Some of the best corporate holiday parties I’ve been to were at small startups i worked at. Great end of year bonuses as well. Office kitchens filled with free snacks \ drinks and paid lunches on Fridays.
Eventually, they all hire accountants, business analysts, or financial officers. And it’s the same every time - they all start “cost cutting”… First the free food and lunches stop. Then the end of year parties. Then they complain about it being “a lean year” so they have to cut bonuses (about the same time they switch to “unlimited PTO” but guilt you into not taking any nor do they have to pay you out when you quit).
The best is around August or so, they post the financials and thank everyone for helping the company “smash” goals \ previous records, but then have some soulless mid level manager tell everyone at the end of the year they didn’t “meet expectations” so they don’t qualify for a raise.
God, I’m still bitter…
Yeah, startups pre-sale or IPO are the best. Got catered buffet lunch every day. Full size candy bars in the break room. A beer fridge and whiskey club on Fridays.
Then we got bought and all of that was gone and we had to pay for our own lunch.
One place had full sized beer and wine fridges. It was hilarious when the tech support people were getting drunk before lunch.
It does seem like the best way to do level 1 tech support.
I blame Ellis and his blatant use of coke and always sexually harassing the women.
My company has one every year. Heck, it is even just our regional department, so each department has its own.
It was 80’s themed this year. They had live music and even a Back to the Future mocked up Delorian outside of the venue. A couple of free drink tickets, free buffet style food all around, a bunch of 80’s arcade machines, and a pretty awesome raffle.
The company is also employee owned and not beholden to stockholder parasites.
It’s amazing what a company can do when your profits aren’t maximized and sucked out.
Wall Street should be burned to the ground and billionaires crucified over its ashes.
I started working at a company in the mid 80s, and stayed there for 40 years. They did Christmas parties until the f early 2000s or so. Honestly, I was kind of glad they stopped. There were always idiots getting drunk and doing/saying really stupid stuff.
It wasnt so much the terrorists/thieves, it was more how everyone started greeting guests by yelling “Welcome to the party, pal!” to everyone as they arrived, and “Yippe-kai-yay, motherfucker!” as they left.
Also:
Schieß den Fenster.
Last year my fortune 500 company said they wouldn’t be providing Christmas dinner because they couldn’t afford it.
They lost more money from demoralized employees slacking off in response.
They didn’t make the same mistake this year.
I’ve been in the professional workforce since 2003 and haven’t been to one of these. A company I worked for in 2004 had one but since I was new, I had to pull the oncall shift so couldn’t attend. Pretty sure they were going out of style by 2001. If any company I worked for hosted one now I would just think it’s odd and say I was out of town anyways. I like my direct coworkers but can’t imagine a scenario where I would want to attend a party with the managers and execs.
