Company gifts longest tenured employee a watch and a $50 restaurant gift card to thank him for his 50 years of service: ‘The only bonus he’s ever gotten’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Mar 18, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Suppose an employee devotes their life to a company and spends every single weekday, 9 AM to 5 PM, for 50 years at said company. In that case, you'd think that management would recognize the employee's unwavering loyalty and belief in the company's mission. Some readers might insist that said employee is simply doing their job and should be paid accordingly without extra bonuses or benefits, but I'd have to disagree with them. A 50-year tenure is quite a long time….

In the story below, an employee is gifted a snazzy watch and a $50 gift card to a restaurant in town for his 50 years of service to the company. It's important to note that within those 50 years, his hourly wage only increased by $22. With the cost of living skyrocketing, combined with the 50-year stint the employee has, you'd think the company would cough up a few extra bucks to say "thanks". Did I mention this employee has never received a bonus aside from this instance? Scroll to read.

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  • Bonuses are definitely earned, not handed out to anyone who says, “Me! I want one!” Spending the better half of your life at a company, however, warrants some sort of raise, bonus, promotion, or literally anything other than a gift card. It's a bit insulting to know your 50 years of work are worth a snazzy time piece and $50 off a meal that's probably totaling $100. This is a cautionary tale for folks in the workforce who think their management actually sees them. Newsflash: they probably don't.

  • "He's literally gotten no bonus for 50 years of service. This watch and gift card [have] been the only bonus he's ever gotten."
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • "I couldn’t believe what my fiancé company gave their longest tenured employee for his 50th year at the company…"

    This actually happened about a year ago (Feb 2024). My fiancés former company has a yearly event where different employees get different awards. Dinner is provided for the winners and their families.
    via Sea_Row_6543
  • Well on this occasion of their awards, it happened to be the 50th anniversary of the company's longest. tenured employee ever. It's a 3 generation company and this guy has been with the company thru all 3 of the owners.
    via Sea_Row_6543
  • They bring this man up on stage and talk about how he has been at the company since he was 19 and is now 69. Started at
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  • the company making $2.60 an hour or something like that. He worked his way up a few positions and the position. he is currently in makes
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  • about $25ish an hour which is insane by itself. Anyways, they get to the end where they present him with 2 gifts!
    via Sea_Row_6543
  • The first gift is a $500-$1000 watch and the second, I sh you not, is a $50 gift card to the local bar and grill in town.
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  • The way my jaw hit the ground. 50 years of service to the company, lasted longer than both the 2nd and 3rd generation owners, and he is awarded with a $50 gift card to a subpar bar and grill.
    via Sea_Row_6543
  • ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL DATEJUST ATIVE CHRONCHE CALLY CERTIFIED 2
    via Yash Parashar for Unsplash
  • And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the American Dream
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  • Edit: Just wanted to add for any of the corporate bootlickers in the comments, his position has never been eligible for a bonus. He's literally
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  • gotten no bonus for 50 years of service. This watch and gift card has been the only bonus he's ever gotten.
    via Sea_Row_6543
  • Trraumatized To me the watch and gift card is just a nice bonus, no expectations here. To sit at $25/hrs after 50 years is the real crime.
    via Trraumatized
  • MisterRobertParr Corporate America will tell you (I've been in one of those that did this) that employees don't want raises to feel appreciated, they want to be acknowledged for their good ideas and hard work. I soon after left that company.
    via MisterRobertParr
  • waxedg ch Don't be loyal to your employer. They're not loyal to you. Job hop as much as you can every 2-4 years is healthy.
    via waxedg**ch
  • 02meepmeep My 20th anniversary was last Jan 3 & I didn't get sh. Same as my 10th.
    via 02meepmeep
  • Ruthless_Bunny Yup. And this is why we don't work for our employers, we work for ourselves.
    via Ruthless_Bunny
  • theycallmeMrPot... My dad got a plastic pin for recognizing him at the post office for 30 years or something like that. He said he tossed it on the ground in his supervisors office that day when he went home.
    via theycallmeMrPotter
  • dshizzel That truly s ks b lls. Just working 50 years and not getting over $25/hr is amazing to me. The watch sounds cool, but that gift cert was just downright an insult. Man is in his 'last good decade' of life, and this is his reward for 1/2 century of service? SMH.
    via dshizzel
  • rmac500 And that will be taxed at nearly 40%!
    via rmac500
  • bmwlocoAirCooled God, I'm glad I have retired. No more BS games from thankless corporations.
    via bmwlocoAirCooled

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management boss workplace-stories bonus toxic-workplace manager bosses work upper management reddit story horrible-management workplace Horrible Bosses reddit thread company entitled people toxic-work-environment
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