There seems to be a rising trend in Nigerian companies to outdo one another in how big their end of the year party is or how much fanfare they are able to throw. Although these events can be fun and interesting but I also wonder if they throw these events with their staff in mind.
Nothing can be more demoralizing for staff to ask for certain benefits, get turned down by management and then hear that the management is spending more than that in something they consider a waste only for management to turn around and claim they are doing the event for them. (This is part of the problem civil servants face)
I see companies throwing big money parties with budgets of 200-250 million, pay Afrobeats artistes 75-80 million to perform yet said companies are not doing well when it comes to staff welfare. Seems these companies value what people see from outside than those who are putting in the sweat to generate revenue. I mean these budget for the parties are simply ridiculous and worse is that not everyone is invited!
I know for certain some cadre of staff can’t attend, and the fact that the party is location based makes it worse.
Imagine being a staff of a company with branches in 13 states yet the company is throwing a big money end of the year party for “staff” and the location is in Lagos. This has already cancelled those who doesn’t stay in the environment. They will have to watch on TV or social media so what is their gain?
. Some can’t even attend because of religious believe
Personally, I feel some of these companies should listen to their staff and try some compensation. Heck, it won’t be a bad idea if you pay a 13th month salary instead. Pay staff on the 23rd of December then pay again on the 10th of January so the staff can be sure of not having empty pockets in January while they work.
Gone are the days when companies share foodstuff and sometimes live animals to staff in appreciation of their hard work all year round or have an award night. Now, it is about who can call the biggest artiste and pull off the biggest show which is quite unfortunate.
And to some that think since the staff are already paid salaries, the companies owes them nothing more, part of the job of management is to keep the morale of staff high so they can be more dedicated and abandonment kills this. It makes the staff feel worthless and unappreciated.
