Gifts for co-workers should be thoughtful as well as businesslike
Personal items are seldom appropriate, and fruitcakes are seldom appreciated.
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
Most co-workers don’t want candles, potpourri or the dreaded holiday fruitcake. Instead, buy a gift card or some gadget they may actually use, gift experts advise.
“There’s a great rule of thumb [for work gifts],” said Hillary Mendelsohn, Office Depot’s gift-giving expert, “be sure that you buy a gift that can be used in the course of a business day so it can’t be misinterpreted.”
Mendelsohn said that office gifts should be thoughtful rather than too personal. That means no personal items like pajamas or perfume.
“Candles, fruitcakes and all that ends up in the back of the closet and re-gifted,” she said.
Instead, think of something they can use like a USB flash drive or gift cards to Starbucks Coffee. Personalize the gift cards with an ornament or a colorful pen.
A survey by Office Depot said that more than half of respondents said they would like to receive gift cards from a business associate.
Angela Osorio, 27, an account executive in Walnut Creek, Calif., said that in her office, mostly gift cards, candy and sometimes scented lotion or soaps go over well. “[As for the lotions] it’s too personal if it’s from your boss, but it’s OK from your friend,” she said.
For the boss, Mendelsohn suggested a digital photo frame or a Bluetooth headset, a gift where a team or group can pitch in $5 to $10 and give something he or she can use. “It’s a really thoughtful, useful gift without anyone having to spend more than $10,” she said.
Peter V. Handal, the New York City-based chairman and president of Dale Carnegie & Associates and a workplace expert, said that it was important to keep all office gift-giving simple and private. “It’s a great idea to show your appreciation and say thank you to your friends and staff, but it’s very dangerous to spend a lot of money,” he said. “It can make people uncomfortable.”
The equalizer
Because most offices have a price limit and coordinate a gift-exchange, there is little danger there. However, Handal said, the boss or manager is most responsible for giving gifts of equal value.
“If it isn’t, it’s signaling that this person is better than another person and perception is very important,” he said.
Some disagree
At a Concord Starbucks Coffee, some customers disagreed with the experts, with a handful saying that cookies and other treats were de rigueur for office gift exchanges. Even wine wasn’t considered contraband.
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to give? Cookies, biscuits and chocolates or bottles of wine?” asked student Karen Farmilo, 45, of Walnut Creek, Calif.
Osorio agreed that gifts of wine or liquor depends on the office environment. In her office environment, alcoholic gifts are considered appropriate and even encouraged during the holidays.
“It seems like a running joke, that the most targeted items in my office ... tend to be contained in a bottle,” she said.
Whatever the gift, the experts suggested trying to learn a little about the person before buying a gift for her or him. “Spend that extra five minutes thinking about the person you are buying for,” Mendelsohn said. “Even if it’s $5 or $50.”