December 6, 2008

Do you have to give coworkers and colleagues a holiday gift this year?

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Or does the crummy economy give you an out?

That depends. A couple recent surveys show that despite the recession we're in, the holiday spirit lingers on in many workplaces.

According to a survey released in November by online payroll service SurePayroll, 60 percent of small businesses plan to throw their employees a holiday bash this year. Another November survey, from staffing firm The Creative Group, found that 80 percent of marketing and advertising execs from 2,000 of the nation's largest firms say that some sort of gift swapping occurs in their office.

My advice: If you work a job where gift swapping among cubicle mates or between managers and subordinates is the norm, don't write it off this year. Scale back if you must; everyone loves a $5 coffee gift certificate or a free movie ticket. Or suggest some sort of Secret Santa or White Elephant gift swap (with a firm price limit) so you only have to procure one gift, or that everyone make a small contribution to charity.

If you're new to the office, ask around to see what the norm was last year. And if you're unemployed or recently hired, don't forget to thank those who've helped you the most with advice and job leads, even if all you do is send a card. Nobody appreciates the ungrateful. 

Finally, remember to keep your gifts appropriate, relevant, and religiously neutral (not all of us celebrate Christmas). For examples of what not to do, the good folks at The Creative Group recently put out a list of the worst holiday gifts received at work. Among the responses:

"Someone gave his assistant a case of tuna. It was really strange."

"My staff gave me an industrial-size can of chicken loaf. I never ate it."

"One employee liked to give out portraits of himself. I'm glad I never received one."

Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com

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1 Comments

Lael Trent on December 14, 2008 10:04 PM | Reply

Hard working employees need to be appreciated and occasionally reminded that their contribution is invaluable, but we at our company run a tight ship. This year there have been some lay offs too, with the current recession who can blame us, and so we needed to sooth tense nerves and bring back that feeling of security and warmth, what better time than Christmas. therefore this year, we've giving our small but really hardworking team the ipod shuffle. We placed a bulk order at www.ipodyourlife.co.in/make_it.aspx nice site, very comprehensive site and made the ordering rather easy. check out the site if you like.

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