COMP NEWS – A strange story has surfaced on social media, where a woman is alleging that her employer gave her a potato as a Christmas bonus – then taxed her for it on her next paycheck.

There once was a time when a holiday bonus was a cause for celebration and merriment. The year-end incentive was meant as a reward for an employee’s hard work and almost always meant one thing: more money. Not a potato. But, it appears times are changing, and workers aren’t thrilled.

In a recent viral TikTok that comically concludes with “this is my Charlie Brown villain origin story,” a frustrated hospital employee reveals, “a potato bar is our Christmas bonus,” and to add insult to injury: the hospital potato is taxed. “They said it has a fifteen-dollar value.” And it’s coming out of their next paycheck.

With the tune of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” as the soundtrack, TraceyH (@tracey415) humorously shares the worker’s frustrating plight, which was originally posted to X by AmandaJ (@amandajpanda) and has racked up nearly 1 million views since it was shared to TikTok. The post inspired a raucous response among commenters who rallied against dwindling holiday bonuses, diminished employee compensation, and corporate greed.

Tracey’s story has not been independently corroborated yet, but her frustrations mirror many other reported stories about the vast discrepancy between employee salaries and their employer’s revenues.

Tracey’s video draws attention to the massive gulf between employee and executive compensation packages, with a recent article concluding it would take the typical employee two lifetimes to make their employer’s annual pay.

The New York Times writes that one of the earliest mentions of the holiday cash bonus in corporate America dates back to Woolworths handing over $5 cash to its workers, and an extra $5 for every year that they worked for the company with a maximum of $25 for workers. The outlet stated that the bonuses were predominantly a way for the business to offer competitive wages for its workers, but also as a way for Woolworths to hopefully curb any attempts at workers striking. Plus, as the Times writes, it “was probably also a cheaper way to pay overtime.”

Cash bonuses were once the tradition, one that appears to be falling out of style. However, there are some meaningful alternatives. Instead of cash, there are other effective ways a workplace can show their employees appreciation this holiday season (that don’t involve potatoes).

To read more about this strange story of the woman and her potato, click here.

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