Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app

Continue in app Continue in browser

279Kviews

“It’s A ‘Benefit’ To My Employer, Not Me”: People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them

Interview With Author

ADVERTISEMENT

Companies offer a variety of perks and benefits to attract the right talent into their business. After all, the workers are one of the most valuable assets a business can have, so it’s worth making sure that they feel happy and productive both in and out of the workplace.

Unfortunately, some employers seem to have a different idea about what makes their staff feel truly appreciated. Reddit user Chocolat3City asked fellow r/AntiWork members: "What's the most insulting 'benefit' a job has offered you?" and the thread spread fast, with more than 26.2K people finding it relevant.

Whether it’s a free uniform, personal protective equipment or lunch, stories that people shared seem to be serving the employer, not the employee. Take a look at some of the best answers we collected from the thread and be sure to share your experience in the comment section below.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Free lunch every day.

Sounds great but let me explain.

I started a job some years ago and one of the benefits they sold us on was that they bought us lunch everyday. Each day, they would take our orders in the late morning to have lunch delivered by lunchtime. We only ever ordered from like 2 or 3 places but hey, it was free. Cool. Great.

But the problem was when I tried to do anything other than sit at my desk and eat. After a couple weeks, I started leaving my place of work for lunch here and there just to run errands, have a phone convo with family/friends/gf, or just eat by myself at a restaurant (the food they ordered wasn’t bad but it got old quick).

After having done this a few times, my manager stopped me one day and asked where I was going and why I sometimes leave. I replied “I’m Going on lunch.” He told me that the whole point of them ordering lunch for us was so we could eat at our desks while we continued to work. I was shocked lol. I asked him if he understood how lunch breaks worked in relation to the law and that he can’t keep me hostage, especially since I’m not being paid for being there during that hour. He then passively aggressively said “okay do what you want I guess”.

djaypete , Marcus Aurelius Report

Final score:

205points

ADVERTISEMENT

#2

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Food stamp eligibility. They paid so little that they listed government assistance as a BENEFIT.

dirtyswrk , Dario Crespi Report

Final score:

201points

Bored Panda reached out to the author of this post, Chocolat3City, to have a chat about benefits that employers offer but end up insulting the staff or potential employees. The idea to start this thread came from personal experience. The user lives in the U.S. and has just moved to another state.

"I've been looking at new job postings on the internet, and saw many employers trying to couch standard workplace amenities as 'benefits'," they said. This made the user think of one of their first jobs out of law school: "It offered me 'free parking,' but the pay wasn't competitive."

The user mentioned this in their post, saying that a thing that helps a person to access their workplace is a benefit to the employer, not the worker. "It's kind of like allowing the custodian access to an elevator of the high-rise building where he works, and calling it a 'benefit.' I think not," they added.

ADVERTISEMENT

#3

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Retail worker. As a reward for working through the Pandemic, the toilet paper crisis, not getting our pay for another 4 weeks and having one of our colleagues die of covid unexpectedly...

A box of 6 capri sun. There are 8 of us.

CompetitiveHabit5 , Vadim Andreev SP Report

Final score:

164points

#4

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Silly socks day. To make up for the increase in abuse from patients (start of COVID). Thanks, my mental health is... great.

smolpidge , Jonathan Borba Report

Final score:

157points

The thread collected more than 7.3K comments where many started sharing their own experiences. Chocolat3City thinks that the r/AntiWork community found it so relevant probably because everyone has worked extremely hard just to survive for the last couple of years.

According to them, some people are looking for work, while some have stayed in salaried jobs that are demanding more hours and scope without increasing compensation.

"We are particularly sensitive right now under these circumstances, and this fake benefits phenomenon both insults our intelligence and demeans the value of our labor. That's why I think many have such a visceral reaction to the post."

ADVERTISEMENT

#5

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them A 'wobble room'. Basically a room where it was okay to go and have a little cry/freak out/meltdown if you got overwhelmed at work.

Instead of, you know, attempting to address the reasons why people were crying/freaking out/melting down at work...and then you were expected back front and centre for the rest of your shift.

ruthh-r , RODNAE Productions Report

Final score:

156points

#6

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Free personal protective equipment. Literally required to be provided by the employer too.

Accomplished-Pen-69 , CDC Report

Final score:

154points

Some benefits that the employers see as central are actually not so important in the eyes of the workers. According to a study from Robert Half, a global human resource consulting firm, companies often seem to miss the mark. More than 1.5K American employees and 600 HR managers participated in the survey. Results showed, that there seems to be a big disconnect between what’s being offered and what the staff actually wants.

ADVERTISEMENT

For example, 66 percent of employees would prefer a compressed workweek—where they work more hours but fewer days per week. Unfortunately, only 17 percent of companies offer this perk. Also, when it comes to healthcare, many workers seem to be indifferent about some of the benefits the employer provides, e.g. vision insurance, which only a fraction of them needs.

#7

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them The 45 minute commute each way as a "great way to prepare for the day and de-stress when you go home."

What the f**k man.

RhodyChief , Ono Kosuki Report

Final score:

147points

#8

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Company listed "withholding taxes" as a benefit. You know, the thing that they're legally obligated to do as an employer. Still laugh at that one.

Sad_Efficiency_1067 , Mikhail Nilov Report

Final score:

139points

ADVERTISEMENT

#9

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Weekend events, xmas parties.
Like I want to spend my personal time with work people...?

shapeofthings , PS Imaging Report

Final score:

130points

ADVERTISEMENT

Chocolat3City thinks that companies disguise common conveniences as benefits simply to make the job look better: "Just like how any product is marketed. Of course, employers are always looking for ways to provide less compensation and fewer benefits for their employees."

They added that these perks can be used to distract from non-competitive compensation. The author of this thread hopes that employers read this post and "see what we really think of the 'benefits' they offer us."

#10

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Free uniform.

LongjumpingMess9248 , Paul Sableman Report

Final score:

124points

#11

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them I have no maternity leave and hr told me that’s the benefit of working remote - I can just watch my baby while I work.

chrisant4345 , Sarah Chai Report

Final score:

124points

#12

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them A pinball machine and pool table for use on breaks that people got shamed for using.

gmotsimurgh , Zakaria Zayane Report

Final score:

123points

#13

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Casual Fridays. We're a tech business with no customer visits, why can't every day be casual?

DanWallace , Fox Report

Final score:

115points

ADVERTISEMENT

#14

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Contact stated "flexible hours", but I was pulled aside and rinsed by a colleague and one of the company directors when I turned up at 9.30am on my second day.

It turned out that their interpretation of "flexible" went the other direction - you had to be in the office 9-5 plus at least 2 hours a day to "show your commitment".

InvisiblePhil , Andrea Piacquadio Report

Final score:

113points

#15

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Windows. (The kind you look through, not the OS.)

Upbeat_Crow , Christina Morillo Report

Final score:

110points

#16

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them "Free Parking" at my workplace.

My thinking is that if it's something that only helps me access my workplace (which I wouldn't need but for the job), it's a "benefit" to my employer, not me.

It's kind of like allowing the custodian access to an elevator of the high-rise building where he works, and calling it a "benefit." I think not.

Chocolat3City , Tim Meyer Report

Final score:

107points

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

#17

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Pretending pizza is a 10k salary increase or anything significant

TaticalSweater , Thirdman Report

Final score:

105points

#18

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them I cried at work and was offered a “normalize crying at work” sticker.

Didn’t seem to help.

dumbgayidiot , Ivan Samkov Report

Final score:

102points

#19

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them They set up an online store for us to purchase company merch with and then offered everyone I think 20 or 30 in credit, which would have been nice if the cheapest thing wasn’t $65 plus tax and shipping

dontforgettheglitter , Andrea Piacquadio Report

Final score:

99points

#20

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them This is a discussion I had with my previous employer before I accepted their offer letter, discussing compensation:

Me: I'm used to my annual bonus being a significant portion of my total compensation, what's your bonus structure look like?

Them: We don't make specific commitments, it depends on company performance and your annual review.

Me: Sure, I get that, but I need to know a general ballpark. Is 8-12% in the general range that I should usually expect to see?

Them: Yes

I didn't get it in writing, because I'm a dumbass.

Sign on, work a few months, Christmas/ New Year's comes around. HR hands out bonuses. I open my envelope to find a $10 gift card to a local grocery store.

Figure "I've only been here a few months, maybe I'm not eligible for bonus yet, oh well".

Next year comes around, and it's another $10 gift card for the grocery store.

Started applying for new jobs that day.

IAmVladimirPutinAMA , MART PRODUCTION Report

Final score:

94points

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

#21

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them "You get to work with kids!"

My job description was ALSO my benefits...

SteadfastFox , Lukas Report

Final score:

88points

#22

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Overtime. Yes it was listed in the job description as a benefit.

hdost34 , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

Final score:

84points

#23

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them JEANS DAY

ts9808 , pxhere Report

Final score:

83points

#24

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them In a plastics factory where you're lifting 100+ pound iron molding pieces repetitively, they actually had the balls to point to a gym area that was "open to all employees". They couldn't figure out why only the office people ever used it.

anonymous67348 , Jelmer Assink Report

Final score:

82points

#25

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Company branded tennis shoes for Christmas. When am I ever going to want to wear tennis shoes that are company colors and have the logo of a hospital on them? They’re against dress code at work too lol.

lgdub_ , Eden, Janine and Jim Report

Final score:

82points

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

#26

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them I had an employer that offered discounted tickets (theme parks, sporting events, concerts, etc) through a third-party website. The website charged a service fee that made the tickets the same price or sometimes more expensive than if you bought them through traditional methods.

use_da_schwartz_ , Karolina Grabowska Report

Final score:

78points

#27

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them The “stress management apps”.

GaolangWongsawat , Karolina Grabowska Report

Final score:

75points

#28

Pizza on fridays in the break room.

But it’s also a Bible study.

lostprevention Report

Final score:

74points

#29

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them Bear with me, but it was a "game room."

It was actually a nice setup: table tennis, a few cabinets, and every console of the day.

The only problem was that anybody that actually used it during working hours was judged incredibly harshly. Like, it showed up in performance reviews. I think the hope was that it would drive people to play after hours and maybe eke a bit of extra work out of them. All of us just wanted to GTFO of the fluorescent-lit prison we'd just spent 8-9 hours in.

Calkky , SageChimera Report

Final score:

72points

ADVERTISEMENT

See Also on Bored Panda

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

#30

"It's A 'Benefit' To My Employer, Not Me": People Are Sharing 30 Insulting Things A Job Has Offered Them “Experience”

You can get experience from a colonoscopy. Doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to use or monetize that experience outside of the paradigm within which you acquired said experience. And that’s assuming you wanted the experience in the first place.

Careful_Chemical9749 , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

Final score:

70points

Note: this post originally had 78 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

Ieva Gailiūtė

Ieva is a writer at Bored Panda who graduated in Scandinavian studies from Vilnius University. After learning the Swedish language and getting completely lost in the world of Scandinavian mythology, she figured out that translating and writing is what she's passionate about. When not writing, Ieva enjoys making jewelry, going on hikes, reading and drinking coffee.

Ieva is a writer at Bored Panda who graduated in Scandinavian studies from Vilnius University. After learning the Swedish language and getting completely lost in the world of Scandinavian mythology, she figured out that translating and writing is what she's passionate about. When not writing, Ieva enjoys making jewelry, going on hikes, reading and drinking coffee.

Austėja Akavickaitė

Austėja is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Photography.

Austėja is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Photography.

What do you think ?

Jo Choto 2 years ago

I bow down and give thanks at the altar of self-employed small business owner/contractor where I do the work I love on my own schedule. May I never, ever have to work for anyone else ever again.

11points

Ramzan Dogar Dogar 2 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Load More Replies...

Gaby Almodovar 2 years ago

From what kind of work-slave countries are these answers? Real workplace-benefit are 13. month salary, Christmas-money, share-money or working in hotel-industry discounts for you and family members booking rooms in the hotels of the hotel-chain, where are you working. Using for free the facilities of the hotel, where are you working at: like gym, sauna, tennis-playground or having discounts in the hotel's shops, if you want to buy something there.

4points

K Witmer 2 years ago

These are all from the American dream capital of the world good ole USA. These are all commonplace and they are actively trying to bully and shame people into thinking this is great for us and were so privileged. The brainwashed trump supporting conservatives all worship this ideology too while not being able to afford to eat. We have a workers shortage now but the people in charge are still making their millions of dollars in bonuses.

9points

Load More Replies...

ben woskje 2 years ago

First "career" job out of uni - was on a starting salary in the 90's - approx $25k pre-tax. Got chewed out by my manager, as a 20 year old, because i didn't use the salary packaging solution the MD was getting kickbacks from. I was living at home, had a $300 car... at that stage in my life my money went towards savings (for a house) or beer... Still remember that psycho b*tch to this day.

4points

Mazer 2 years ago

Virtual hugs

1point

Load More Replies...

Load More Comments

Jo Choto 2 years ago

I bow down and give thanks at the altar of self-employed small business owner/contractor where I do the work I love on my own schedule. May I never, ever have to work for anyone else ever again.

11points

Ramzan Dogar Dogar 2 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Load More Replies...

Gaby Almodovar 2 years ago

From what kind of work-slave countries are these answers? Real workplace-benefit are 13. month salary, Christmas-money, share-money or working in hotel-industry discounts for you and family members booking rooms in the hotels of the hotel-chain, where are you working. Using for free the facilities of the hotel, where are you working at: like gym, sauna, tennis-playground or having discounts in the hotel's shops, if you want to buy something there.

4points

K Witmer 2 years ago

These are all from the American dream capital of the world good ole USA. These are all commonplace and they are actively trying to bully and shame people into thinking this is great for us and were so privileged. The brainwashed trump supporting conservatives all worship this ideology too while not being able to afford to eat. We have a workers shortage now but the people in charge are still making their millions of dollars in bonuses.

9points

Load More Replies...

ben woskje 2 years ago

First "career" job out of uni - was on a starting salary in the 90's - approx $25k pre-tax. Got chewed out by my manager, as a 20 year old, because i didn't use the salary packaging solution the MD was getting kickbacks from. I was living at home, had a $300 car... at that stage in my life my money went towards savings (for a house) or beer... Still remember that psycho b*tch to this day.

4points

Mazer 2 years ago

Virtual hugs

1point

Load More Replies...

Load More Comments

Related on Bored Panda

Related on Bored Panda

Word Search

WordroW

Jigsaw

Crossword

Sudoku

Picdoku

Killer Sudoku

Kriss Kross

Word Flower

Trending on Bored Panda

Also on Bored Panda