We have all dealt with “mandatory fun” at the office, but one workplace has officially taken the award for the most delusional tradition in corporate history. Imagine starting a new job, grinding for a wage that barely covers your bills, and then being told it’s your turn to drop a cool hundred bucks on donuts for people you barely know. One Reddit user just shared their absolute nightmare of a month, and honestly, the “audacity” meter is currently off the charts.
The Original Poster (OP) started at this office earlier this year and quickly learned about a little thing called “$100 Donut Day.” Apparently, once a month, a “lucky” employee is selected to spend $100 of their own hard-earned cash on a mountain of Dunkin’ for the entire building. The company has been doing this since the dawn of time, but here is the kicker: it started with the owner buying them for everyone. Somewhere along the line, the boss decided to stop being a leader and start being a b!tch by offloading the bill onto the staff.
This month, the OP was the chosen one. There is just one tiny problem: the OP gets paid a sh!t amount of money. In fact, $100 is more than they make in an entire day of work. Between feeding a family and paying bills, dropping a day’s worth of pay on fried dough was simply not an option. When the OP sat the boss down to explain the situation, the boss didn’t offer to cover it or cancel the day. Instead, he got petty, told the OP to “get out,” and let the entire tradition crumble just so he could blame the new kid.
When Donut Day finally rolled around on the 15th, the breakroom was empty, and the office went into a total meltdown. Instead of the boss stepping up like a grown-up, he has spent every day since pointing the finger at the OP. Now, the entire office is acting like the OP k!lled the company mascot. They are being ignored, insulted, and told it is their “duty” to make sacrifices for the team. Since when is “buying snacks for people who make more than you” part of a job description?
The drama reached a fever pitch when the boss made a cryptic threat about the OP’s upcoming paycheck. Because this workplace sounds like a legal nightmare waiting to happen, the OP fired back and told the boss that if he touched their payrate or docked their check, they would be suing. Now, the coworkers are clutching their pearls, claiming the OP is the ahole for “escalating” the situation and telling them to just “suffer through it.”
Let’s be real for a second: “suffering through it” should never involve giving up your electricity money so Karen in accounting can have a Boston Cream. This isn’t a “team-building” exercise; it is a shakedown. If a company wants a tradition, the company should pay for it. Expecting an employee who makes a sh!tty hourly wage to fund a $100 party is a level of entitlement that makes our heads spin.
The OP is wondering if they are the ahole for threatening to sue or for not warning the coworkers first. But honestly? They did exactly what they were supposed to do. They talked to the boss, set a boundary, and protected their income. The fact that the coworkers are siding with a boss who threatens paychecks tells you everything you need to know about the toxic culture in that building.
The coworkers are acting like the OP is the villain of a holiday movie, but the real villain is the boss who let a “tradition” die rather than reaching into his own pocket for $100. He is using peer pressure to bully a low-wage worker into a financial hole, and that is some serious b!tch behavior. If the coworkers want donuts so bad, they are more than welcome to start a GoFundMe or, you know, buy their own breakfast.
We have all worked with “team players” who think being part of a team means letting yourself be walked all over. But a real “team” doesn’t demand that a parent with bills to pay chooses between their child’s dinner and Dunkin’ Donuts. The OP isn’t “breaking” a tradition; they are exposing a system that relies on exploitation for the sake of a “fun” office vibe.
The threat to sue was 100% justified. If a boss even hints at messing with your legally earned wages over a donut dispute, you don’t “back down”—you call a lawyer. The coworkers telling the OP to “suffer through it” are probably the same ones who would complain if the coffee ran out for five minutes. They are prioritizing a sugar high over their colleague’s livelihood.
So, is the OP the ahole? Absolutely not. NTA. They are a hero for standing up to a petty boss and a room full of entitled coworkers. We hope they find a new job soon where “tradition” doesn’t involve a mandatory $100 entry fee. And to the boss: buy the damn donuts yourself next time.
What would you do if your office tried to force you to spend a day’s wages on snacks? Is this “team spirit” or is it a total bullsh!t power move? Let us know in the comments if you’d stay and fight or if you’d be walking out the door with your $100 still in your pocket!