How to Buy Gifts for Co-Workers

Guide Note: How to Buy Gifts for Co-Workers offers tips, tricks and advice on buying an appropriate holiday gift for your boss, colleagues and subordinates.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

  • Co-workers. They're not quite close friends, but we spend as much time with them as we do our own families. When holiday time rolls around, it only makes sense that we'd want to give them a token of our appreciation. Unfortunately, gift-giving at work is complicated by office politics, seniority and professional obligation.
  • Some offices try to thwart any potential gift-giving awkwardness by forbidding it altogether or by setting up gift exchanges, but gift-giving in the workplace needn't be the cause of any undue holiday angst. Exercise a little common sense and give from the heart, and you'll be a workplace gift-giving star.

Who Do You Buy Gifts For?

  • Who in your office you buy a gift for is entirely up to you. You should never feel obligated to buy a co-worker a holiday gift. That being said, if your office is hosting a gift exchange, you should participate. Building relationships is key to your workplace success and career satisfaction.
  • If your office is forgoing the Secret Santa tradition this year, consider purchasing a gift for one or more of the following:
You're not obligated to buy every one of your fellow cubicle dwellers a gift. (Creative Commons photo by Eperales)
You're not obligated to buy every one of your fellow cubicle dwellers a gift. (Creative Commons photo by Eperales)
  1. Direct Reports: Direct reports are those people who report directly to you like your assistant or a lower level manager. The holiday is a great time of year to let them know how much you appreciate their work.
  2. Your Department: Buy your immediate colleagues a group gift or buy inexpensive items for everyone. (Be sure the gifts are relatively similar so no one feels left out.)
  3. Office Manager or Secretary: You know who the people in your office are that actually keep things running. These are the linchpins of the organization. They know everything. Forget your boss. These are the people to lavish with Starbucks gift cards and expensive chocolates.
  4. Your Boss: Giving a gift to your boss requires a little extra etiquette. Don't give anything too expensive. At worst, it looks like bribery. At best, it looks like brown-nosing. A nice handwritten note and a food item is fine.
  5. Your Close Work Friends: If you have a more personal relationship with someone at work, it's wise to give them a gift outside of the office. There's no need to make any of your other co-workers feel excluded or add fuel to the office gossip fire.

The Rules of Office Gift-Giving

  • The goal of giving gifts to your co-workers is to acknowledge your appreciation for their support and camaraderie throughout the year. The goal is not to make them feel uncomfortable, bribe them or express any professionally-inappropriate sentiments. Here are a few simple rules to guide your office gift-giving choices:
(Photo by Emin Ozkan)
(Photo by Emin Ozkan)
  1. Set a spending limit. You don't need to break the bank buying gifts for your co-workers. You want to give a "token" of your appreciation. Expensive gifts can also make your co-workers feel uncomfortable as their meaning can be misconstrued by the recipient and other co-workers.
  2. Do not give items that are too personal. Don't give clothes, toiletries or perfume. Even if you've got a massive crush on your cubicle neighbor, now is not the time to express it. Don't make anyone feel uncomfortable. Keep your gifts professional.
  3. Don't give the boss anything expensive. You don't want to give your boss anything that will look like you're trying to curry his or her favor. Your boss also knows how much you make. He or she isn't expecting a bottle of Cristal. A nice note, a book or a gourmet food item will suffice.
  4. Don't disobey organizational rules. Some larger corporations actually have rules about gift-giving. They either set limits on the amount that can be spent on gifts or disallow it altogether. If you're not sure whether your offices has rules about gift-giving, consult your HR department.
  5. Give gifts to close friends outside of the office. If you have a special bond with a co-worker and want to give him or her a more personal gift, do it outside of the office. Keep your personal relationships and feelings in a personal space.
  6. Consider a group gift. If you want to avoid any gift-giving misunderstandings altogether, give a group gift to your department or co-workers. Buy something for a common area like the kitchen or break room, or bake a batch of cookies for the office.
    Use caution when gifting alcohol. (Photo by Kilián Zsuzsanna)
    Use caution when gifting alcohol. (Photo by Kilián Zsuzsanna)
  7. Take office culture into consideration. Different offices tolerate different types of behavior. If your office environment is laid-back, a gag gift may be appropriate. If you're not sure whether a jokey gift might fly, avoid giving one.
  8. Ask for help with Secret Santa gifts. If your office does conduct a gift exchange and you've drawn the name of someone you don't know well, ask his or her friends or more immediate co-workers what he or she might like.
  9. Do not give religious items. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, and even those that do aren't necessarily religious.
  10. Be wary of alcoholic gifts. While an expensive bottle of liquor may be the perfect gift for a colleague, don't give alcohol to anyone unless you're certain the gift would be well-received. You don't want to give a bottle of scotch to a non-drinker.
  11. Be kind to dieters. According to gift basket pros Harry & David, food is the most commonly given corporate holiday gift. However, if you know someone has been dieting, don't throw temptation in his or her path.
  12. Say Thank You. Acknowledge the gift you've received by writing a short note or email to the giver.

Gift Ideas for Co-Workers

  • As with any gift, the best place to start is with the person you're giving the gift to. What does he or she like? What does he or she need? What would acknowledge that you pay attention to and are interested in this person? Your gift shouldn't be overly personal, but it should be thoughtful.
The ultimate safety gift - the gift card. (Creative Commons photo by Luca Conti)
The ultimate safety gift - the gift card. (Creative Commons photo by Luca Conti)

Safe Gift Ideas for Co-Workers

Gag Gift Ideas for Co-Workers

Corporate Gifts

Holiday Gift Baskets

Resources for How to Buy Gifts for Co-Workers

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Have any great tips on How to Buy Gifts for Co-Workers? Post your thoughts to the discussion board or email them to Julia: julia at mahalo dot com.