Posts Tagged ‘for work’
Manage Your Group Gifts Online
Looking to team up for someone’s group gift? Several web sites allow you to forgo passing the cash envelope at the office or collecting from your siblings at family events. You pick out a gift and send your group to contribute toward a bigger-ticket purchase — all managed online.
- eDivvy.com
An organizer chooses a gift from partners like Amazon, Apple, Macy’s and REI. Then eDivvy sends the organizer’s e-mail, inviting people to give by a deadline. Once the group meets its gift amount goal, the merchant ships the gift to the recipient. - FrumUs
Set up a virtual collection envelope via PayPal. E-mail your group to gain contributions then shop at FrumUs partners like Amazon.com, Buy.com, Cooking.com and more.
Note: FromGroup.com is no longer online.
Tags: for work, gift ideas, gift sites, group gift
I love where I work. After a recent surgery, I know the feeling is mutual. My co-workers treated me to many get well gifts at the hospital and during my recovery.
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My department sent me Teleflora’s Be Happy Bouquet, a combination of yellow roses and white and yellow daisies in a extra large smiley-face coffee mug. The card read “Get well and get back here!” |
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My lunch mates visited me at the hospital and gave me guy flick DVDs to watch while I recovered. |
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And just in case the bandages don’t hold the incisions, I received a roll of Duck Tape brand chrome duct tape. How very MacGyver. |
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My employer keeps a Twitter feed and sent out a get well tweet that reached more than 3,000 followers. Wow. |
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Another department that I work closely with delivered an “Any Reason or Any Season” fruit basket from Fruit Ranch. The massive basket was filled with apples, oranges, pears, Ghirardelli chocolate squares, mixed nuts and apricot jam. |
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When I returned to work, I received a “Chicks Dig Scars” ringer tee shirt from CafePress.com. Many of my co-workers signed the shirt in black marker, complete with hand-drawn scars and stitches. |
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Tags: chocolate+candy, clothing, dvds, flowers, food, for work, get well, gift baskets, gift ideas
My MBA semester is over, but there is still time to share a case about gift giving. We spend half of our waking hours with co-workers, so it’s natural to give them gifts. My human resources law and ethics course briefly explored the complications of workplace giving. So the HR discussion case is, of course, gift giving gone wrong. The scenario:
A gift exchange is implemented at a company. A male staff member gives a female staff member a Marvin Gaye CD, and she is offended when she sees the title track “Sexual Healing,” followed by “Let’s Get It On.” How do you handle this situation as an HR representative?
HR often errs on the side of caution. The recipient may be lodging a sexual harassment claim, which HR would investigate. This “gift” might be the tipping point among other unwelcome behaviors. Even without a formal complaint, if a supervisor knows of questionable conduct, the company may be held liable. In fact, some companies enforce gift policies that specifically forbid employee gifts with sexual or romantic connotations.
To avoid this scenario altogether, here are some guidelines on workplace giving:
- Check the employee handbook or company policies to see if there is a gift giving policy in place. Some workplaces restrict giving or ban it outright.
- Make sure gift giving is 100% voluntary. If someone does not want to give to a Secret Santa, office baby shower or retirement party, respect their choice.
- Keep it clean. Never give “adult” items, personal/romantic presents, or anything that carries a demeaning or discriminating message as workplace gifts.
- Go for modestly priced gifts. Expensive gifts may make your workplace giftee feel uncomfortable and beholden to reciprocate.
- Follow the tradition at some companies (like mine): Managers give appropriate gifts to subordinates, and subordinates do not reciprocate with gifts.
- If you are giving to select peers, give gifts in private, perhaps after work.
- If the boss does receive a gift, have others voluntarily chip in to make it a group gift. And don’t name the names of givers. A direct gift from subordinate to supervisor may appear to be currying favor.
Tags: choosing gifts, for work, guidelines
I gave gifts to recognize the support pros in my office today — Administrative Professionals’ Day. Started in 1952 as Secretary’s Day, this workplace celebration honors the administrative assistants and receptionists who bolster our organizations. While none of these folks report to me, they are the glue of the office, so I was happy to express my gratitude for their service.
A small example springs to mind. Last year, one of my fluorescent task lights for my work desk burned out. The oblong bulb seemed an odd length. I asked for a replacement, thinking it might take a while. Instead, I had the bulb in hand the very next morning. The office coordinator had stopped at an office supply store on the way home to find the exact replacement.
So I did a little shopping yesterday at a local florist. I chose yellow Gerbera daisies in clear potbelly vases. I gave them with note cards, thanking them for their service.
Before you give, be sure to check for any company policies on employee gifts. And, of course, you’ll want to give a gift fitting for the workplace.
Tags: flowers, for work, note cards, thank you
Did you have a holiday office party with a gift exchange today? Money Management International, a debt counseling organization, bets you did. MMI observed that office parties often fall on the third Thursday in December. To capitalize on office parties and encourage regift exchanges, MMI created National Regifting Day, which is today. According to their 2007 survey, 41 percent of regifters choose co-workers for regifts.
Sure enough, my workplace held a Christmas potluck today with a white elephant gift exchange. The rules are simple.
- Everyone knows upfront you may regift. (I frown on secret regifting.) So the gift might be a white elephant — that is, something used that you no longer want. Or you might buy a new gift for $10 or less.
- If you wish to participate, you bring a wrapped gift. You receive a number in exchange.
- A host picks numbers at random. If your number is called, you can pick a gift and unwrap it for all to see. Or you can steal someone else’s gift. The person who lost the gift marches up to the gift pile to unwrap another.
- There are two rules on gift stealing. First, gifts can only stolen twice. After two steals, the gift stays with the recipient. Second, a person who lost a gift cannot steal it back.
- The game ends when the gifts are gone. Once the game is over, there is no more stealing, but trades or giveaways are encouraged.
Popular gifts (based on steals) were a first-generation iPod Shuffle, bags of Starbucks coffee
Tags: coffee, for work, gadgets, giftology
