If my company can pay holiday bonuses (a move instituted this year to fight the Great Resignation), Disney should be ashamed it’s not doing the same. Wanting to satiate shareholders has caused this company to become a horrible employer. Living in Orlando, I can’t even tell you how many professionals I’ve met who were former employees that say their overall experience with the company was quite unpleasant.
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Chapek and D'Amaro continue the tradition of no bonus or Christmas gift for Disney's Cast Members
- Thread starter ptaylor
- Start date
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
As a nurse my wife would get a 10 lb turkey from the hospital. When she worked ER the 4 ER doctors who worked ER gave the ER nurses a small gift, I never got a Xmas bonus all my years working
Robbiem
Well-Known Member
Are Christmas bonuses is an American thing? Here in the UK its not something I’ve heard of. American shows and movies always show bonuses and big parties at Christmas
the reality where I’ve worked is that you might get a few hours off work to have a team christmas meal you would have to pay for yourself and maybe get to leave early on Christmas eve. When I was a civil servant you could ask to be paid earlier in December to get your shopping
in my 20 plus years of working the only bonus I ever got was £50 for working during the London Olympics.
If people do get a bonus fair play to you but its not just Disney who are the scrooges this time of year
the reality where I’ve worked is that you might get a few hours off work to have a team christmas meal you would have to pay for yourself and maybe get to leave early on Christmas eve. When I was a civil servant you could ask to be paid earlier in December to get your shopping
in my 20 plus years of working the only bonus I ever got was £50 for working during the London Olympics.
If people do get a bonus fair play to you but its not just Disney who are the scrooges this time of year
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
so before I answer, let me tell you a little about myself only because I think age and experience makes a difference in expectations. So I'm over 60, just retired and grew up in a different generation, I also always worked for big international fortune 100 companies. I do think smaller companies and small businesses have leeway to act differently . Now onto your question.
Yes I would probably be "alright". see I did not grow up expecting to "like" every aspect of every job, every day that I worked. I have done crappy jobs with crappy hours, forced over time and lousy pay and without whining that the company was evil and taking advantage of me.
I also grew up with the notion that NOTHING was owed to me except what I shook hands on. which usually meant my compensation. I especially did not expect "extra" simply because the company made money. So do this day, if I get a christmas gift from my boss it's very nice. If I don't get a bonus or Christmas gift that is also cool. again I didn't turn around and start crying that the company made a bunch of money and waa waa waaa they didn't give me a bonus. (this is just me)
Months of vacation? I'm in the US and when I retired this year after 33 years I did not have "months" of vacation. The only people I know who get months of vacation are teachers and policemen/women. and civil service employees usually take a long time to accrue that much vacay
again, when I worked entry level/minimum wage jobs NO ONE got vacation. you were never paid for time off. you could talk it but you didn't get paid and sorry a theme park operator is a low skill entry level job.
IMO the issue is this whole "every job" should get great pay/ full benefits etc etc. again flipping burgers is never going to be a high paying job with benefits. loading guest onto rides is not meant to be designed to be a 50K a year job with bonuses. Society puts values on jobs. waitressing will always be on the low end of the pay scale. I waitressed during college, yep forced overtime, crappy hours (including working holidays). the difference is now people expect that because they do it they should be making a nurses salary and be provided the lifestyle they feel they are entitled to.
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matt9112
Well-Known Member
To be fair one could argue working conditions are superior in the uk and Europe more broadly. Sure productively technically takes a hit. Dont you guys get what 21 weeks of holiday? Lol im kidding but seriously outside of posh jobs in America your average 9-5er is lucky to have a week of vacation a year.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
but here's the thing, it used to be a time where that's what happened. You got a crappy job and said to yourself, "oh hell to the naw" and made plans so you were not stuck in the job. "former" employees is the key. and if the company did not change they have huge turnover and great resignations.
Now people don't take any initiative, they talk about how XYZ got promoted but they didn't, how the company made billions of dollars but didn't "give" them any thing extra.
(again just my anecdotal experiences) My first few entry level jobs were Mcdonald's, a Christmas elf at the Macys department store on 34th street in NYC (lol as close to hell as possible while still living) and walmart. every last one were crappy, low paying jobs. all three made me see that I did not want to get stuck doing them any longer than absolutely necessary.
A gym buddy of mine owns several Indian restaurants. Out of the goodness of his heart he directed his nearby location to donate 400 box lunches one day to the hard working hospital staff and attached was also his business cards. The staff were very grateful and his businesses saw an uptick in business.
ImperfectPixie
Well-Known Member
You've obviously had it beaten into your head over the years that companies have no choice but to take advantage of people and treat them as if they're disposable. It's all bull.
ETA: And just because that's the way it's been doesn't mean that's the way it should continue to be.
SSH
Well-Known Member
my experience as well. I got 1 week's vacation for most of my career, working up to 2 weeks after a while with 5 sick days total. And these weren't entry level jobs. Had a 401k and health insurance but you had to work there 1 full year before you could start to participate in either- and 5+ years to get a 3% employee match. No pension. No holiday bonus. And this wasn't an outlier - most jobs were like this.
A family member worked for a govt agency: there was no party unless employees paid for it. No bonus. They weren't even allowed to accept a $1 thank you candy bar. They had to pay for coffee at the office - employees bought a coffee maker and took turns buying coffee. Everything had to be 100% out of pocket - nothing could be paid by taxpayers. (Never understood how politicians/high level leaders always got to splurge on fancy hosting dinners, travel, etc at taxpayer expense, but prohibited front line peons from anything and everything. But I digress.) There were many years of wage freezes or 1% increases at most- and pensions/benefits were cut years before she retired- they're nothing like they used to be. She waited it out until she qualified for retirement - there weren't too many other alternatives.
ImperfectPixie
Well-Known Member
SSH
Well-Known Member
Wasn't laughing at you. Was laughing at the idea that company execs will ever truly buy into this idea - while racing to satisfy stockholders. But no worries...I removed it.
Employees have the upper hand right now. As always, the tide will turn.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
one of my favorite actors Jeffrey Wright lives in Brooklyn. he was dismayed about the small restaurants in the neighborhood struggling during covid so he basically paid them to make meals for front line workers. it caught on and they needed so much food that other restaurants that had closed down opened up to help. Win win. Lots of great employers doing great things.
Ayla
Well-Known Member
The day after I posted here the company Christmas party was canceled, we received an unexpected postcard from the company, telling us to go to a particular website to pick out our choice of gift since the party was canceled. Unexpected and generous, the best kind of Christmas gift.
Liked him as CIA's Felix Leiter in the James Bond movies!
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
Elisa61nyc:
Just think if you looked at your first job at McDonalds as a life career where you would be today. We are close enough in age to have realized those were Not career jobs unlike many today who think it is and expect to be paid the mythical living wage. In my younger years I worked some crappy jobs. Thanks to the GI bill I got a college degree in a marketable field.
mf1972
Well-Known Member
have u seen the latest bond movie? wasn’t bad but the ending just pi**ed me off
Robbiem
Well-Known Member
No matter where you live somewhere else always looks better but Its swings and roundabouts.
Here in the UK I get 5 weeks of paid holiday in my job but I think we get less bank holidays. We have our National Health Service so don’t have to pay for a lot of health costs compared to the US but things like housing, food and fuel are more expensive so wages don’t go as far. College costs are also more expensive and a lot of the scholarships etc stateside don’t exist here. Wages have fallen in real terms a lot since 2008
I can’t complain myself as I work in a good job for the railway. A lot of people here aren’t so well off though working zero hours contracts and relying on food banks to get by. Growing up my father worked 12 hour days, seven days a week for a lot of the year so I know I’m lucky to be in the position I’m in.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
Not at all. it's not an "either/or" propositions. I don't like either extreme. no companies should not ever treat folks badly but neither should employees think that just because they showed up and the company made money that they are entitled to big salaries or bonuses.
It also depends on what you describe as "badly". I've never been a cm but I have said many times that every human being deserves respect on the job. the problem is many people equate salary with good treatment and then blame the company.
I am sorry, anyone who goes into an entry level hospitality job and thinks it's going to be a career is delusional and it's not the companies fault. I am sorry you cannot take a waitress job and stay there for 30 years then get mad because you have to work holidays. Are you kidding? talk about entitlement to the nth degree.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
I have a question to all former or current CM's when you are hired at Disney are you not told your hours? and that it's open on holidays?
I thought I read some where that many positions were union positions, if that is the case does not the union negotiate regular pay, over time pay and holiday pay? it's been a while since I have worked an hourly position so maybe things have change.
I thought I read some where that many positions were union positions, if that is the case does not the union negotiate regular pay, over time pay and holiday pay? it's been a while since I have worked an hourly position so maybe things have change.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
so we have the same concerns and issues. One of the things about the states is that society here puts values on job. A guy working loading the buggy at Haunted Mansion is not going to be compensated the same way as his supervisor or as a fireman.
When I was coming up, jobs like fast food, waitressing, retail cashiers, ride operators at amusement parks, pumping gas, store clerks and hospitality industry were entry level, low paying jobs. MOST folks knew when they took them they were part time or temporary. Actually they were usually taken by young kids either in school and in addition to other jobs.
Cut to these last years where everyone feels they should make a so called "livable" wages no matter what job you have. So the guy pumping your gas now feels he should make 30 bucks an hour like an electrician just because he chose to stay there 15 years. so when they don't we blame the evil company and the greedy shareholders.
Yes it would be nice if everyone who works got a free turkey and a 4% bonus just because the company made money. I don't know if it ever was that way.
Now could Disney have afforded to hand out 50 bucks to all their employees? sure. but it does not mean they are evil because they did not.