpot and heat until the Velveeta melts.  Stir well and serve with chips. 

 

Was always a hit at work and never lasted very long.

[Sedalia Dave]

People dropping by was never a problem at my last job. Our "office" was a 20 minute golf cart ride from the rest of the facility. The only real drop in folks were a few people from facilities that kept the HVAC working, our vehicles running and the lights on. They took care of us so we always had extra as a thank you.

 

We had an excellent manager and department head that always chipped in. Most times they bought the main course and all we had to do was furnish deserts and appetizers. 

During the summer our manager would buy ice cream and put in the breakroom freezer. 

[Pat Riot]

4 hours ago, Dapper Dave said:

 

It IS kinda of interesting how many people suddenly find reasons to "drop by" when I bring in chow.

 

 

32 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

People dropping by was never a problem at my last job.

We used to have a hard time getting Facilities Maintenance to show up to close out repairs on one of our shops, but we noticed every time we had a cook it potluck they always showed up in the morning to fix things then somehow they would weasel their way into eating lunch with us. 
So, any time we needed something repaired right away in our shop somehow a Fax would “accidentally” be sent to Fac. Maint. about a cookout at our shop, but we weren’t actually having a cookout. 
We pulled this a number of times. Those boys weren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer. 

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Back when I was with the aforementioned bank in San Francisco, I was a department head in the Operations Section.  One year, the managers of a couple other departments and I were discussing employee morale - and came up with what we considered a capital idea:  we oughtta should have a staff picnic!  So, we set about planning the event.

 

Our division had about eighty or so people at our site, as I recall.  We reserved a local park facility, rented a trailer grill, bought a bunch of food and prizes and such and pulled it off.  Naturally,, there were a few glitches, but on balance it was a hit!  

 

So, the following year, we did a repeat; and having learned from the first outing, this one was eve better.  

 

Year three... the Operations VP called me and my fellow "morale boosters" into his office and declared that he was NOT going to allow us to organize a third event.  "If someone from another section wants to do it they can - MY people will NOT be putting any more effort into this so-called 'morale' thing!"

 

"Uh... but Jeff... it's strictly a volunteer thing!  We're not taking any 'company time' at all!"

 

"I said NO!  Now, outta my office!"  

 

          

 

A couple of other incidents with this clown:

 

One late autumn morning, he was having his weekly department head meeting.  He proceeded to needlessly point out to us that most (all?) of us had unused vacation time on the books.  And we were thereby directed to use it by the end of the year, or lose it.  Vacation could only be carried over to the next year with the approval of the section VP; he was that VP, and he was NOT going to approve any carry-overs.

 

Well, there were a bunch of mighty glum faces around the table.  You see, we had for some time been operationg in "crisis mode."  Most of us were understaffed and over-worked; our average work-week was 50 - 60 hours; sometimes more.  And, being exempt, we were not paid overtime.  (In my case, my commute time was over 5 1/2 hours a day, and I only lived 32 miles away).

 

Nobody said a word.  So, I couldn't resist ~ I raised my hand.  Jeff's moustache began to twitch, and he looked about anxiously to see if there as anyone else he could call on to speak - he knew  me well!  As did the rest of the crew; all eyes locked on me.

 

Finally, ol' Jeffers sighed, and said, "Yes, 'Hardpan.'  What?"

 

"So Jeff, as I understand it, we will lose any unused vacation if we don't use it by year-end.  Only you can approve carry-overs, and you will NOT approve any.  Is that right...?"

 

"You heard me!" he said with a scowl.

 

"Well then, Jeff... would it be okay if we use some of our vacation time on weekends...?"

 

The dude turned lavender.  "Meeting adjourned!!" and he stomped out.  Everyone else gave me a quiet smile as they left.

 

Same dude.  The day after the Loma Prieta Earthquake, our section of the city was blocked off and all businesses closed.  Needless to say, I found my way there, and to no surprise, was shortly joined by three of the supervisors who worked for me.  Normally, our department would process about $50 in deposits on an average weekeday.  Being shut down would mean that many thousands of clients would not have their deposits credited to their accounts.  We did an assessment of our situation, and figured out how to do the processing manually:  we recycled old forms by blanking out figures with White-Out, as there was no electricity, we sat by windows and filled them out manually, used pocket calculators, and hand-filled hundreds of the old multi-part "tickets" used back in the day. 

 

We then found a branch outside the "damage zone" and borrowed a proof machine, processed the tickets, and I drove them through Marin County to Solano County to Concord in Contra Costa County to the data processing center.  Incredibly, every single client's account was credited.

 

So, I submitted nominations for recognition awards for my three staffers - they definitely went "above and beyond." 

 

Well, ultimately a big celebration was held for those who had helped catch up over the following week.  My people were not mentioned.  I asked good ol' Jeff what happened to my recommendations... his reply?  "Why, I tore them up!  That was their JOB!  I expect my people to DO THEIR JOB!!  I don't care if the city WAS shut down!  If they had not done their JOB, they would have been in trouble!" 

 

I had a little chat with HIS boss.  A couple days later, Jeffipoo called me into his office, and with a surly expression handed me four envelopes.  "These are awards for those people - and you, too.  Give them to them privately - no one is to know!"

 

What an ass.

 

Sadly, when he died a few months later, he was replaced with someone even worse.  Sixty days after Hilda landed, we literally had the first successful mutiny in the organization's history!  
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eyesa Horg]

I had a third liner at phone company that was just like Jeffipoo. She had a way of making our jobs miserable 😕.

[Rip Snorter]

8 hours ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

Back when I was with the aforementioned bank in San Francisco, I was a department head in the Operations Section.  One year, the managers of a couple other departments and I were discussing employee morale - and came up with what we considered a capital idea:  we oughtta should have a staff picnic!  So, we set about planning the event.

 

Our division had about eighty or so people at our site, as I recall.  We reserved a local park facility, rented a trailer grill, bought a bunch of food and prizes and such and pulled it off.  Naturally,, there were a few glitches, but on balance it was a hit!  

 

So, the following year, we did a repeat; and having learned from the first outing, this one was eve better.  

 

Year three... the Operations VP called me and my fellow "morale boosters" into his office and declared that he was NOT going to allow us to organize a third event.  "If someone from another section wants to do it they can - MY people will NOT be putting any more effort into this so-called 'morale' thing!"

 

"Uh... but Jeff... it's strictly a volunteer thing!  We're not taking any 'company time' at all!"

 

"I said NO!  Now, outta my office!"  

 

          

 

A couple of other incidents with this clown:

 

One late autumn morning, he was having his weekly department head meeting.  He proceeded to needlessly point out to us that most (all?) of us had unused vacation time on the books.  And we were thereby directed to use it by the end of the year, or lose it.  Vacation could only be carried over to the next year with the approval of the section VP; he was that VP, and he was NOT going to approve any carry-overs.

 

Well, there were a bunch of mighty glum faces around the table.  You see, we had for some time been operationg in "crisis mode."  Most of us were understaffed and over-worked; our average work-week was 50 - 60 hours; sometimes more.  And, being exempt, we were not paid overtime.  (In my case, my commute time was over 5 1/2 hours a day, and I only lived 32 miles away).

 

Nobody said a word.  So, I couldn't resist ~ I raised my hand.  Jeff's moustache began to twitch, and he looked about anxiously to see if there as anyone else he could call on to speak - he knew  me well!  As did the rest of the crew; all eyes locked on me.

 

Finally, ol' Jeffers sighed, and said, "Yes, 'Hardpan.'  What?"

 

"So Jeff, as I understand it, we will lose any unused vacation if we don't use it by year-end.  Only you can approve carry-overs, and you will NOT approve any.  Is that right...?"

 

"You heard me!" he said with a scowl.

 

"Well then, Jeff... would it be okay if we use some of our vacation time on weekends...?"

 

The dude turned lavender.  "Meeting adjourned!!" and he stomped out.  Everyone else gave me a quiet smile as they left.

 

Same dude.  The day after the Loma Prieta Earthquake, our section of the city was blocked off and all businesses closed.  Needless to say, I found my way there, and to no surprise, was shortly joined by three of the supervisors who worked for me.  Normally, our department would process about $50 in deposits on an average weekeday.  Being shut down would mean that many thousands of clients would not have their deposits credited to their accounts.  We did an assessment of our situation, and figured out how to do the processing manually:  we recycled old forms by blanking out figures with White-Out, as there was no electricity, we sat by windows and filled them out manually, used pocket calculators, and hand-filled hundreds of the old multi-part "tickets" used back in the day. 

 

We then found a branch outside the "damage zone" and borrowed a proof machine, processed the tickets, and I drove them through Marin County to Solano County to Concord in Contra Costa County to the data processing center.  Incredibly, every single client's account was credited.

 

So, I submitted nominations for recognition awards for my three staffers - they definitely went "above and beyond." 

 

Well, ultimately a big celebration was held for those who had helped catch up over the following week.  My people were not mentioned.  I asked good ol' Jeff what happened to my recommendations... his reply?  "Why, I tore them up!  That was their JOB!  I expect my people to DO THEIR JOB!!  I don't care if the city WAS shut down!  If they had not done their JOB, they would have been in trouble!" 

 

I had a little chat with HIS boss.  A couple days later, Jeffipoo called me into his office, and with a surly expression handed me four envelopes.  "These are awards for those people - and you, too.  Give them to them privately - no one is to know!"

 

What an ass.

 

Sadly, when he died a few months later, he was replaced with someone even worse.  Sixty days after Hilda landed, we literally had the first successful mutiny in the organization's history!  
 

 

 

 

 

 

Ya just gotta wonder where those miserable folks came from and how they were raised!

[Sedalia Dave]

2 hours ago, Rip Snorter said:

Ya just gotta wonder where those miserable folks came from and how they were raised!

 

Promoted to their level of incompetance.

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

37 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

Promoted to their level of incompetance.

 

So sayeth Mister Peter.  

[Dapper Dave]

I just contributed to someone ELSE'S employee morale! A friend who runs a local plumbing shop mentioned that she would certainly like some of those cookies I bake...so this morning when they opened, I delivered a bag and a box of cookies to her desk, enough in the box for all the guys plus a bag for herself. See how I waste my days off...