In a time when many employees are lucky to get a pizza party and a quick pat on the back, BJ’s Wholesale Club has decided to do something a little more substantial.

The warehouse retailer is giving away more than $25 million in gift cards to over 30,000 hourly employees as part of its 42nd anniversary celebration. Depending on how long they’ve worked for the company, employees are receiving gift cards worth anywhere from $250 to $2,000.

And unlike many corporate reward programs that involve paperwork, nominations, or complicated bonus structures, these gifts arrived as a surprise.

The company organized celebrations at stores and distribution centers around the country, where workers suddenly found themselves receiving gift cards worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

For many employees, that’s the kind of unexpected news that can help with groceries, bills, holiday shopping, or simply making ends meet in an economy where every dollar seems to disappear a little faster than it used to.

BJ’s says the awards are meant to recognize the workers who helped build the company over more than four decades. Executives described the giveaway as the largest employee recognition award in the retailer’s history.

While Costco and Sam’s Club tend to grab most of the headlines in the warehouse-club business, BJ’s has quietly become a heavyweight in its own right. The Massachusetts-based chain opened its first location in 1984 and has grown into a network of hundreds of warehouse clubs and gas stations serving more than 8.5 million members across 22 states.

For shoppers unfamiliar with the chain, BJ’s offers much of what customers expect from a warehouse club: bulk groceries, fresh produce, meat, bakery items, electronics, clothing, household goods, pet supplies, toys, seasonal merchandise, and discounted gasoline.

The company has also been expanding aggressively. Nearly 50 new locations have opened during the last five years, with additional stores already planned as the retailer continues pushing into new markets.

This isn’t the first time BJ’s has rewarded workers. The company previously distributed millions of dollars in bonuses to hourly employees, but this latest giveaway dwarfs those earlier efforts.

In an age when stories about layoffs, store closures, and shrinking benefits seem to dominate the headlines, a company handing out $25 million to front-line workers is a rare feel-good business story.

For thousands of BJ’s employees, the anniversary celebration turned into something far better than cake and balloons.

It turned into a payday.