Comments on: The Real Reasons You Can’t Force Your Employees to Buy Donuts

By: Sally Mason

Sally Mason — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 13:48:02 +0000

I used to work at a very small company (4-10 employees) where one of the employees (not the owner/manager) liked to plan a potluck Thanksgiving lunch, but this was inconvenient for me. I almost always took a bus to the office, and I would have had to drive my car (which I shared with my spouse) to carry my lunch contribution. Some of the other employees reported that they did not want to have a Thanksgiving lunch at work, because they had enough to do making preparations at home for their own celebration. So, we, in effect, refused to participate in this work-Thanksgiving. The owner took us all out for a Christmas dinner or lunch each year.
I believe that I was the only employee who did not drive to work.

By: Sara

Sara — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 04:00:30 +0000

I have celiac disease and couldn’t even eat the donuts. This is crazy! The office mgr used to lean on people at a previous job to chip in for the boss’Christmas present. Luckily I read Suzanne’s blog!

By: James

James — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 20:02:26 +0000

This sounds like Cargo Cult management. Successful, happy teams composed of people who like each other and work well together tend to have these sorts of things–doughnuts or cookouts or whatnot. If we have those things, we will therefore have a successful, happy team and everyone will like each other and work well together! It’s inverting cause and effect. The doughnuts are the effect of a happy team, not the cause.

By: Clara

Clara — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 19:02:10 +0000

What a terrible idea. I mean, not the donuts because donuts are always a good idea. But $100 worth, out of pocket? I wouldn’t have been able to do that as an intern, or even in the first several years of permanent employment after college. My money was all tied up in things like rent, and later a mortgage and a car payment and utilities, which took up almost all of my paycheck at that point. Back then, $25 for a meal out was an extravagance.

Even something like a donut fund jar would be a better idea than this. If everyone contributes what they’re comfortable with, and employees take turns picking them up on donut day using the funds from the jar, that would make it much more equitable.

The employee making $10/hour might be okay with chipping in $5/month, even if he can’t spring for $100 worth of donuts at once. And those who can’t/won’t eat donuts for whatever reason shouldn’t be obligated to chip in.

By: MariaRose

MariaRose — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 18:51:58 +0000

When I first saw the headlineof this article I was under the impression, that the pickup, not the paying of the cost was a rotating job, but after reading it, I understood. First of all, this appears to be a company decision to have a monthly donut day, I guess as means of giving joy to the workers. Plus when it started, donuts were much cheaper. I think someone forgot that, but still has the urge for donuts. Times have changed and this company needs to make a change.

By: Kelley

Kelley — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 17:34:09 +0000

Oh boy. Kathy – FYI, drive time from a work location to another work location should be compensable. And I might just ask your local state department of labor about that sneaky bit. As for the forced donuts – Holy Cow. Whenever I bought treats for the office I expensed them, no questions asked. To force a low level, low paid employee to fork out $100 is definitely not right. The company should grow up and just buy the treats, and as others said, vary what they’re offering!

By: Kathy

Kathy — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 16:02:30 +0000

As a person with multiple food allergies (wheat, eggs, and milk among them) I detest these ‘forced’ food events. The company I formerly worked for had monthly potlucks just before the mandatory company wide meeting and the pressure to participate was unpleasant. Not only that but the meeting was held at a location 1 hour away from my usual work place. To attend, I had to close up the office I usually worked at and drive over. They informed me that I could not put the drive time on my timecards after one boss had told me I could. They changed my timecard, then laid me off, then demanded at the ‘exit interview’ that I sign the changed time card. I did it but it left a very bad taste in my mouth and since then I have not felt good about this local ‘family friendly’ nonprofit company. I had worked there for 11 years, but the management changes over the last year made this a horrible place to work.

By: Nanc

Nanc — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 15:50:27 +0000

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest that boss’s armpits!
I buy donuts for my office every year on National Donut Day but that’s my choice! I don’t know where I’m going to get them next year as my beloved Puck’s Donuts burned down in the Almeda fire last month and I don’t know if they’ll rebuild.
But, wow, just wow!

By: grannybunny

grannybunny — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 11:41:22 +0000

$100 worth of donuts is a lot of donuts. This company is large enough to have money in its budget to finance the donuts, if it’s that important. I love donuts, and will — gladly — help myself to one if someone leaves a bunch in the break room. But, I rarely buy them on my own. Like most Americans, I could stand to lose some weight and to eat a healthier diet. Furthermore, there are some — diabetics, for example — who are medically-restricted from enjoying donuts. A healthier option — if management deems that free snacks should be available — might be fresh fruit.