How to Manage Office Gift-Giving Thoughtfully

The holiday season can lead to some awkward moments in the office, especially if management lets gift-giving get out of control. Without specific guidelines that are provided well ahead of time, you run the risk of having some employees buy presents for everybody (including you), while others buy nothing at all. Or your chief digital officer may splurge as a designated "secret Santa" and spend hundreds on gifts, upsetting employees who are budget-constrained. To avoid this, CareerBuilder has come out with an office gift-giving survey that establishes useful guidelines. For starters, if you impose a ban on holiday gift-giving, you wouldn't be a Grinch, since most employees don't exchange gifts. Among those who do, the vast majority spend no more than $25 per item. But whether or not you allow a gift exchange, you should consider having an office party, as most employers do have one. On a more humorous note, CareerBuilder provided some oddball office gifts as part of its survey, and we've included some of those here. Nearly 2,380 HR and hiring managers and more than 3,335 employees took part in the research, which was conducted by Harris Poll.