Boss offers cornhole instead of raises. Employees responded with a scathing note on the notice board
They turned a smoking deck into a fun space, but staff made it clear what they really wanted.
A Reddit post by u/kaciemayea captured the frustration of casino employees when their employer decided to invest in a new "fun" space instead of giving them fair pay. The post, which has gained 14k upvotes so far, shows a cheerful flyer that management pinned to the notice board announcing the conversion of a former smoking deck into "a Cornhole area with sparkly lights." Management promoted it as a morale booster with a cheerful flyer pinned to the notice board, which read, "Come Celebrate! Join us in the newly renovated Employee Break Area. Saturday, August 23 | 12 PM – 5 PM. Enjoy free snow cones and check out the new space!"
But employees clearly weren’t impressed — directly beneath the flyer, someone taped up their own hand-written sign, cutting straight to the point: "We don’t want your cornhole. We want a pay raise." As a comment by u/arkensto revealed, 'snow cones' are perhaps the cheapest 'treat' you could set up for a 'fun' area, since "it is shaved ice + artificial flavors and colors. At least ice cream or pizza has SOME nutritional value, but why spend $5 per person for a meal that would provide at least a little bit of satisfaction, when you can spend <.50 cents per person, and many won't even bother?" This shows an almost brutal carelessness for employee well-being. In the context of this happening at a casino, the user went on to add, "So they moved two of the lowest profit games/treats from the floor to the break room? (for just a few hours)"
Researchers studying workplace behavior have seen similar patterns. A long-term Czech study surveying 21 companies between 2007 and 2009 found that, across industries and regardless of gender or sector, employees preferred wage increases over equivalent-value benefits, even when the benefits seemed more valuable on paper. Only financial-sector workers bucked the trend, favoring perks over pay. This reflects a foundational principle in organizational psychology: Equity Theory. Employees assess fairness by comparing what they give (time, effort, loyalty) to what they receive (salary, benefits, recognition). When perks are substituted for pay, they see it as a mismatch, not a motivator.
The photo struck a chord with readers, with many echoing similar frustrations. u/ImprovementFar5054 shared, "I worked at a company that removed bonuses for anyone under the director level, and tried to replace them with a pizza party every Friday. Some were like 'Free pizza! That’s generous!' but I was so furious I couldn’t even look at that pizza." u/ElephantRider wrote, "Love it when management spends a bunch of money on games in the break room but when any employees try to use them they immediately pop their heads in the doorway and make frowny faces at their watch." u/AMLRoss pointed out, "If they actually cared about staff, they would give them pay raises as well as organize staff events. This is just another way to avoid paying more while trying to look like they care."
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