<p>OK, Short form of this question: Whose responsible for throwing a retirement party, the retiree’s boss or the co-workers?</p>
<p>Long form:
I am the assistant to the head of our department. We have about 45 employees, scattered between 6 locations. There are about 12 employees at my location. My boss has worked in this position for 25 years, I’ve been there 5 years. </p>
<p>There is a woman retiring next month who has worked here for 35 years. She’s 70+ years old and been out for almost a year on medical leave (chronic condition, not a terminal illness). Everyone keeps asking my boss what we’re doing for her retirement, and my boss keeps saying, “I don’t know” and telling me it’s up to the co-workers to throw the party.</p>
<p>I’ll be honest - I do not like Retiree. Many people don’t. She is petty and vindictive, and firmly stuck in the past. She has mercilessly picked on one employee since before I began working there. BUT… when someone has worked for a company for 35 years, I think their retirement should be honored. (Hey, lets face it, a lot of us find her leaving a cause for celebration!)</p>
<p>I told my boss last week that I thought someone should throw a party and I thought it should be her, because she’s Retirees boss. She just doesn’t want to put in the effort to do it.</p>
<p>I think you should ask your co-workers if anyone has any interest in throwing this person a party. Unfortunately, with the party comes the obligation of speeches, gifts, and so forth. It might be the case that no one cares to do it for her.</p>
<p>Storebought cake, punch, sandwich platter - lunch retirement party. have everyone chip in $10 for a gift certificate to a spa. Probably you should go ahead and get the ball rolling…</p>
<p>It probably depends on the company’s culture and size, and the honoree. My company, 125+ year old publicly held…Human Resources arranges a ‘tea’ for them…sometimes it is to honor a couple of people at one time, but usually one. The tea has simple cheese trays, fruit, cookies, beverages, and someone usually gets up an tells good stories and says nice things. The company pays for this. Everyone gets one - I guess they can opt out if they want, but I’ve never seen it happen. For your situation, this sounds “palatable”, and not too expensive as a ‘chip in’ deal, since your company must not fund these. And it probably should be the retiree’s boss that coordinates this…shame on them for not stepping up.</p>
<p>For the upper level execs - I think someone asks them if they want a bigger shin dig. A group invite is sent, and we pay to attend these. I don’t think the company arranges them.</p>
<p>My father in law is retiring from 48 years of being an active police officer…my mother in law is arranging his, I am having it in my home for them! It will be paid for by them, and will only include the people he wants there.</p>
<p>In my company (non-profit health care company), it’s the company that holds the retirement party – and believe me, they don’t usually pay for much.</p>
<p>Well, we actually work for the local government. Zero funding for retirement parties. And our staff works during the traditional “lunch” hour, so it will have to be at night - unless its a Saturday lunch, which is a possiblilty…</p>
<p>Our managers make reservations for a lunch at a local restaurant and everyone pays for their own. The manager pays for the lunch of the retiree and we have a collections of cash to pay for a retirement gift. It is voluntary and no one is required to attend or contribute.</p>
<p>“and has been out for almost a year on medical leave”
I don’t mean to sound like a ***** here, but if she has been GONE for a year,and hasn’t seen any of the people she used to work with, what’s the point of having a party? Why not just ask for small contributions for a nice tasteful retirement present and card [from all who would like to contribute], and have the Boss deliver it?</p>
<p>^^^ I’d be up for that, but after 35 years I feel like we should make some sort of effort. </p>
<p>I don’t want to be the one in charge of choosing a gift… this woman will actually complain if you give her something she doesn’t like/want/need. I think she’ll end up getting cash.</p>
<p>Sounds like the type of person who will complain no matter what you do or what you get, so just let it roll off you. Doing anything at all is a gift, and she would be very gracious to acknowledge that. If she doesn’t, it reflects on her, not you.</p>
<p>After an absence of 1 year, I personally think a gift is all that could/ should be expected. If she was just now leaving work after 35 years, then yes, a party would be in order. But she has been gone from work a long time already. I’ll bet if you give the people at work the choice between planning and making the party happen[ not just going to a party], or contributing to a small gift, they will choose the latter. ymmv</p>
<p>I think retirement parties are an anachronism. Do they really exist any more? Most people loose their job through some kind of layoff; either they are downsized or the firm is acquired or goes bankrupt or their job is eliminated. If someone somehow manages to avoid all those hazards in the minefield of life, well, good for them! Let them throw their own #### party!</p>
<p>I got a nice letter from the company president thanking me for my 10 years of service. I was surprised and genuinely touched (ok, so his secretary kept a calendar) and 3 months later my boss told me our department was eliminated and nobody threw us a party.</p>
<p>Keep it simple. I agree with idea in Post #3. Take up a collection and do simple sandwich platter or have people bring dishes from home. Certainly everyone eats lunch?? Alternately, you could just do cake in the afternoon. You’ll have the best turnout by keeping it in the workplace & least hassle. (Maybe if you’re willing to organize, boss will be willing to pay.)</p>
<p>Our managers make reservations for a lunch at a local restaurant and everyone pays for their own. The manager pays for the lunch of the retiree and we have a collections of cash to pay for a retirement gift. It is voluntary and no one is required to attend or contribute.</p>
<p>This is what many companies do…unless the employee was some bigwig or beloved co-worker.</p>
<p>Take the high road. Collect $10 or $20 from everyone, buy a cake and give her a card and cash or a Visa giftcard. After 35 years with the company, it would be awful to not acknowledge her at all. And this goes no matter how much people like/dislike her etc.</p>
<p>This topic hits a nerve with me. I have worked in too many places where such things such as going away parties/birthdays/baby showers were given on a “popularity” basis. One person who has friends in the “social” group winds up with a big bash while another person (sometimes even the nicest person) ends up ignored because no one stepped up. I will admit that even though I have always been well liked by co-workers and have always gone out of my way to be friendly and helpful, I was the one forgotten in one case and ignored in another (coworkers were jealous that I was leaving a bad work situation). Very tacky.</p>
<p>The problem with lunch is… Lunch is our job. I work for the food service director in our public schools. The staff I’m referring to are cafeteria workers. We could do something after school, at night or on a Saturday. </p>
<p>My real question isn’t what should we do? It’s WHO should be responsible for organizing it? I think that when you’ve been someone’s direct boss and worked in the same place with them for 20 years, you should organize the party. My boss keeps saying to let the co-workers do it, but I’m convinced she’s just too lazy to do it herself. </p>
<p>Any collection would be however much money everyone wants to give, and I expect it would be more like $3 - $5 dollars per person. Cafeteria staff aren’t paid very well.</p>
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<p>I would agree with this, but this Retiree is NOT the nicest person. In fact, she acted like she was the Queen Bee and this was junior high. Retiree was known to do things like bringing in a tray of snacks that was just ONE too few for the number of women in the dept and labeling them “for good girls.” On another woman’s first day of work, Retiree told her, “That’s Janice. We don’t like her. If you speak become friends with her, we won’t speak to you.” The best was when she sent in her Christmas card this year, she wrote “To all my “friends” in the cafe,” and yes she put QUOTE marks around the word friends. In her retirement letter she wrote, “I will miss some of the people I worked with.” </p>
<p>Actually, WHY am I worrying about whether this woman gets a retirement party??? I guess its just because I don’t want the rest of the staff to feel they aren’t valued, that someone can work there for 35 years and there won’t be any formal acknowledgement that they left.</p>
<p>I can certainly see why you don’t want to do this and I agree that the boss should do it, but it doesn’t sound as if that will happen. Still if I was in your shoes I would take up the collection and buy a cake.</p>
<p>Lafalum, you are nice for wanting to do a socially appropriate thing, however, from what you have said, it doesn’t sound like you really need to make a party. I would not want to ask people to come after work or on the weekend for someone they did not necessarily like. You are right that cafeteria workers should not be asked to chip in a large amount of money, either. If you feel that something must be done, a card, a small gift, and a cake just before everyone leaves for the day might not be too onerous. The cake doesn’t even have to be store bought. </p>
<p>I understand people’s feelings about some getting big send offs etc., and others not so much. This happened in places where I worked as well. One friend of mine was very hurt when few people came to her send off (not a retirement by any means.) I thought a lot it was the luck of who arranged the party, where it was etc. I felt bad for my friend, because I helped to arrange it as she had asked us to do, and her “friends” didn’t come in force. One old friend of mine got a baby shower of gifts which was amazing at her workplace. She worked with almost all professional men, and some wives must have been behind all of it from how it turned out. </p>
<p>I generally never minded chipping in a small amount for someone’s shindig, but in big companies like those where I worked, it could become too much for some people. I have to say that I once refused for someone who I found intolerable, despite the fact that I generally find it a socially appropriate thing to do.</p>
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I think retirement parties are an anachronism. Do they really exist any more?
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<p>They better still exist!! In June 2011, I will be retiring from a job I’ve been doing for more than 30 years and I will be having a retirement party…where I am…the coworkers plan the event.</p>