I work in a small company, there's less than 50 of us here. Higher-ups treat us well with decent end-of-busy-season and Christmas bonuses, plus lunch is provided once every 1-2 months. Having said that, I'm certified in my field (certification is a huge deal in our field) and do a damn good job but I still don't make enough to move out of my parents', the bonuses kind of help but not really.
Today, we were told by someone in another department that everyone needs to fork over $40 each to pay for gifts for the higher-ups. There's 6 of them total so it's really just $8 per person, but I'm upset by this. $40 is more than I make an hour. $40 is a full tank of gas. We were forced to pay up $20 last year so I'm not sure who the hell thought it would be okay to make that huge jump to $40. I really don't want to participate but I've seen last year how good they are about chasing down people that haven't paid up yet.
No one has outwardly expressed disapproval of this so I'm wondering if I'm just stingy and ungrateful. Does anyone else have to do this during the holidays? Is this shit normal? Because my friends and family don't seem to think so but maybe we all just live in a bubble.