Giving Without Going Broke

Anyone with more than two co-workers knows how expensive being a good cubicle mate can be. One month, there are three birthdays in your department. Then in the summer, your heartstrings and purse strings get tugged by co-workers looking to be sponsored for this or that charity walk. Let's not forget the retirements, and that guy a couple of cubicles over, whose wife is pregnant...again. You smile, but you want to scream, "Leave me alone! Do you know how much (or, actually, how little) I get paid?"

It's a classic office etiquette dilemma: To chip in or not to chip in. On one hand, you don't want to seem like a grouch, or a Grinch. On the other hand, you really don't want giving at the office to make you go broke.

Before you start a savings account specifically for workplace celebrations, remember the most important thing is to make your co-worker feel special. And that doesn't necessarily require a lot of money.

"What I find from companies I work with is employees are becoming very frustrated," says Jacqueline Whitmore, author of Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work. "No one should feel like they have to give in every single situation."

It might sound corny, but making something is a good option, says Robyn Freedman Spizman, author of The Giftionary: An A-Z Reference Guide for Solving Your Gift-Giving Dilemmas...Forever! Baking brownies, or some other tasty treat, will be much appreciated by the person you're celebrating, and everyone else in the office -- especially if you wait until that 3 o'clock lull when everyone needs a sugar rush.

If you're willing to take the concept a step further, design coupons for things you could do for the person, such as babysitting their child for the night, preparing a homemade lunch or watching their pet while he or she goes on vacation.

For someone who's getting married, ask everyone in the office to contribute their favorite recipe, and place them all in a decorative binder or picture album. Remember to have participants sign their name on their page.

If you're going to organize a collection for a gift or a party, Whitmore recommends being clear that it's optional. And make sure the process is anonymous. She suggests listing everyone's name on the outside of the collection envelope. As colleagues receive the envelope, have them check their names off to ensure everyone knows it's going around. That way, nobody knows how much you've donated, or if you've decided not to give. It's also important to specify, in an attached note, exactly what the money will be used for.

If a colleague approaches you in person, and you're not contributing, Spizman suggests saying something like, "I've already gotten something special, I hope you don't mind."

It's important to remember that, while a gift certificate to a restaurant is nice, words go a long way. A card with a personal note will be around a lot longer than cash. If you're a manager, the best thing to do is take control of celebrations and make them equal for all employees. No one wants to feel like another colleague was celebrated more than they were.

One example of such a system comes from World at Work, a global human resources association based in Arizona. The higher-ups took the stress out of celebrating by using the company's intranet to post items about employee milestones. Those announcements -- births, deaths, anniversaries and birthdays -- are placed under the personals section.

Another way they keep celebrations equal is by gathering monthly for a potluck lunch, to celebrate all the milestones and happenings of several weeks at once.

O.C. Tanner, which makes plaques and other employee recognition products, recently commissioned a survey that examined the relationship between employee recognition and a company's profitability. The results were dramatic--and go a long way toward explaining their policy on professional anniversaries.

Between companies that make employee recognition a priority and those that don't, "we thought maybe there would be a 10% difference in profitability," says Adrian Gostick, O.C. Tanner's marketing director and author of The Invisible Employee. Instead, the survey showed companies with employee recognition programs have three times the return on equity. "It was quite startling," Gostick says.

Perhaps that's why O.C. Tanner cuts its own employees a check for $100 on their birthdays. The best part: Cash is a lot less fattening than donuts and bagels.