I work for an event planning company, so the holiday season is really busy. We don’t get to spend as much time as we’d like with our families, as we are constantly working events. But that’s the nature of the business. Last year we all received holiday gifts from the owner – a book about how to plan events efficiently and effectively. Was she trying to tell us we weren’t doing our jobs right? There wasn’t even a card attached. A friend of mine works for another event company in town. Her boss gave each of them a bonus for working so hard during the high season and an additional 3 days of PTO to make up for the time they had to spend away from their families working events. Jealous doesn’t even describe how I felt. I’ve asked my friend to keep an eye out for openings at her company. My resume is fully updated and ready to go!
Every year, my boss and his family host a wonderful holiday party at his house. It’s a fancy cocktail affair with catered food, live music and beautiful decorations. Families are invited to attend and there are always fun things for the kids to do. One year, Santa came to visit and take pictures with everyone! We all look forward to it every year. I know it must be a lot of work to put on such an event and obviously he cares a lot about his employees. It’s so much better than a gift card or bottle of wine. I think spending time with co-workers is valuable. It creates a bond within the office that is felt throughout the entire year. And as if the party wasn’t enough, each year I receive a personal, handwritten card thanking me for the hard work I’ve done throughout the year. It’s not just a generalized thank you either. He points out specific work I’ve done, which really makes me feel great! This year, he even gave me a bit of additional PTO to spend with my family around the holidays because he knew we were traveling across country to visit my ailing grandmother.