Photo: TikTok
Hopefully, with the help of this new gift from her boss, she'll find her way in this world...
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on May 03, 2023
Have you ever worked at one job for a while? Has your boss ever decided to give you a little gift to reward you for your hard work? Well, one woman on TikTok who goes by “K,” received one of these little gifts from her boss and decided to do her own unboxing of it.
K claims that her employer had been bragging about this “gift of appreciation” recently, and although it was running late, she was excited to see what would be inside the box — not because she had hoped it was something good, but because she knew it would be underwhelming.
K shared the ‘gift of appreciation’ that her boss got her on TikTok.
“My employer has been bragging for the last couple of weeks that they were going to get us a gift of appreciation for all our hard work,” she explained to the 2.4 million people who viewed the TikTok posted on March 25, 2022. “It’s been running late, but it’s finally here.”
She explains that her employer never actually informed her of what was in the box, so she had no idea what she would see when she opened it — what she did know, however, was that she was thrilled to find out.
She wagered on making guesses and offered up some choices like “a coffee mug with my employer’s name on it, maybe like a paperweight? That says ‘decent employee works here.’ Or a keychain, a snowglobe? Oh man,” she exclaimed, realizing that the possibilities were endless!
What would she receive for all of the hard work she put in? Well, when she opened the box and cut to show off the gift, we were able to see what was inside.
K received an emergency lantern as a reward for all her hard work.
“It’s an emergency lantern,” she said, looking at the camera before rotating the object around in her hand. “With my employer’s name on it,” she added after a short pause. “I’m not going to show it to you, but don’t worry, it’s there.”
She goes into talking about how she just spent 45 minutes arguing with a patient of hers (she works in healthcare) to go to the ER because he won’t listen to her when she says that you need to eat to survive and you can’t control your blood sugar through fasting indefinitely.
“That was my lunch break, and I was feeling kind of sour about that, but uh, now that I’ve got this lantern?” she quips. “At the very least I will not unalive anybody who works here today. Today.” Adding insult to injury, she cuts back in a moment later to show people that batteries were not included, and she would have to go get them separately in order for her “gift of appreciation” to even function.
People in the comments joked along with her, condemning the boss's gift. One person wrote “The only ‘gift of appreciation’ I need from an employer is a raise,” while someone else said, “When will they learn, we only want cash or PTO?”
One person joked that hopefully, the lantern would guide her to the exits — and maybe, it would guide her to another place of employment.
According to a report by job site Monster.com, a whopping 96% of respondents said they planned on looking for a new job in 2023 with 40% seeking a higher income and 25% reporting that they are in a toxic workplace. This widespread job dissatisfaction is only compounded by pointless gifts like this one that doesn't make up for other shortcomings in the workplace. K's boss may have meant well, but this lantern won't light up the darkness that is an unsatisfying workplace.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.