How Some Of The World's Biggest Companies Celebrate Christmas
Aside from getting gifts from friends and family during Christmas, one thing everyone looks forward to is getting surprises from their employers. Admirably, there are some companies that go the extra mile in showing their appreciation to their staff, and we're sharing the most creative and generous gifts and company traditions employees receive and are invited to participate in this Christmas.
AT&T
Telecom company AT&T announced that more than 200,000 of its employees are going to receive a $1,000 bonus this year. The surprise came after President Donald Trump signed The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that promised Americans significant tax cuts that they could benefit from just in time for the holidays.
NASA
While its earth-bound employees get to go home to their families on Christmas, NASA astronauts deployed in space have to send their hugs and kisses to their loved ones via satellite. NASA is perfectly aware of how this can make their dedicated astronauts feel more than just a little homesick, so they were actually given a special long weekend and holiday break where they would be off-duty and could concentrate on simply hanging out and opening gifts. Three NASA astronauts are currently at the International Space Station and all of them brought gifts from home before they departed from earth, while a few more were given by their Russian counterparts upon arriving.
Apple
Apple products aren't cheap. And neither are concert tickets to a Gwen Stefani show. Fortunately, for Apple employees, the monster tech company invited them all to partake in their semi-annual Beer Bash in California to kick off the holidays where the award-winning singer performed upbeat tracks from her holiday album.
Coke
The giant soda company has always been associated with the holidays. People anticipate their new limited edition product designs that signal the coming of Christmas, and for the UK, they got a little more than a cute can of Coke this year. The 2017 Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour saw festively designed Coke vans drive around multiple cities (42 cities are mapped out for this year's tour). Coke employees join in on the fun and cheer by being responsible for handing out free Coke products to onlookers, helping them out with selfies, and even singing a Christmas carol or two during a stop.
LEGO
Even adults like getting toys on Christmas! Especially when it's a limited edition LEGO set like this year's LEGO Store Employee Gift Nutcracker (4002017) set. Note that the LEGO gifts that employees receive are, most often than not, unavailable in official LEGO stores or online. They're especially designed for this special occasion, with LEGO collectors willing to pay as much as $300 for an unopened box.
Photo from Albert Balanza of brickshow.com.
Ford (Ford Global Philippines)
American car company Ford knows that Christmas is more than a time of receiving; it's about giving back to those who we know have significantly less in life. In the Philippines, Ford Global Philippnes gave its employees a chance to strengthen their sense of social responsibility and community by inviting them to visit children at the Bayanihan GK Village, Trece Martirez City. The lucky children were given their own gift baskets that packed goodies, with different sets made suitable for kids of different ages.
Microsoft
Little by little, Microsoft is working towards improving its company culture as well as its employee engagement and empowerment. This year, they started out the festive season by giving all of their staff members an employee version of their CEO Satya Nadella's new book, Hit Refresh. The version of this book is chockfull of Microsoft inside jokes, touching stories, as well as motivational passages for its employees. More than just a book, the gesture was an invitation for all Microsoft employees to work together in bettering the company as a whole.
Photo from Rachel apple of twitter.com/rachelappel
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace isn't a company per se, but we were equally curious about what a Queen, the most famous one of our generation, could possibly give the employees that keep this royal residence running smoothly. It turns out that staff can choose between two tokens, a gift or a book, where the gift token is valued at £28, increasing every year to a maximum of £35. The Queen gives them their tokens in one of the State Apartments after the Head of Staff announces his annual report on their yearly performance.
Cover photos from @theroyalfamily (instagram.com/theroyalfamily) and @the_beltsander (instagram.com/the_beltsander)
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