Blog: Beer Bust - The Sobering Side of Employee Entitlement…
Kathy Rapp6.17.2009
I worked for a tech company in the 90's...and it was awesome. We had a bunch of really bright, creative and fun people running around in shorts and flip flops making things happen. We even had a vending machine that dispersed free cokes (regional note: In Texas we refer to all soft drinks as "cokes", even those living in Pepsi and Dr. Pepper sections of the state. If you say "pop" we know you're not from around these parts.)
Then, a horrible event happened - - the late 90's! Along with the tech bust came massive expense reductions, which included no more free cokes.
You would have thought we'd just asked people to wear suits, closed-toe shoes and take a 50% pay cut given the outrage - - but nope, we'd simply asked them to take their caffeine habits down a notch or pay for their drinks. AND, we only charged 25 cents!!!
It seems the same sense of entitlement is rearing its ugly head once again. But this time, one company is messing with their employee's BEER. Here's the low-down regarding the horror going on at New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, CO.
"There are downsides (to employee ownership). Some workers get sucked into an entitlement mentality," Jordan says, citing a staffer who asked to borrow a company car to go on vacation. (The employee was politely told no.)
The recession has led New Belgium to cut back on some benefits. Annual raises have shrunk from between 7% and 8% to 4%, and limits have been imposed on expensable lunches. And until recently workers were allowed to take a full case of beer home each week. That last cutback was hard to take. "It was a bit of an adjustment," says Orgolini. "It's hard to change what people have gotten used to."
Seriously? You work for an awesome company that gives employees an ownership stake and a free custom bike after a year of employment. After five years, you can go on an all-expense-paid trip to Belgium. And even with the downturn, you STILL get to take home two free six-packs of beer a week!!!
I get that it is tough to change what people come to expect, but don't you wonder if the CEO of New Belgium wants to smack anyone that gives her grief over going from 24 to 12 beers?!! I know that I was not overly sympathetic to our employee's indignation over having to pay 25 cents for their cokes.
You've got to admire a company that lives its values and has perks that represent the foundation of the organization. I kind of hope anyone that has given them grief over the loss of free beer is handed their bicycle helmet and sent peddling!
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