15+ People share the worst holiday gifts they ever received from an employer

Ah, the holiday season — a time of year best spent with loved ones over amazing meals and through the sharing of thoughtful gifts. Holiday daydreams often take you to a place beside a roaring fire, wrapped in a thick woolen blanket — its surprising weight offering a welcome embracing comfort. A warm beverage of choice in hand or in arm's reach (Irish hot chocolate for me, please) completes the mood.

It should be no surprise to any of us that these holiday ideals, moods, and traditions just don't meld well with workplaces. Workplaces are generally stark, cold, hard, and uncomfortable; plus, time at work is often the very thing preventing you from spending more time with aforementioned loved ones. This, coupled with the fact that a lack of financial security can be and is the biggest constraint to many families' ability to enjoy the holidays to their fullest.

Maybe this is why the tradition of receiving holiday gifts from one's workplace came into being: Some small attempt to bridge the gap between the personal and working worlds. These can come in a wild variety of shapes and methods of delivery — and there's always something to be said for trying — but there's a reason why the idea of a bad holiday gift from an employer has become ingrained in pop culture.

Keep reading for this collection of the worst gifts people received from their employees. For more, check out this worker who found a new job after a bad Christmas bonus. 

'Must be Jimmy Choo or Louboutin ONLY': Entitled choosing beggar makes wish list while she waits for her first paycheck

The line between entitled Karens and satire is so thin these days. This thread was reposted to Reddit's r/ChoosingBeggars subreddit by u/VillainNotHeroes, and let's just say that regardless of whether or not this is rage bait, we live in a culture now where this materialistic impulse could also very well be the thought process of a crazy entitled person.

 

This woman posted a wish list to social media that included items she "needed" so she could get by before receiving her first paycheck for her new job. The fact that the top item on this list of essentials is a designer bag but the fourth one is toilet paper says a lot about where we're at now. Not to mention the jar of mayo she needed for her son's eczema being item number seven. Her son should not have to suffer just because she sucks!

 

Keep scrolling to take a look for yourself. For more, check out this post about another Karen and her daughter's request for a swimming pool.

'Nothing better than hour long soggy macaroni, it was like glue': 20+ Family members who majorly ruined meals with their terrible cooking habits

There are few joys in life, like spending time with your family, but perhaps the exception is cooking with your family members. The kitchen can get way too crowded, even with just one extra person poking around. As one Redditor, u/RioA, posted on the r/Cooking subreddit, they were dealing with their mom rushing a chicken dish, and turning up the heat to get it to cook faster. 

Once you're done rolling your eyes at that line of logic, you'll see that the poster asked if anyone else could commiserate, and yes, yes, the commenters certainly could relate to that. People spilled the tea about family members over-spicing food, leaving perishables out too long, and even straight-up sabotaging a nice dinner. There were so many people who typed out a story of their own that this is clearly a common experience. 

Keep scrolling to check out these well-meaning fams who really tried to help in the kitchen and failed miserably. Then, click here to read about these chia fans who are planning to coat as many surfaces as they can in chia seeds. 

'I really just want to see the entire concept of AirBnbs in flames': Shady Airbnb host overcharges and leaves nasty review of guests

On the latest episode of Airbnb Horror Story...another host charged a ridiculous $300 cleaning fee and yet still expected their place to be flawlessly clean when the guests left. Now you may be wondering: isn't the whole point of charging a nightly cleaning fee so guests don't have to clean up after themselves (within reason, of course)? Well, that should be the purpose, but really it's all just another scam.

 

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/LandlordLove subreddit by u/milk-sandwich, and at a certain point, Airbnb hosts are starting to seem more like landlords than anything else. If there's a cleaning fee and especially one that steep, you might as well just get a hotel where housekeeping is included and you don't have to clean up after yourselves when you leave. According to folks in the comments, it's pretty clear that the days of "good experiences with your Airbnb hosts" are long gone (did they ever really exist, though?). For more stories like this, check out this one about an illegal Airbnb ring.

 

Thumbnail background photo attribution: Roberto Nickson

'Guess I'll find a sitter': Manager passive aggressively tries to coerce worker into coming into work on their day off

The great part about being a manager of a retail location or restaurant is that you get paid a little bit more than the miserable wages of your subordinates. The not-so-great part about being a manager of a retail location or restaurant is that a little bit more still probably isn't a whole lot, and certainly isn't enough for all the bullshit you have to deal with.

'She definitely made our day 'unforgettable' in the worst possible way': Photographer allegedly refuses to deliver wedding photos with 'lighting issues' to bride

One distraught bride has taken to social media to ask for help getting back photos from one of the most special days of her life — her wedding. As she shared in a social media post, this bride alleges that her photographer is simply not giving her the photos from the ceremony. While the bride mentions that she has about 100 photos from other portions of the wedding, the actual ceremony itself is missing. 

The photographer is quite beholden to her contract. Instead of trying to smooth things over and make it right, she keeps citing the contract, claiming harassment, and mentioning moving the proceedings to small claims courts. Maybe the photographer is new to the wedding photo game, but as many people in the comments pointed out: It would have helped a lot if the photographer was just honest about what happened and tried very hard to salvage the remaining photos for this couple's wedding. 

Why would the photographer be clinging so tightly to the photos? Well, some people suggested that the SD card in the camera became corrupted, leading to deleted photos. Otherwise, what could possibly be so wrong with them? Now, the whole internet is dying to see this bride's photos…I really hope she gets them! She is truly so patient in a situation that is pretty hostile toward her, as the paying customer. Since the iPhone photos she posted are a bit hard to read, we have transcribed them in the description below each photo. 

Up next, check out this story of a man who texted every one of his exes…on Christmas Day. 

'A customer called in and complained': Lazy restaurant managers refuse to help teen workers with lunch rush, get customer complaints

Being appointed as a leader generally means that you should be doing at least a little bit of leading: sitting on your cell phone while your teenaged workers suffer the onslaught of a rush is not that. 

It's a sure sign that someone shouldn't have been appointed to the leadership position they are in and is instead a living, breathing example of the "Peter principle." Other times the issue is worse still, and the person's appointment to their leadership role isn't due to any previous performance but rather due to the organization selecting its leaders based on untraditional leadership qualities: obedience, bootlicking, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope — and nice red uniforms. (I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition!) 

Yes, it's unfortunate but true; often, those who shouldn't be leaders curry favor from those who are leaders but shouldn't have been. The ensuing ouroboros of fatuous leadership is enough to consume many an organization.

It probably goes without saying that these restaurant managers fall somewhere in the two discussed categories, and their behavior, unfortunately, isn't all that uncommon in some industries, as demonstrated by the number of people in the comments who shared their relatable experiences. Luckily, an ill-given directive set up the chance for some expert malicious compliance, which resulted in some tangible customer complaints about the manager's behavior. 

Keep reading for screenshots of this story, as it was originally posted on Reddit's r/maliciouscompliance subreddit. For more, check out this worker who expertly exploited a stupid belt loop hole loophole. 

'Congratulations! You have won the Humbug award!': Ridiculous Karen gets enraged at neighbor for not putting up Christmas lights

Leave me alone, Karen! Welcome to another neighborhood in which a Karen resides and will not rest until she gets exactly what she wants. This entitled Karen insisted that her neighbor put up Christmas lights and accused them of being a Grinch until they complied.

 

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/F***YouKaren subreddit by u/hotshots724, who shared this letter to the Internet's ever thriving anti-Karen community. First of all, it's worth acknowledging that we have well over a week until Christmas. Next, let's recognize that not everyone celebrates the same dang holidays as Karen. The good news is there are several folks in the comments section who shared a wide range of revenge ideas for the Redditor, from putting up Halloween decorations to buying a Grinch statue to building a "giant Krampus." Keep scrolling to see what else people had to say. For more Karen anecdotes, check out this one about another entitled one on a train.