At the end of a long year, a gesture of appreciation from an employer can go a long way. But for one McDonald's worker, the company's attempt at a "bonus" was so underwhelming it went viral, sparking a wave of online outrage and commiseration.
In a post on Reddit, user u/MMS37 shared a photo of the gift they received from the fast-food giant. "I work for one of the biggest companies in the world. This was my bonus," they wrote.
The so-called bonus package included a flimsy cardboard bag that would allegedly "disintegrate" if wet, a single movie ticket to a cinema in another city, and a few pin-up badges. The post immediately took off, with commenters—including other McDonald's employees—slamming the gift as a tone-deaf and disrespectful gesture.
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"I actually appreciated when my company just stopped doing bonuses altogether," one user, u/ShiftWorth5734, commented. "It’s actually more dignified than this insulting stuff."
The bizarre cardboard bag drew particular scorn. "What’s with this cardboard backpack thing?" asked u/godefroy15. "Unpractical as hell. Wore it a few times, and it’s all crumpled."
Gif of Ronald McDonald losing his hat via Giphy
Many users argued that the gift wasn't a bonus at all, but a thinly veiled attempt at free marketing. "Even calling it branded company merchandise feels generous," wrote u/CategoryKiwi. "They’re trying to make their employees into living advertisements. They should be (separately/additively) paying people to use that garbage."
The post also prompted a bit of nostalgia for a time when things were apparently different. User u/rustys_shackled_ford recalled, "In the '80s, McDonald's used to give every single employee a turkey for Thanksgiving and a ham for Christmas."
A fancy turkey dinnerCanva
The overwhelming response on Reddit made it clear: the so-called bonus was seen not just as cheap, but as a fundamental sign of disrespect from a multi-billion dollar corporation to its frontline workers.
This article originally appeared earlier this year. It has been updated.
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