The Great Recession has really lowered Americans’ expectations of life at work. Nobody expects two week vacations anymore (and most people are afraid to take it all at once anyway). The era of the expensive Christmas parties thrown by thankful CEOs haven’t been seen since the dot.com era (or Die Hard take your pick.) Individual birthdays that used to warrant funny hats and an office wide lunch at the local family restaurant have been reduced to a melting ice cream cake in the break room that says “Happy March Birthdays.” Even lunch breaks have been turned into feverish gobble fests as workers try to eat a sandwich in their cubicle and get work done.