Every now and then someone at work gets this great idea to have everyone "voluntarily" pitch in some of their moulah and get someone a gift - usually for the department manager, for Christmas, or their birthday, or manager appreciation day... this also happens whenever someone gets injured or has knee surgery or their basement got flooded, etc., etc.
I am not brave/mean enough to turn them down and say, "I'm so sorry your dog ran away, but not sorry enough to give you five bucks!" So, I always give five/ten bucks or so, whatever I have. For the most recent gift, I didn't have any cash on me, and today I got this email: "Just wondering if you brought the $$ for so-and-so's gift?"
I am sorry to say, but I feel this is somewhat of a problem, although well-intentioned. I feel it is innapropriate to be constantly asking for money to get people gifts - really, it is great to be a caring friend (doesn't society tell us we, as women, are supposed to be caring friends after all?) but there needs to be a limit on the asking-for-money. If someone loses a family member that is one thing, but every little thing is quite another. Perhaps I'm just a scrooge. I am open to any input/suggestions. (It's pretty hard to talk to the manager about it since many of the gifts we "pitch-in" for are for her.)
2 comments:
I have to say that I think that my office has had the same problem. I finally just told them that I couldn't afford to give much. Since then they have been more careful to just say "if you would LIKE to donate, give it to..."
I don't think you are a scrouge at all, how meaningful is a gift that was thought up and given by someone else. I would just tell them that you would like to do something on your own.
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