Company gets rid of incentive to work on holidays and weekends, act 'surprised and disappointed' when nobody signs up to work holidays: 'You only get as much loyalty as you're willing to pay for'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jan 5, 2026 10:00 PM EST

If you remove the incentive to do something, you can't be surprised when nobody does it. 

Humans are simple creatures. We like to be rewarded for what we do. It's a complex system in our brains that can mainly be boiled down to "I deserve a treat for what I do." And we're not wrong. We do deserve treats for what we do. It doesn't have to be something huge, just a recognition of the effort that we put into something. Our brains will reward us with endorphins when we exercise. Our tastebuds will reward us for cooking a delicious meal. And our jobs reward us with money for our work. That's just the way it goes. But sometimes the wires end up getting crossed in this last example, and employers forget the main reason their employees show up to work every day. 

Another thing that humans appreciate is rest. As much as we're willing to work hard, we need time off. It's why we have the concept of a weekend. We need a couple of days to reset and enjoy our lives outside of work. Not only is it a core human need, but it also makes us better at our jobs. Holidays are a built-in time for us to do just that. Most of us are coming off the longest stretch of holiday that we usually get. We probably appreciated the time to reconnect with our loved ones and take our minds off work. But what if our employers tried to get us to clock in?

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  • A man slumps over at his desk, exhausted
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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

  • Overtime pay exists for a reason. It's the acknowledgement that it's a bit of an inconvenience, so they make it worth our time monetarily. It's a way to incentivize workers to do a little extra and get something in return. If employers want more than 40 hours a week out of their workers, then they should make it worth their time. This company failed to understand that and completely took away the incentive to work on the holiday. So understandably, workers stopped showing up on holidays. But their response to that revealed something interesting about the nature of work these days. Read on for the full story.

  • My company got rid of bonus incentive to work on holidays, is mad nobody worked on their holidays...

    The company I work for does this thing where to win clients they base all their contracts around real days and not business days. This means that we need staff on site 7 days a week and all holidays to keep on top of turnaround times and avoid late penalties. However, this is skilled white-collar STEM work that requires a solid
    via u/MeesterPepper
  • foundation in biology and - chemistry they need to offer weekends off and paid holidays at a minimum to be competitive with other employers in the industry. So for years, they offered a 2x overtime rate for weekend hours, and if you worked on your paid holiday off, you'd get full holiday pay plus 3x OT for all hours worked.
    via u/MeesterPepper
  • So shortly before Christmas, HR sent an email stating that effective immediately, there would no longer be a holiday incentive. "Paid holidays are an extra benefit meant for you to have time to relax. If you choose to work any hours on a paid holiday, you forfeit the holiday hours. And as a reminder, overtime is only after 40 hours of actual work - working on your regularly scheduled day will not count."
    via u/MeesterPepper
  • Got in this morning to find an email from my management team that they're "surprised and disappointed" that only two people volunteered to work on December 25th and 26th, and nobody worked January 1st or 2nd, in spite of multiple requests for volunteers. Because nobody was "willing to be team players", the company now stands to lose close to a six figure amount in penalties for missed turnaround times.
    via u/MeesterPepper
  • Oh well, so sad. You only get as much loyalty as you're willing to pay for.
    via u/MeesterPepper

  • Commenters weighed in with their thoughts.

    Risc_Terilia nobody was "willing to be team players" Their job on the team was to pay the rest of the team to do the work, let's think again about who wasn't a team player.
    via u/Risc_Terilia
  • A man holds his head in his hands at his desk, pained
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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

  • Toni 164 why is it everytime they try to save money they end up costing themselves more money
    via u/Toni164
  • BlueCollarElectro What exactly did they expect? -Go cheap, you get cheap. results Imfao
    via u/BlueCollarElectro
  • maydayvoter11 "the company now stands to lose close to a six figure amount in penalties for missed turnaround times." That's the fault of whoever changed the pay scheme.
    via u/maydayvoter11
  • drinkslinger1974 My wife's job got rid of weekend incentives all while taking on twice the amount of clients. She never specifically mentions that upper management is upset, but she used to work something like 20 hours on random weekends with dozens of other people. Now everyone just enjoys their weekends and the work just gets backed up for months on end.
    via u/drinkslinger1974
  • KyomiiKitsune FAFO! Good on all those team members who did not work. I hope they enjoyed the time off with their families and loved ones.
    via u/KyomiiKitsune
  • virgilreality It seems management didn't want to be "team players" by keeping the incentives.
    via u/virgilreality
  • Rexpower Well well well If it isn't the consequences of their actions
    via u/Rexpower
  • RockyMntnView Them: "Holidays are for you to stay home and relax." Also them: "WTF, everyone stayed home and relaxed on the holidays! II Make it make sense!
    via u/RockyMntnView
  • indicatprincess They never learn. I worked for an Indian BPO and we would come in for double-OT twice a month. They removed the incentives....so people stopped working OT. We fell behind. They fired people and started begging for OT after shifts. We won awards within the company for our work. Did you think we did that for fun?
    via u/indicatprincess
  • The last day I was there I walked out on them because they asked me to stay late twice by 11am.
    via u/indicatprincess
  • Dazzling Potion I'm surprised they didn't force people to do it when hardly anyone "volunteered". My guess is they will in the future by saying your job is in jeopardy if you and your coworkers continually refuse.
    via u/DazzlingPotion
  • Bitter-Researcher3... Were any of the management team there on any of those days? I'm willing to venture a guess of no. Bureaucrats and professional meeting attendees never have skin in the game they expect others to play.
    via u/Bitter-Researcher389
  • maydayvoter11 oh fucking well. Of course, they will blame the employees instead of re- evaluating whether to go back to the previous pay scheme.
    via u/maydayvoter11
  • White-tigress I thought the whole point of managers is supposed to be they are the elite, fixers, and problem solvers. If they didn't have staff those days, it was their manager's responsibility to bring in that six figure deal. With or without a large staff cuz, well, managers get the
    via u/White-tigress
  • big pay. Besides which, why didn't THEY choose to be a team players and go in on the holidays. I mean it's just days and no one needs rest and relaxation, so ... where were all the managers Christmas and New Year? Hmmmmm?? Where was THEIR team spirit? Someone needs to tell them
    via u/White-tigress
  • how disappointed they are that they failed to land a six figure deal and be team players to come in on holidays. Without any extra pay. I would bet management would super enjoy the constructive criticism.
    via u/White-tigress
  • C... I am always amazed how the wealthy feel they are entitled to the working class's labor for free. I work for a billionaire who owns 5 hotels including a marriott and holiday Inns
    via u/cecilmeyer
  • They hired a new management company. New company takes away all benefits except medical which is terrible, even took the crappy 401k, took vacation time down by weeks for some people. Claimed when they took over they had paid holidays and double time for holidays. worked.
    via u/cecilmeyer
  • 1st Holiday everything went fine paid as agreed upon. 2nd holiday they say you have to work the holiday even just a few hours to get holiday pay. I asked how is it a holiday if I have to work the holiday to get paid for a holiday? Crickets 3rd holiday they said well you have to work a full day to get holiday pay.
    via u/cecilmeyer
  • 4th holiday no double time just straight time for hours. worked on a holiday Used to be a $1.50 an hour shift premium for working sat and sun. Now that is being done away with. I am salary but the vast majority of these workers are at min wage or a little bit higher. They all qualify for state medical because of their poverty wages.
    via u/cecilmeyer
  • This has all happened in the span of about 14 months and the new management told me it has been an incredible year because we are sold out almost everyday. I have been there for about 18 months and I have seen at least 35 people leave. I laugh about on their site they claim they have a high employee retention rate!
    via u/cecilmeyer

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antiwork work Office greedy workplace overtime pay overtime bad bosses holidays
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