Should I give my boss a Christmas gift and if I do decide to do so, what should I give him or her? Giving a colleague a gift for the holiday season can be daunting. I would never dream of doing it.
What if you gave them a gift they didn’t like? Would it change their perception of you? It probably depends on what type of boss you have. Maybe your boss has been such a blessing to you and you just want to say thank you in some way. If so, then the process of blessing them this holiday season should be easy.
According to a survey reported at Time.com, it seems people who give gifts to their bosses aren’t many. The average result of the study was 25%. Either people don’t like their boss, or they are too scared of giving the wrong gift.
At least that’s my opinion. Another thing to consider is office politics. Are people always trying to undermine each other in the office with hopes of getting ahead? I hope that for your sake you don’t work in this type of environment, but unfortunately, many people do.
If you were to give a gift to your boss, wouldn’t it seem like you are attempting to suck up to your boss for some ulterior motive? It seems there are many factors to consider when it comes to getting your boss a present.
However, a neutral solution would be to get a bunch of your colleagues together and buy a present for your boss as a unit. This way, nobody is sucking up to anyone. Just make sure your boss knows it’s from everyone and not only the person giving the gift.
Some do recommend that when buying a present together that you don’t make it a personal, costly and not offensive. I think buying an offensive gift is like playing with fire. On one end it’s inappropriate for the workplace and the other if you get it wrong, it might change things forever.
If your boss likes Whiskey, a quality bottle that not every average Joe can afford will make a great Christmas gift. Other gifting ideas could be practical and much more valuable to your boss than you could imagine. Think of something they use around the office and try to improve or simplify their life.
The Telegraph has created a pretty neat list that includes letter openers, personalized golfing equipment (something like a scorekeeping book), bookends and my favorite wine, whiskey or gin tasting. Think of something that is small, not too expensive, useful and personal.
Personalized gifts are always winners if they aren’t too quirky and actually will be used.
So, will you take the plunge and buy your boss a present for Xmas this year or do you plan on skipping out?
Luckily I’ve got a remote working situation going on at the moment so presents will never be needed.