Workplace Challenges
Gift-giving anxietyAs the holiday season approaches, gift-giving anxiety mounts. Working in a large firm multiplies the issue: One must decide who gets a present, what to buy, how much to spend and if the gift carries even a hint of impropriety. |
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 [ 2007-11-14 ] |
(Comstock)
According to an un-scientific Time Inc. Giftscriptions survey, 31% of people are throwing away their co-workers' presents.
Setting up a "Secret Santa" gift exchange between randomly selected officemates doesn't necessarily help: 41% of respondents still bought additional presents for co-workers, and more than half report disliking the gifts they received.
Instead, keep gifts small, inexpensive and personalized, said Leah Ingram, an etiquette and gift-giving consultant. Stay away from presents that are overtly sexual or could be misconstrued, such as a male supervisor giving a female employee a spa gift certificate.
And when feeling pressed to churn out treats for a large number of co-workers involved in a project, from assistants to managers, "there is nothing wrong with baking cookies ... packaging it up and giving it to everyone," Ingram said.
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