Christmas parties and bonuses

Probably depends in part on the personality--I enjoy the work of my non-journalism job much more than working as a reporter. But I do think journalism has far, far fewer dull and drudgerous tasks than most other professions, and there's a lot to be said for that.

 

One of the perks of a deadline-intensive job is when you're watching the clock, you're telling it, "slow down!" By definition it makes the workday seem to move faster. How many people in a typical line of work say, "Fuck, it's already xxxx o'clock!" ?

 

When I started at my (non-newspaper) job in May, I was told the year-end bonus was usually a good size. Full amount won't be until next year, but the bonus was still bigger than what I got combined in 18 years at newspapers. Plus a catered lunch in the office. Apparently there's usually a nice dinner at the country club, but that didn't happen this year due to construction. The lunch was Thursday at noon, so I got off early that day and had both Friday and Monday off.
I'm a lucky guy.

 

I can count the number of "traditional" bonuses I've received over the years on one hand. But I was part of the Tribune's employee stock ownership plan for 13 years (not to be confused with the ill-fated plan Sam Zell attempted when he took over the company). The way it worked was that you'd receive a block of stock every February. That was the year-end "bonus," and it could not be sold for as long as you stayed with the company. True, it was risky having so much in company stock, but TribCo made money like crazy during the '90s and the stock usually outperformed the market, often by a wide margin. When the plan ended, you were allowed to move the stock into your 401k and diversify, which I did (thus avoiding the stock's plunge when media companies started to struggle). That money now forms the bulk of my retirement portfolio. Had I received lump-sum traditional bonuses, they probably would have disappeared quickly.

 

Same with me. And for all the hell Zell rightfully received, he did pay (overpay) $34/share for those who still had their funds in company stock. Had he not done that, many people would have seen their retirement wither away, as the stock certainly was on its way to single-digit levels.

 

Dude, I think we worked at the same paper. Our "holiday" party was 10 years ago in January too.

 

Been in the business for 34 Christmases. And I believe every office party at every stop has been held on a Wednesday.

I've either been on vacation or had my day off on every one.

 

It wasn't until someone bothered to ask "How come you and (mothership sports editor) never come to the Christmas party?" that it ever occurred to management that having them on Fridays wasn't good for some of us. This year's was on a Wednesday, good because neither paper has a Thursday edition.

 

I've been in a governmental job since 2013, and I say this multiple times a day.

 

That's because you keep forgetting to reset your watch to the correct time zone when you change countries.

 

Similar situation at my shop. The annual date is etched in stone -- second Thursday of December. Haven't attended one since I joined the company. The first two fell on what was then a regular off day. Then, the off days changed, but I now work the late shift, starting at 6. Everyone else on the desk arrives between 3 and 4:30, so dinner shuts down around 5:30-5:45. They've told me I can come in early for it, but I prefer not to spend any more time in that building than necessary.

 

Our paper's Christmas party this year was a private party at a nice bar and the police ended up getting called because everybody drank way too much and a huge brawl broke out arguing about Trump. Broke a couple of tables. Bar is threatening to sue our business manager for damages unless we pay.