dkleskiw Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 What does your company do for its employees at work anniversary intervals? For example, at 10 years we get a pocket watch with our name and hire date inscribed in it. Every 5 years after that a small diamond is inserted into the bezel (or maybe the cover, I don't know I'm only at year 6). Some people are working on their 4th and 5th diamond. I ask because the watches that we have always ordered are discontinued and replacement styles are hard to find. I've brought up the idea of changing the gift to something of more use, instead of something that goes into a desk or closet for 364 days a year. So what does your employer do (if anything) and what do you think of that? Thanks for your reply! Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 My boss let's me sleep with his wife. That's better than a watch. The downside is that she gets all my pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 My company does absolutely nothing. The old company I worked for had a catalog of different things you could get for service anniversaries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revoman Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 My company showed me the door after 15yrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Not a paying employer, but our Sheriff's Office awards little gold-and-enamel service pins every five years. I've coming up fast on my third one. They look nice on the lapel and I love lapel bling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfinney Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Nice piece of paper with my name and years of service on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 It seems that service anniversary gifts are going the way of pensions. .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TH3180 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I get a paycheck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leas327 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) I worked for a Company that gave out lapel pins every five years. The longer you were there, the fancier they got. They also included a password to another companies website that specialized in service awards. They had a big catalog of stuff you could go through and pick from. Same deal as the lapel pins, the longer your service, the nicer the gift. I can't remember what the service award company's name was. Edited September 2, 2015 by leas327 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEH Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 The company I worked for let me work another year every time I finished a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeislarge Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I've never had the same job for 5 years consecutively. Can somebody chime in on what thats like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I retired from the local telco here in Albuquerque after 32 years. At 25 years they would give you $150.00 towards a crew party or a family party. I asked my manager to buy me a gift certificate to a local steakhouse. The certificate was presented to me at a crew coffee meeting. Great manager! Jump ahead five years to my 30 year anniversary. I asked my new manager for a gift certificate to the same steakhouse. He said the company would not allow it as I might sell the certificate. WTF! My manager explained that I could take the family to the restaurant and after the meal he would have to come pay the bill. No booze on the company check, anything over $150.00 I would be responsible for and if I didn't spend the $150.00 I would lose the remainder. I asked him where he lived, he told me the far east side of Albuquerque. I then asked him if he knew where the Anchor Inn was. He said no so I told him it was in the far west side of Rio Rancho about 30 miles from his place. I then told him to just come out at 11:00 pm to pay the bill. He asked me if I was serious to which I replied "yeppers"! He then asked what the name of the steakhouse was in Albuquerque. I received the gift certificate I asked for initially. The company fired him shortly thereafter as everybody on the crew hated him and helped his numbers find their way into the toilet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Seems that many companies who still do anything at all are doing the deal where they contract with these outside companies that set up "catalogs" for various anniversaries and give you a code to get get to the catalog matching your tenure. You then log on and see which bit-o-crap you want to commemorate your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind bat Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 My last company provided an extra week of vacation when you hit ten years. I thought that was pretty awesome. I never came close to using all of my vacation time but I really appreciated the gesture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTDMFR Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 At my company, you get a bonus week of vacation at every 5-year interval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkleskiw Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 Thanks for all of the replies. It seems like we are in the minority of giving a (traditional) gift to our employees. Another question: Is it silly? Meaning, are you going to look at your watch/catalog gift and have fond memories of your employer? The thought here is that even tho it's not useful now, it's meant to be a keepsake to remember the appreciation of a company well deserved. I'm trying to find a happy middle ground where our gifts are both keepsakes and useful. Like a nice jacket, at lower years and then maybe this nice watch later in tenure. I don't know, just posing the question. I appreciate the feedback. Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 we used to get a catalog that we could pick from, depending on years of service. Some if it was pretty nice, particularly at 20+ years Then they cut it out completely although they did send you a Lucite cube with the anniversary years on it. Which works fine as a door stop They just started again.. you can get some junk, but nothing you'd want Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRider Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 My company is fairly new in the US, they gave us a gift card at five years. It is basically a Discover card, but is limited to where you can us it. There are about 100 places it can be used including Bass Pro and Cabelas. You can use it to purchase anything except firearms, so you can buy ammo or a gift certificate that can be used to purchase a firearm . I like the system, they also use it to give out awards to the top three safety improvements/ideas/near miss corrections per month. One other thing that the company that I work for did was give commemorative pins out for each phase of construction of our mill, there was one for groundbreaking, construction, equipment erection, commissioning and first coil (I work in a steel mill). The pins are kind of cool, especially if you were there to get one of each. Hurley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpygravy Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Having just past 20 years with the same employer, I'll chime in. I work for a national land conservation non-profit. As such, any recognition is unofficial, fiscally limited and at the supervisor's discretion. Some supervisors choose to recognise their staff, some don't. I have a great supervisor who asked what I'd like for making 20 years. Instead of the normal lunch or drinks, I asked for ice cream and to invite a fellow colleague who also made 20 years a couple of years ago but was unfortunate enough to have one of the non-recognising supervisors. Personally, I'm not big on commemorative stuff so ice cream with a small group of valued colleagues was perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 My employer's HR department would send out a catalog right before each 5th year anniversary. Pick something from the catalog and it would be mailed to your house. Not sharing the catalog with fellow employees was required. Turns out different folks got different catalogs. I got the one that was full of stuff to accessorize the house. Somewhere I still have a corporate barometer, floor lamp and out-dated globe of the world. On my last day before retirement, I planned a lunch with friends from the company. My supervisor advised I needed to cancel that lunch and go to one he organized. Attendees included two folks that were not on speaking terms with me for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Thanks for all of the replies. It seems like we are in the minority of giving a (traditional) gift to our employees. Another question: Is it silly? Meaning, are you going to look at your watch/catalog gift and have fond memories of your employer? The thought here is that even tho it's not useful now, it's meant to be a keepsake to remember the appreciation of a company well deserved. I'm trying to find a happy middle ground where our gifts are both keepsakes and useful. Like a nice jacket, at lower years and then maybe this nice watch later in tenure. I don't know, just posing the question. I appreciate the feedback. Darren It might depend on where folks are in their lives, their personality and the quality and usefulness of the stuff...... When Don Draper and Peggy Olson had their epic "recognition" conversation on Mad Men, and Don yelled "That's what the money is for" he was speaking my language. No -- the money isn't my only motivator. I like the group of people I work with, the team I lead, and the daily challenges my job. But if I'm asked about incentives I might desire, they tend to come down to two categories: Cash and/or time off..... I've got too much stuff as it is..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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