Woman shares company's bizarre employee appreciation gift highlighting their disconnect with staff

Most of us love the perks, incentives and praises that come our way in the workspace. However, how should one react when their company offers an exceptionally underwhelming gesture? Mila—who goes by @milaxhehe on TikTok—shared a telling anecdote that resonates with many on the platform. Mila unveiled the lackluster offerings her company presented for "Employee Appreciation Day," exposing a much larger issue.

The company offers employees a photo opportunity with the CEO on Appreciation Day, illustrating their disconnection from reality. In a setting where staff members are grappling with low pay and a lack of recognition, this type of gift feels like a tone-deaf move and underscores the company's inability to relate to their employees' experiences. In workplaces marked by underpayment and lack of recognition, gestures like the one described by Mila exemplify a stark disconnection. The feeling of being a mere cog in the corporate machinery is all too familiar, making it a challenge to find an environment where employees genuinely feel valued. This sentiment is exacerbated when higher-ups repeatedly display a lack of concern for their workforce.

Rather than receiving substantial tokens like bonuses or additional time off, Mila's Employee Appreciation Day "rewards" consisted of a "sweet treat" and an item certainly not on her wish list: a photograph with the company's CEO. With a hint of sarcasm, she recounted how this gesture was meant to express gratitude: "They're showing their appreciation for us by allowing us to get our photo taken with the CEO," she quipped in the video. This tale, unfortunately, echoes a common narrative, as numerous people commented on Mila's TikTok, sharing their own absurd "gifts" from their respective employers.

@charmuscat chimed in, "Our CEO once handed out mousepads with pictures of all his houses as Christmas presents. 100% not joking." User @twisted_witch shared their experience, "Our CEO walked around handing out $100 bills. Then when we got paid, they had taken out the taxes on that hundred." @autumn_brooke_444 said, "I got a 9-piece jigsaw puzzle of the company’s logo once."

In another story of companies being out of touch with the employee's contributions, a Burger King employee received a cheap goodie bag as acknowledgment for 27 years of service for the company. HMS Host, the company that supplies staff to Burger King, sent an underwhelming goodie bag to an employee named Ford at the Las Vegas airport branch. The bag included a packet of Reese's candies, a Starbucks reusable cup, two pens, and a single movie ticket. Ford, who serves as a cashier and cook at Burger King, expressed his disappointment, feeling that the items in the bag seemed like leftover items that the company had on hand.

He told TODAY, "I'm happy about anything, I'm thankful for anything I get, I'm not that type of person, believe me. I've been through a lot. It's a great company, you know, I've been there for 27 years. But like most big corporations, they've kind of lost touch with their workers, and through Covid and whatever, they started cutting out programs."