I got a message on Slack yesterday about chipping in for a Birthday present for the head of our department. It’s a group chat, so all my teammates are on it. The message was like, “Hey, let’s make it $150 each and I’ll choose a perfect present.” We’re a relatively small team, so I get the math but holy crap 150 bucks seriously? I spent less on my own Bday present this year. I made up my mind at once that I’m not going to participate in it.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m OK with small symbolic gifts, like we did with Secret Santa this Christmas. Each of us spent $10–15, and it was fun! But the head of our department makes more money than each of us, and though I appreciate his work and dedication etc., I don’t see why it must be a custom to give good presents to superiors only. 150 bucks is a lot of money for many people.
Luckily, judging by how the discussion went, my teammates weren’t too enthusiastic either. Some of them tried to discuss what the present should be, but it was obvious no one dared to openly talk about the sum. I wrote to my colleague in a private chat, and she said she also didn’t think it was fair. However, she had already donated! I asked her why, and she said she was a newbie in the company (that’s true) and was afraid to stand out. Hours later, another colleague contacted me and told me he was not going to pay either, so I know it’s at least the two of us.
I then contacted our office manager who was the one behind that message, and told her that I wouldn’t be able to donate. I honestly told her I didn’t feel it was right to spend so much on a present for my superior. I told her if we decided to give a $200 gift card, I could chip in $20 at most. The funny thing is she answered that she actually agreed with me and had no problem with my decision. I take it that it wasn’t exactly her initiative. I don’t know how it’s organized; I suspect it was just some sort of tradition. I’ve been in another department last year so I don’t know. We didn’t give any big presents to anyone there.
Why do people do this? Now some people will donate and some won’t, and we could just send a nice video message and be done with it. What's wrong with the world?
