Work for free! It will be fun! It’s a chance to learn how the business operates while you pack and ship orders! You’ll get a free lunch!
URBN (they own Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie) was hoping for a good response when they sent an email to their salaried employees asking just that.
Would you give up your time to volunteer to help so your (large) company can meet the demands of a busy month? Many people did, and even salaried employees volunteered, although they were denied the opportunity because that’s against labor rules.
Okay, so volunteering (assuming there was no corporate pressure) to help your company may be a sign of loyalty. If so, why doesn’t such loyalty go both ways? If they need more people to work, even for only a month, and if they can’t find enough part-timers, why not reward the faithful with a monetary bonus? A business that large with the “problem” of having too many orders to fill should have enough in their budget to show respect for their workers.