Prior to this my current employer, I used to work in a shop. Back in 2006, at the end of that year as I was approaching my almost 4 years of working there, my work colleagues and I were hotly contesting the latest work issue: The upcoming Christmas Party.
I had been to three Christmas parties up until then from the time I'd been there, and it appeared there was to be no more, with rumours rife that management had decided only Managers and Full-Time workers of all their shops were invited to that years party, leaving out the part-time workers and casuals. I was a casual, and almost every person in that shop was too, bar the manager and her assistant. The majority of the company was the casuals, so we considered it to be a major slap in the face.
It turned out to be true, and when we spoke to employees at other stores, they too confirmed the same rumour we'd heard.
Meanwhile, our manager was working on some damage control. She was trying to keep us from revolting against management, while at the same time sweet-talking the area manager into allowing us an invite to the Christmas party. She believed we deserved the exception; we had won two awards over the past two years in our retail industry sector, and our stores sales were on the increase.
Finally, one day when the area manager came to visit us, our manager had her breakthrough. She'd convinced him, and he, in an ashamedly-but-chuffed-that-she-was-flirting-with-him way, said we could come.
We were allowed to go to our Christmas party.
Our manager was rapt. She announced to us all that we should be grateful that he was allowing us, the only casuals out of all the shops, the opportunity to attend. We should thank him, and go to the Christmas party.
I am not a freaking pitiful charity case.
I didn't do or say anything then (because it'd all been said and done between us the casuals previously), but I felt like sticking up my finger to them and telling them to stick it. I should be grateful? Really? For your initial refusal to accept us as important members of your team, for all the shit jobs we do and customer pressure we put up with? For all those Saturdays we go without proper lunch breaks or any breaks because we're understaffed yet snowed under in constant work due to high demand? For choosing to only pay attention to customers complaints and threaten our job dismissal without talking to us first? (oh yeah, that's a whole other story).
I didn't go to the party that year. I actually had a ticket out of it, because I had another engagement, and so that's all I said to my manager. I don't think many of the casuals went, a lot of us had already decided it was a lost cause.
Fast forward to yesterday, October 2011. I am approaching my fourth year here at my current employer. I have been to all three Christmas parties since starting work here. Also, over the last few weeks, there have been rumours that this years Christmas party was going to be held at the company's cafe. The small little cafe, meant to house 400 of the buildings employees, rather than hire out a proper venue like every other year. And, wait for it - the company has this year achieved some of its greatest success to date, in many of their profit sectors.
Yesterday we received an email from one of the top-dogs. He repeated the above: that we had had a magnificent year and achieved success in a variety of their avenues.
HOWEVER
with all of these successes, they had reached some difficult financial times, and as a result, the NETWORK CHRISTMAS PARTY WAS CANCELLED.
We all sat at our computers, mouths gaping as we read the email.
Just letting you know that our company is big. REALLY big.
The last part of the email read that several management heads were not going to accept this, and were so going to organise their own version of a Christmas party for us, with further details to follow in the coming week.
So in other words, they were going to pay out of their own budget or wallets for all of us. That is respectful. The part preceding it was not.
So, pretty much, this massive company that I work at is saying that THEY HAVE NO MONEY. Really, that's what it comes down to. They have enough when they have to 'buy out' people, pay them enormous salaries, anything to attract attention or increase their wealth through huge financial risk.
Yet for those people who come to work every day and make them a success, they have NO MONEY.
That is disappointing. That is sad. That is greedy.
This year we're on top and yet this is how we're treated. We won't be on top every year. What will happen then? They'll take away the coffee machine, start charging us to use the toilets and make us bring in our own milk?
They should be ashamed of themselves.
Most of us in our department are leaning towards a boycott of the whole event, preferring to get together at a bar and have our own little Christmas party.
And as I pondered all this yesterday, I couldn't help but link up all the circumstances, events, people and years to see some interesting connections developing.
I have to wonder whether this is another sign that there is change near. This has given me even more ammunition to achieve my dream. As I write my 11th chapter, drawing ever so closer to the completion of my book, I wonder whether there is something such as a 5 year itch.
Whether you call it an itch, history repeating itself or simply fate, whatever it is, there is no denying, there is something happening in the air......
I just got goosebumps.
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