What's something your employer did that instantly killed employee morale?

I remember one time when we had a really rough quarter and everyone was pulling overtime just to keep things afloat. The bosses decided to send out a "reward" email, but instead of a bonus or even a genuine thank you, they announced that we were losing our remote work days. They literally told us that the "solution" to our burnout was to sit in the office for an extra 8 hours a week so they could keep a closer eye on us. The mood in the office dropped instantly, and I swear you could hear a pin drop in the breakroom for the rest of the week.

Another time, management pulled that classic move where they throw a tiny, cheap pizza party after denying everyone their yearly cost-of-living raises. It’s honestly insulting when they expect a few slices of cold pepperoni to make up for the fact that your salary isn't keeping up with inflation. It made it super obvious that they were completely out of touch with what we were actually dealing with on a daily basis. Seeing people just grab a slice and immediately walk back to their desks looking annoyed was a huge wake-up call for me regarding how much they value us.