Company forces employees to bring food for their own appreciation meal, get pizza instead when they try to report overtime: 'Does this [...] company expect 150 contractors to donate 3 or more hours of their personal time for their own appreciation meal?'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Jan 27, 2025 12:00 PM EST

Relying on pizza parties to improve the morale of a hostile work environment is one of those things that you'll find in any toxic workplace desperate to do anything but fix the actual issues. This, along with trying to gaslight staff into thinking that everything is ok and their best interests are being held to heart, telling them things like "We're a family," guilt-tripping them into accepting their fate.

The doubly ironic part of all of this is that the more positive outcome in this story, what the company originally had planned, was many magnitudes lamer and more insulting than any old cliche pizza party. Not to hate pizza; it's hard not to love it. Pizza doesn't really have any fault in any of this and is really just an innocent bystander. It's just more that it's the default "go-to" group field and will be for your entire life from the time you have your first participation award ceremony for your little league sports team. 

This is after the irony of asking your staff to prepare their own meals for what is supposed to be a thank-you and celebration of them… 

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    Cheezburger Image 10459839744
    via Kateryna Hliznitsova For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • It's like asking your friends to pay you for gas money after they drive you to the airport. No one should need to tell you that demanding that would be a terrible idea; the idea is to show appreciation to the person doing a service to you—not the other way around.

    Sometimes, all it takes is a suggestion, a reminder in subtle defiance that something might be a bad idea for the company's bottom line… and you'll see that bad policy disappear far faster than you ever thought possible. 

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    "Want me to cook for my own 'appreciation' event? Gotta make sure I don't violate the overtime policy!"

    Years ago, I worked in a satellite office of a large department (300+ people) in a giant corporation. Half of the staff had salary/benefits while my half was hourly contractors. The department was run by two vindictive women who were wholly responsible for the toxic environment. They loved talking about how much they were like sisters; I loved pointing out that when you have sisters like them, one of them ends up under Dorothy's house.
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    Like most companies, they were constantly blowing smoke up everyone's a about how much we're valued. And they showed that by inviting us to an Appreciation Potluck! There were going to be surprises! And delicious treats from our coworkers!
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    Of course, the other shoe inevitably dropped: the company was providing only soft drinks as alcol on company property is forbidden (except when it isn't). The only food at this "appreciation" potluck was what employees were expected to make ("nothing store-bought - share some love with us!"). They couldn't put it in writing, but it got around that failing to cook something would be "noted."
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    It's tough when the company won't give you a budget, but it's tone deaf and insulting to demand people give their own time to prop up the illusion the company cares when half your staff doesn't get health insurance. The participation non-mandate came straight from the top, and I wanted them thoroughly, inescapably embarrassed.
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    Two days before the potluck while on a call with my boss, I dropped the live grenade in her lap: Boss: oh, before we go, I wanted to ask why you declined my Outlook invite for tomorrow afternoon. What's up? Me: oh I need to leave early tomorrow to cook for the potluck since I assume you can't authorize overtime for it. Boss: overtime?...
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    Me: My recipe takes an hour or so to cook and the actual potluck is another 2 after business hours, so I was going to leave 3 hours early to keep myself at 40 hours this week. Boss: wait, you expect to get paid for cooking? Me: Half this staff is hourly contractors. Does this for-profit company expect 150 contractors to donate 3 or more hours of their personal time for their own appreciation meal?
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    Boss: oh my God... nobody thought of how this looks? [she was asking herself more than me] Me: or nobody expected to be called on it. Boss: but who's getting called on it? Oh... [sighs] you're at your desk where everyone can hear... Me: correct. Boss: I have to go.
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    I did feel bad about dragging her into it - she had enough on her plate - but I knew she'd just toss the grenade up the chain to people who get paid to know better. Our satellite office wasn't privy to many details, but I'm told my call sent people panicked and scurrying around at the mother ship, consuming a day and a half of a lot of people's time. Mission accomplished.
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    In the end, they moved the potluck to lunchtime (during paid time for contractors) and bought our office pizzas - only our office. We were, however, instructed not to be eating the pizza when we Skyped in because everyone else would get upset. And yes, all the satellite offices were Skyping in like this was the Dunder Mifflin Infinity launch.
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    Cheezburger Image 10459840000
    via Devin Nelson For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    lizzyote 12h ago . I love when employee appreciation events require the employees spend their time and money just for the company to take credit for it. If you're paycheck to paycheck, f electric bill. your
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    InformalCry147 • 11h ago Reminds of one boss who planned a work Christmas do at an expensive restaurant that we were expected to pay for ourselves. He was livid when only two of his higher paid office buddies showed up. When he confronted us the next Monday we told him we werent paid enough to eat there. You could tell by his expression that it had never occurred to him that the Warehouse workers he was paying minimum wage to couldn't splash out on dinner.
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    Kyndrede 13h ago > I loved pointing out that when you have sisters like them, one of them ends up under Dorothy's house. > offices were Skyping in like this was the Dunder Mifflin Infinity launch These lines made me spit my dinner out. Twice! XD
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    Imaginary-Yak-6487 • 12h ago Our employee appreciation is an annual conference for managers (me) & our maintenance supervisors, that we have to travel to, stay a night in a hotel & drive back afterwards paid for with petty cash from our sites. This year, it's 5 hrs away for us & 8hrs for 4 of the other sites in our regionals portfolio, then 4 days later there is a different 3 day conference in the same city. We're (me & 8 sister site managers), are in a group chat with our regional manager, who'
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    Problem? His bosses cut travel & accommodations budgets for the sites. I texted this in group & said we couldn't go bc ofthe cuts & the other mangers said the same thing. I asked why the mandatory celebration of us can't be done locally, there's plenty of places here & our company owns several hotels that have conference rooms. Our corporate office is here. Supposedly they're looking into this, umm oversight. Yeah, y'all do that. I'm Not going until they allocate the money.
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    This is all for us & all we do, we're the backbone of the company. Ok. Well, when they get back to town, after celebrating us, they can drive our awards to us or they can just stick them up their a My property's travel budget which includes property errands by me & my maintenance in our own vehicles, is $100. For the year. Nothing for rental cars or hotels this year.
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    • AngryCod 12h ago You got the 5 minute music dance experience. Don't you feel appreciated yet?
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    SATerp 12h ago Man, that's some nerve even to have an "Appreciation pot luck." These two things are not the same.
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    Fianna9 11h ago . I'm a paramedic and we do staff appreciation lunches during EMS week. if you happen to be working the day your area of the city is hosting and if you have time between calls and if you can get permission to drive out of your coverage zone you might make it to get you lunch and be told how much every one appreciates you.
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workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employee employment-discussion job work employees overworked-employees workplace Horrible Bosses employment in the workplace
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