'A block of wood instead of a bonus': The worst and funniest corporate gifts workers have been given in lieu of money

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jun 23, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

One of the five love languages is gift-giving. It's a nice way to show someone you care without having to say anything, and it's usually the thought behind the gift that touches you more than the gift itself. You appreciate that they thought of you, picked something out, and presented it to you without you asking. 

This rule, though, doesn't apply when it comes to company gifts. Since often they don't really know you or what you like, corporate gifts can fall pretty flat. But even worse than that, sometimes the gifts can be insulting, especially when a cash bonus would have seemed more appropriate. The subreddit r/antiwork is full of these gifting horror stories, and we have some of the best (aka worst) ones here in one thread. Read on and be grateful you don't work for these companies. And share your corporate gifting horror stories if you have any. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10364191744
    via Kira auf der Heide
  • 02
    Request: Your worst corporate gift or 'bonus' We were discussing a recent round of gift cards sent to every employee - $50 Amazon cards -- and what the worst things a previous employer has ever given us.
    via u/sjbluebirds
  • 03
    Most of us had the vanity book from the CEO -- usually a 'how to be an effective leader' bit of drivel -- some of us had gift certificates to the company store.
    via u/sjbluebirds
  • 04
    Myself? One Christmas, about 25 years ago, our company gave everyone in our three-person department a box of chocolates.
    via u/sjbluebirds
  • 05
    Not "Everyone got their own box of chocolates," I mean "All of us. Got A Box of chocolates." A Whitman sampler of ten delicious candies split three ways.
    via u/sjbluebirds
  • 06
    Grizzb 19 hr. ago I got choice of a spatula Microsoft zune or vhs player for my work year work anniversary in 2018. I hung up the the spatula in my office as a reminder to leave work early
    via u/Grizzb
  • 07
    Dull_Lavishness 7701. 17 hr. ago Should've taken the VHS player. Those sell for good money in good condition
    via u/Dull_Lavishness7701
  • 08
    Trepto42 21 hr. ago My mom worked for a coffee chain for ten years. As her tenth anniversary approached, the DM let her know that her pin would be there soon. Unique pins were a point of interest for staff & customers, so she was really excited about it.
    via u/Trepto42
  • 09
    Except... it was a pen. Not a nice pen, basically a branded Bic Stic. It didn't have her name or "10 years" on it, & it wasn't even a pen she could use at work. She'd been cutting back her hours for a while, but that was the last straw.
    via u/Trepto42
  • 10
    Htoof 18 hr. ago This wooden photo display, accompanied by branded, inspirational cards to display on it. A BLOCK OF WOOD INSTEAD OF A BONUS.
    via u/Htoof
  • 11
    • lavenderflowermeadow 19 hr. ago You guys are getting something??
    via u/lavenderflowermeadow
  • 12
    bowchickabowchicka. 21 hr. ago I guess it'd be the 'christmas party', which was advertised as half a day of work and half a day of food and drink, for which we'd be paid a full day. It ended up being a potluck dinner, and when I asked where we'd be having it, I was told it would be the aisle in which we were currently standing.
    via u/bowchickabowchicka
  • 13
    So I got to clear a bunch of space in the warehouse, move a bunch of pallets into said space, sweep out the aisle, then carry the tables and chairs downstairs from the office to set them up for the potluck dinner. Which I couldn't afford to bring anything nice, since I'd just started the job a couple of months ago and had maxed out my credit card buying my family christmas presents.
    via u/bowchickabowchicka
  • 14
    LameUserName123456 · 19 hr. ago $5 Dunks gift card for 5 yrs of service, $1 for each year. Their generosity was overwhelming.
    via u/LameUserName123456
  • 15
    virgilreality 17 hr. ago Everyone got this stress- squeeze toy...an overly joyful yellow man with a T-shirt on him that said "I (heart) WORK!" We found those things in weird places for years and in various states of destruction and various dioramas. The best one was found in a noose, and we found one with an industrial-sized screw in its
    via u/virgilreality
  • 16
    Low-Rabbit-9723 18 hr. ago • A corporate logo'd hoodie ... that we were not allowed to wear at work.
    via u/Low-Rabbit-9723
  • 17
    Longjumping-Swim8201. 19 hr. ago I got transferred to another department in a fortune 500 company and for some reason the new manager did not like me. For Christmas I got a little Santa figure on a stick that obviously was taken out of a holiday floral arrangement. Meanwhile, this woman made easily $500,000 a year.
    via u/Longjumping-Swim8201
  • 18
    SeaProcedure607 18 hr. ago • Early in my career, I had a very demanding client. Our department head forced me and my coworkers to work on the 4th of July to meet some deliveries. We were I! When we went to the office on July 5th, we all had chocolate coins on our desk as a thank you. She probably meant well,
    via u/SeaProcedure607
  • 19
    but it totally backfired... rewarding us with candy that looked like money rather than real money felt like a slap in the face. It is now 20 years later and we have all moved on, but whenever I meet with any of my former coworkers for lunch or drinks, we still talk about that!
    via u/SeaProcedure607
  • 20
    Wolfman01a 19 hr. ago • 10 years of working IT. 2 guys covering the issues of 2500 factory positions. I got a cheap clock. One of those cheese plastic dome clocks a 7 year old would get their mom for christmas for 6 bucks. Thanks..
    via u/Wolfman01a
  • 21
    tryallthescience . 16 hr. ago When I worked at Barnes and Noble about 15 years ago, they really pushed us to sell their e-reader, the Nook. Every time we sold a Nook, the manager would get a cash bonus. The manager in turn would give us one (1) Quaker Kudo's oatmeal bar. Which he explained with "I'm giving you Kudos! Get it??"
    via u/tryallthescience
  • 22
    newhappyrainbow. 16 hr. ago I got an enamel pin celebrating 5 years with the company... three months after my 9 year anniversary.
    via u/newhappyrainbow
  • 23
    shezapopsicle · 16 hr. ago My last job posted a harsh memo about how gifts will be distributed in an orderly fashion by last name because they didn't want us to all rush for it at once. It was a bottle of olive oil.
    via u/shezapopsicle
  • 24
    MrsMitchBitch · 17 hr. ago For teacher appreciation day I got a plastic change purse with two bandaids and two alcohol wipes.
    via u/MrsMitchBitch

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antiwork corporate gifts workplace-stories gift guide work stories bonus toxic-workplace work memes gift card work askreddit gift corporations workplace Reddit funny best gift ever toxic-work-environment
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