The holiday gift-giving season is upon us, and for those who work in offices there is often the looming question of whether to give or not to give.
Offices are political environments, and gift giving is no exception.
For example, would a gift for the boss help your career or merely earn you a reputation among your colleagues as a suck-up? If you hand out small gifts for co-workers, will the ones who are left out feel miffed? Will you create a sense of obligation in the ones you chose to give to?
These are complicated scenarios, which is why most big offices these days have abandoned the gift-giving custom entirely. Instead, it’s considered safer to throw a food party in the boardroom or take your department out to lunch.
But for smaller, or mid-size, more intimate offices, the gift-giving custom may still be very much in place, which means you’ve got to consider a few things beforehand. Check around and see if it’s a custom. If it is, find out if there’s a gift exchange or gift-giving procedure of some kind. And if it’s a casual custom, find out what the usual price limit is and stick to it. If you’re a boss wanting to bestow gifts on your employees, keep it small but tasteful. You don’t want to appear cheap.
Better yet, go green. A green gift not only conveys a sense of responsibility to the environment, it is a feel-good gift that takes the emphasis off what the gift cost, and places it on the intended good will. To go the extra green mile, a donation to a charity in lieu of a gift is perfectly acceptable too.
“Some of my favourite gift ideas are buying an animal through Oxfam or buying a carbon offset, which a number of companies did last year to much acclaim,” says James Tansey, University of B.C. professor and the founder of environmental non-profit Carbon Offsetters.
A few other organizations recommended by Treehugger include Amnesty International, the David Suzuki Foundation or The Go Green Initiative. But if a serious illness has touched the lives of someone in your work place this year, perhaps a donation toward finding a cure for that disease would be a sensitive employee gift.
And if you want to stick to old-fashioned gift-wrapped gift giving, then keep the green movement in mind and try these office knick-knacks on for size. Just remember to use green gift-wrap.
Digital Picture Frame
These frames have increased in popularity over the years and are an excellent alternative to photo paper based pictures. As well, many of them offer a slideshow instead of merely one photo for display. The user merely inserts a memory card of photos and a super cool green gift is born.
SIGG 1.0 litre Traveler Classics Reusable Bottle
Who doesn’t need a water bottle at work? The colorful, 100 per cent recyclable Swiss water bottle is free of leaching and chemicals such as BPA or BPB.
HYmini Wind Power
While traveling to work stick the portable HYmini wind-powered turbine charger out your car window to charge it up for use on cell phones, iPhones, iPods, mp3 players, and digital cameras. You can capture the power from a bike, too.
USB Cell Rechargeable Batteries
Recharge batteries on your computer with USB cells, the handy green way to keep the batteries charged. Your computer doubles as a charger wherever you go.
Offices are political environments, and gift giving is no exception.
For example, would a gift for the boss help your career or merely earn you a reputation among your colleagues as a suck-up? If you hand out small gifts for co-workers, will the ones who are left out feel miffed? Will you create a sense of obligation in the ones you chose to give to?
These are complicated scenarios, which is why most big offices these days have abandoned the gift-giving custom entirely. Instead, it’s considered safer to throw a food party in the boardroom or take your department out to lunch.
But for smaller, or mid-size, more intimate offices, the gift-giving custom may still be very much in place, which means you’ve got to consider a few things beforehand. Check around and see if it’s a custom. If it is, find out if there’s a gift exchange or gift-giving procedure of some kind. And if it’s a casual custom, find out what the usual price limit is and stick to it. If you’re a boss wanting to bestow gifts on your employees, keep it small but tasteful. You don’t want to appear cheap.
Better yet, go green. A green gift not only conveys a sense of responsibility to the environment, it is a feel-good gift that takes the emphasis off what the gift cost, and places it on the intended good will. To go the extra green mile, a donation to a charity in lieu of a gift is perfectly acceptable too.
“Some of my favourite gift ideas are buying an animal through Oxfam or buying a carbon offset, which a number of companies did last year to much acclaim,” says James Tansey, University of B.C. professor and the founder of environmental non-profit Carbon Offsetters.
A few other organizations recommended by Treehugger include Amnesty International, the David Suzuki Foundation or The Go Green Initiative. But if a serious illness has touched the lives of someone in your work place this year, perhaps a donation toward finding a cure for that disease would be a sensitive employee gift.
And if you want to stick to old-fashioned gift-wrapped gift giving, then keep the green movement in mind and try these office knick-knacks on for size. Just remember to use green gift-wrap.
Digital Picture Frame
These frames have increased in popularity over the years and are an excellent alternative to photo paper based pictures. As well, many of them offer a slideshow instead of merely one photo for display. The user merely inserts a memory card of photos and a super cool green gift is born.
SIGG 1.0 litre Traveler Classics Reusable Bottle
Who doesn’t need a water bottle at work? The colorful, 100 per cent recyclable Swiss water bottle is free of leaching and chemicals such as BPA or BPB.
HYmini Wind Power
While traveling to work stick the portable HYmini wind-powered turbine charger out your car window to charge it up for use on cell phones, iPhones, iPods, mp3 players, and digital cameras. You can capture the power from a bike, too.
USB Cell Rechargeable Batteries
Recharge batteries on your computer with USB cells, the handy green way to keep the batteries charged. Your computer doubles as a charger wherever you go.
