When Greg Giczi retired in February, his company threw him a party.
Giczi had spent 12 years as president and general manager of WNIT-TV, a public television station based in South Bend, Indiana. Public broadcasting isn’t known for lavish budgets, so the party took place at the studio—a “big, open space with dramatic lighting,” Giczi describes. There were appetizers, wine, and beer, as well as heartfelt speeches.
A huge snowstorm hit that night. But that didn’t stop a roomful family, coworkers, and others from coming out to celebrate Giczi; one person traveled over two-and-a-half hours. The board knew Giczi had been eyeing some electronics, so they gave him a “nice” gift card to Best Buy.
“I was very humbled,” says Giczi, heartened by colleagues’ attendance and kind words, “especially on such a miserable weather night.”
“That was significant and especially meaningful to me,” he says.
But these days, such a send-off capping a career lifetime feels increasingly . . . uncommon.
A couple decades ago, a successful career went like this: Join company. Work there. For decades. Announce retirement from the same company. Company throws you a big party. Live happily ever after. A gold watch may even be involved in a tradition that reportedly dates back to the ‘40s.
But when you think about how many similar events have dotted your calendar in recent memory, that story feels more like a fairy tale. (Especially that gold watch part.)
Today, the workplace experience is instead marked by job-hopping, mass layoffs, dragging staff back into offices kicking and screaming, and the employee-employer contract feels more fraught than ever. Not to mention more folks aren’t even retiring in the first place.
Shifting expectations
While there’s no entity that tracks workplace parties and their attendance, other data indicate that the changes in workplace recognition (like retirement parties) are real and complex.
With remote and hybrid work more common, the days of employees toiling together under one roof are largely gone, even with return-to-office mandates. Plus, data from a 2023 HubSpot survey found that a whopping two-thirds of the 5,000 workers surveyed said they feel disconnected from their coworkers. In the hybrid work world, it’s more likely that people may not even know who some of their coworkers even are—let alone who’s retiring, and when. A 2025 study published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior found that people who worked on-site rather than hybrid felt more of a sense of belonging with the people at work.
In addition, attitudes about company gatherings seem to have changed, too.
A 2023 survey by HR software platform Visier found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents have either cut back on company events or stopped going altogether. Additionally, a tolerance for forced fun, especially among Gen Z workers, feels at an all-time low, too: Nearly seven in 10 (69%) would prefer a larger annual bonus to attending a holiday party at all. On top of that, more seniors are choosing to continue work via side gigs, and are retiring later—if at all.
In many ways, the fading grandeur of the retirement party is a strange encapsulation of several threads in the workplace, each one having profoundly changed people’s professional lives in recent years.
Taking an individualized approach
As a result, some companies are more intentional about tailoring that recognition to the employee and the team, rather than some ideal of a company night out at a posh restaurant or country club, a practice which had already been on the decline for decades.
For example, Atlanta-based accounting and advisory firm Smith + Howard is planning to honor a longtime employee with an in-office retirement celebration this quarter. But CEO Sean Taylor says that, while this particular employee loves that kind of gathering, not everyone might. For more introverted folks, getting a cavity filled might sound more fun.
“Not to paint with a general broad brush stroke, but many accountants tend to be a little more reserved,” he says.
So over the years, Taylor says other retirees have opted for less grandiose celebrations in favor of lunch with a few close coworkers, a donation made in their name to a favorite charity, or even just an email recognition that went out to the team.
“We want to honor what they want to, because it’s as much about them and their individual careers,” Taylor says. Knowing your employees and what they prefer is an important part of being a good leader, he adds.
That’s good advice, especially considering how a few years ago, NBC News reported that a Kentucky man with an anxiety disorder won a $450,000 award after fallout from an unwanted birthday celebration his former employer threw for him.
Party on (but watch the cost)
But despite the transformations at work, event planner Lisa Ivler says that retirement parties are very much still “a thing.” She helps companies plan them regularly.
Recently, Ivler planned a send-off for the founder of an architecture firm who spent nearly five decades in his business. The event was held at a luxe, New York City venue, and had a catered dinner, with live entertainment to boot. Images of his life’s work were projected on the walls.
“The entire company, former employees, and family members were invited; it was a wonderful evening that truly captured his legacy,” she says. She says that retirement celebrations still happen—but some organizations’ budgets might not allow for fancy restaurants and expensive gifts, or be as splashy as the NYC event.
Research backs up that notion: A May 2025 PwC survey found that economic volatility has 62% of companies cutting costs, adjusting financial forecasts, and shifting suppliers. Still, she thinks that the intent is the point.
“We really can’t lose these traditions. People spend so much of their lives working,” she says. “Retirement parties are just one way to really honor that individual and the impact that they’ve made.”
Some are still celebrating
Currently, the job market is tight: the present trend is “job hugging,” in which nearly half of U.S. workers are hanging onto their roles for dear life. But generally speaking, job-hopping has become significantly more common in recent years across many industries (though Gallup data from 2024 shows that job tenure hasn’t actually changed that much over the decades).
Either way, there are some sectors that will always love honoring its retirees—like academia, says business etiquette expert Carla Bevins, who teaches business management communication at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.
“Faculty often spend decades at the same institution,” she says. “Retirement celebrations mark that sustained contribution and create a bridge between the past and future of the institution.” Wake Forest University uses its annual celebration of each year’s retirees as a sort of “induction” into the university’s retiree group, says Mary Lucal, the school’s vice president and chief human resources officer. She says the university gets access to “the institutional knowledge [the retirees] carry.” Many even return to the university to work part-time.
That’s a common refrain among retirees these days, regardless of industry.
A 2022 AARP survey found that 57% of older adults who haven’t yet retired plan to delay retirement for financial reasons. Twenty-nine percent of retirees 50 and older already are employed or plan to continue working. More recent data from this year found that 6% of retired people returned to work in the last six months alone.
So, more people are working longer, and some might plan to continue working even after they announce their retirement. And that’s not as easy as it sounds.
Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas says job cuts this year are at their highest level since the pandemic, and up 55% over last year. A small survey from Resume.org estimates that six in 10 companies may lay off employees next year.
Throwing a fancy party when you’re also cutting staff—even in the name of honoring someone’s years of service—may not be a good look.
Companies aren’t the only ones seeing the impact of cost-cutting pressures. In the 2025 Meetings Today Trends survey, meeting and event planners reported their top three challenges as: increasing cost (90%), lower budgets (45%), and declining attendance (31%). Some folks on social media don’t even want to go to their own retirement parties, let alone one for someone else.
It’s all about the message
So, retirement parties aren’t really dead. But they look different than the fancy “roast and toast” soirees that often come to mind at their mention.
Giczi says these events have never been one-size-fits-all. Organizations have always done things according to their own cultures. How they treat retirement is just one facet of that culture.
The point is that doing something to recognize people when they’re leaving sends a message to the entire organization.
“It says, ‘We value you, and we want to acknowledge what you contribute to your organization,’ rather than, ‘Well, thanks. Here’s your final check,’” he says.
And that sends a message to the folks who are still at the company—and how the organization values them.
