Local Business Mimics Back-to-School Pics With Employees
by Ben BeEssen
We’ve all been inundated with back-to-school pictures on social media the past couple weeks. It’s neat to see kids holding signs or pieces of paper showing everyone what grade they’re entering, and it’s neat to see how the kids have grown over the years. Many younger kids are excited about the pictures, but it seems a lot of older kids aren’t so excited. Some moms (we know dads aren’t involved) go all out with nice signs, and some go with simple pieces of paper.
Munder Difflin, a Valley office supplies business, has decided to have a little fun and mimic the popular back-to-school pictures with work anniversary pictures. Munder Difflin has been a staple in The Valley for about 40 years, and they employ about 25 employees. Many office supplies businesses have shuttered over the past 10-15 years because of Amazon and other large stores, but Munder Difflin has hung in there. They take pride in their customer service, and they go above and beyond for their customers.
Manager Scott Michaels said, “I see all these back-to-school pics every year on Facebook, and I thought we could do something like that to have a little fun at Munder Difflin. Work anniversaries was the logical choice, so we started taking work anniversary pics for our employees. Some employees like it, and some think it’s stupid. But, I like it, so we’re going to keep doing it.”
I was able to talk with multiple employees, and I got mixed feelings about the work anniversary pictures. One employee said, “I love the work anniversary pics! I’ve been here for 12 years and 10 months, and I can’t wait for my 13 years pic. Scott will post it on our Facebook page, and I’ll share it so all my friends and family can see. My kids and husband think it’s lame, but I don’t care!”
Another employee said, “These anniversary pics are so stupid. I hate them. I might quit if Scott makes me do it again. It’s just another one of Scott’s ridiculous ideas. It’s just so silly and not serious, and it doesn’t help us do our job. I really hope Scott stops them sooner than later.”
It will interesting to see if any other businesses start work anniversary pictures for their employees as well. I have a feeling Munder Difflin is a one off and not many businesses will follow suit. You can follow Munder Difflin on Facebook and MySpace to see their employees’ photos.