I'm in Australia. I seriously dislike the office culture of giving gifts to work colleagues at Christmas time, and sometimes (depending on the workplace) birthdays as well. I worked in one place where every time somebody was leaving the company, they'd take up a collection for a farewell gift - it was a sizeable company, and people whom I barely knew were leaving all the time! I was always being asked for money. Quite aside from that, be honest, how often do you dislike some of your colleagues?! I hate putting in money for colleagues I don't like!
I find this whole thing truly objectionable, and in more recent times I have asked workplaces to please not buy me gifts, as I don't wish to take part in the whole thing, but you can tell that people get really offended.
I have started using "I don't celebrate Christmas" (which is true anyway) as a reason now. When you say it like that, they wonder if you have a different religion (I don't have any), so some people will actively respect that because they don't want to offend your possible religion. They get less personally annoyed at you that way.
Oh my God. My company did this last Christmas but it was like a secret Santa thing and we had an Excel sheet to write what we wished for (as long as it's within the budget) along with our names. And the point was our Secret Santa appointed to us will see that list and our wish and then hopefully buy that.
I bought what my Secret Santee wanted which was a stuffed pig plushie. She actually also jokingly wrote a gimbal but that gimbal was like $200. LOL. I ain't finna buy that. XD
But then my Secret Santa bought me like a brooch... Like what...? I didn't even ask for that and my fashion style doesn't even match that brooch so I literally had no use for it. I still have that present in the bag now in my room just sitting there collecting dust. 😞
I'm in Australia. I seriously dislike the office culture of giving gifts to work colleagues at Christmas time, and sometimes (depending on the workplace) birthdays as well. I worked in one place where every time somebody was leaving the company, they'd take up a collection for a farewell gift - it was a sizeable company, and people whom I barely knew were leaving all the time! I was always being asked for money. Quite aside from that, be honest, how often do you dislike some of your colleagues?! I hate putting in money for colleagues I don't like!
I find this whole thing truly objectionable, and in more recent times I have asked workplaces to please not buy me gifts, as I don't wish to take part in the whole thing, but you can tell that people get really offended.
I have started using "I don't celebrate Christmas" (which is true anyway) as a reason now. When you say it like that, they wonder if you have a different religion (I don't have any), so some people will actively respect that because they don't want to offend your possible religion. They get less personally annoyed at you that way.
Oh my God. My company did this last Christmas but it was like a secret Santa thing and we had an Excel sheet to write what we wished for (as long as it's within the budget) along with our names. And the point was our Secret Santa appointed to us will see that list and our wish and then hopefully buy that.
I bought what my Secret Santee wanted which was a stuffed pig plushie. She actually also jokingly wrote a gimbal but that gimbal was like $200. LOL. I ain't finna buy that. XD
But then my Secret Santa bought me like a brooch... Like what...? I didn't even ask for that and my fashion style doesn't even match that brooch so I literally had no use for it. I still have that present in the bag now in my room just sitting there collecting dust. 😞
The culture of excessive obligatory gifting is awful imo too, wherever it happens
Gifts are supposed to be a very personal thing, done between people who are close enough to go to each other's homes regularly, I think. When it's just nearest and dearest, it's fine.
But all the obligations to gift near-strangers and likewise be gifted...and pretend it's not an unwanted financial burden, that I could do without.
Brilliant solution, @Babykittyjade ! But annoying that that's what it takes for people to just get over it and mind their own business.
School fundraisers bother me. Not because I don't want to support schools (though I think they should all re eive the same funding, and all of it be federal tax money, and none of it tied to local real estate values, because that would put a stop to poor kids getting lousy underfunded, understaffed, no-resources schools, while rich kids, whose parents can already provide them all kinds of extras, go to schools that have all the best of everything.
So with school fundraising I would just rather see a go fund me and donate to that, but what I am seeing are these catalogs of holiday decor and household items for 4X the price you'd see them for anywhere else, and the pressure to pyramid market that to everyone you know.
I wouldn't buy that overpriced carp, and I wouldn't ask anyone else to either.
The company selling it makes the lion's share of the profits anyway.
It would be far more effective for each suoporter to donate directly to the school, and that way whateverthey can afford, goes to the school, rather than buying overpriced stuff but the school only get part of what they spent.
So I would change the cultural practice in the US of leaving something as important as school funding to the vicissitudes of district-by-district wealth and fund all school equally, adequately, and entirely, through federal taxes.
Comments
Oh my God. My company did this last Christmas but it was like a secret Santa thing and we had an Excel sheet to write what we wished for (as long as it's within the budget) along with our names. And the point was our Secret Santa appointed to us will see that list and our wish and then hopefully buy that.
I bought what my Secret Santee wanted which was a stuffed pig plushie. She actually also jokingly wrote a gimbal but that gimbal was like $200. LOL. I ain't finna buy that. XD
But then my Secret Santa bought me like a brooch... Like what...? I didn't even ask for that and my fashion style doesn't even match that brooch so I literally had no use for it. I still have that present in the bag now in my room just sitting there collecting dust. 😞
The culture of excessive obligatory gifting is awful imo too, wherever it happens
Gifts are supposed to be a very personal thing, done between people who are close enough to go to each other's homes regularly, I think. When it's just nearest and dearest, it's fine.
But all the obligations to gift near-strangers and likewise be gifted...and pretend it's not an unwanted financial burden, that I could do without.
Brilliant solution, @Babykittyjade ! But annoying that that's what it takes for people to just get over it and mind their own business.
School fundraisers bother me. Not because I don't want to support schools (though I think they should all re eive the same funding, and all of it be federal tax money, and none of it tied to local real estate values, because that would put a stop to poor kids getting lousy underfunded, understaffed, no-resources schools, while rich kids, whose parents can already provide them all kinds of extras, go to schools that have all the best of everything.
So with school fundraising I would just rather see a go fund me and donate to that, but what I am seeing are these catalogs of holiday decor and household items for 4X the price you'd see them for anywhere else, and the pressure to pyramid market that to everyone you know.
I wouldn't buy that overpriced carp, and I wouldn't ask anyone else to either.
The company selling it makes the lion's share of the profits anyway.
It would be far more effective for each suoporter to donate directly to the school, and that way whateverthey can afford, goes to the school, rather than buying overpriced stuff but the school only get part of what they spent.
So I would change the cultural practice in the US of leaving something as important as school funding to the vicissitudes of district-by-district wealth and fund all school equally, adequately, and entirely, through federal taxes.
```