I don't know if it's just an American thing, because I haven't experienced it myself (Sweden), but all this “have a piece of candy”, “Pizza party” and other bullshit just seems to be a way for employers to tell themselves that they aren't cheap. A lot of the things I've seen here (candy, popcorn and other BS) hurts more than it helps (I would assume) since it's an “effort” made by employers to acknowledge their staff, but by doing so, they simply highlight how little the value their employees.
Inflation is, as always, hurt the people who aren't apart of the rich. Either use whatever money is left on wages instead of pizza's and shit. I know it won't do much difference, but all this nonsense with “employee appreciation” shit is a perfect example where less is more.