Workers Reveal The Worst Holiday Gifts Their Employers Have Ever Given Them

Count your blessings for that holiday bonus, because some people get truly terrible gifts at work.

By John Sundholm — Written on Dec 18, 2022

Photo: ESB Professional / Shutterstock, Drawcee, BillionPhotos, phodopus via Canva

Woman opening a Christmas gift she doesn't like

If you're one of those lucky people who gets a holiday bonus at work or a fancy gift from your boss each year, count your blessings.

Because some people are truly getting hosed when it comes to corporate holiday presents.

A recent Reddit thread detailed just how bad some companies are at giving out employee Christmas gifts each year.

And we're talking gifts bad enough to make you quit your job—like homemade pens, leftover corporate coffee cups and gift cards that were later deducted from people's paychecks.

In the annals of the worst employers ever, these peoples' have to rank close to the top of the naughty list.

Here are Reddit's worst holiday gifts from stingy employers.

Some people got gifts from their employers that they ended up having to pay for.

This experience was shockingly common among Redditors, and it came in all kinds of forms, like a person who got an award for which they "had to pay the taxes on the physical metal they gave me."

Then there was a person whose company gave everyone a $50 bonus and then "garnished it from our bank account the day after Christmas."

Kind of makes Clark's boss in "Christmas Vacation" seem downright generous by comparison, doesn't it?

But perhaps the strangest and most "oh come *on*" form was a person who recounted being gifted a discount on tickets to the company holiday party.

Which has layers of tackiness to it, if you think about it—who ever heard of charging employees to go to a company party in the first place? Seriously?

Even worse, the corporation he works for is a "multi-billion dollar fortune 100 company." Guess making your employees pay $50 to go to a work party has its benefits.

Someone call Santa and make sure this guy's boss ends up on the naughty list.

Many people got utterly useless gift cards—for non-existent Starbucks, and an actual, literal murder scene.

A gift card that turns out to be an empty gift is bad enough—and there were plenty of people who got those.

But some people on Reddit got gift cards that bring new meaning to the words "no thank you."

One person received a Starbucks gift card—for a whopping $5—despite the fact that "the closest Starbucks is 110 miles (176 km) away." Road trip?

Another person got a gift card for Applebee's, where "there was a murder at the last one in my city and it shut down in November."

At that point, you might as well just punch your employees in the face and yell "Merry Christmas" at them through a bullhorn. Cut out the middleman!

But there was one awful employee Christmas gift that stood head and shoulders above them all.

There were so many Redditors who got truly awful gifts from their bosses that were just downright cheap—even more so than a garnished bonus if you can believe it.

One user got "a company t-shirt 3x too large with a piece of Dove chocolate."

Another got "left-over promotional giveaway coffee mugs." They noted that their "personal favorite was the one that said 'We Value Your Business!'"

Really, why go to all the trouble of digging out old corporate swag when you can just plop a bag of trash on everyone's desk and stick a bow on it. Your employees will feel just as appreciated!

But there was one cheapskate boss Redditors called out whose gift—and we mean that in the loosest sense of the term possible—really took the cake.