Boss's Day (also written Bosses Day or Boss' Day) is generally observed on October 16 in the United States. It has been pitched as a day for employees to thank their
bosses for being kind and fair throughout the year. It has been described as a
Hallmark Holiday
In the United States (and elsewhere), a Hallmark holiday is a holiday that is perceived to exist primarily for commercial purposes rather than to commemorate a traditionally or historically significant event.
Background
The name comes from Hallma ...
and has been criticized as being unnecessary and meaningless, while pressuring to employees due to the
power dynamic that exists in workplaces.
History
Patricia Bays Haroski registered "National Boss' Day" with the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1958. She was working as a secretary for
State Farm
State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property and casualty insurance, property, casualty and auto i ...
Insurance Company in
Deerfield, Illinois
Deerfield is a village in Lake County, Illinois, Lake and Cook County, Illinois, Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A northern Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago, Deerfield is located on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore, ...
for her father at the time and chose October 16, which was her father's birthday.
The purpose was to show the appreciation for her bosses she thought they deserved. This was also a strategy to attempt to improve intra-office relationships between managers and their employees. Haroski believed young employees sometimes did not understand the hard work and dedication that their supervisors put into their work and the challenges they faced. Four years later, in 1962, Illinois Governor
Otto Kerner backed Haroski's registration and officially proclaimed the day.
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a Privately held company, privately held, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United ...
did not offer a Boss' Day card for sale until 1979. It increased the size of its National Boss' Day line by 28 percent in 2007.
Criticism
Alison Green in ''
U.S. News'' criticized it, saying "Traditional
etiquette
Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...
says quite clearly that any gift-giving in the workplace should be from a boss to an employee and not the other way around. The idea is that people shouldn't feel obligated to purchase gifts for someone who has
power over their livelihood, and managers shouldn't benefit from the power dynamic in that way."
The Society for Human Resource Management suggests having HR handle appreciation for supervisors may be more appropriate in large companies.
See also
*
Labor relations
Labour relations in practice is a subarea within human resource management, and the main components of it include collective bargaining, application and oversight of collective agreement obligations, and dispute resolution. Academically, employe ...
*
Industrial relations
Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade
unions, employer organ ...
References
Sources
* Sasoon, R (2009). Going Through the Miles to Become a Boss. NY, New York. Crossroads Press.
October observances
International observances
1958 establishments in Illinois
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