Christmas Controversy: Gift Giving at Work

Who’s up for some controversy?  We’re a few days away from Christmas and although not everyone celebrates this holiday, from what I hear, many organizations still recognize it as an opportunity for gift giving.  But, each year I hear more stories about people who are offended by this practice because it does not recognize other religions.  In fact, it’s far more common to hear people with others “happy holidays” in December than calling out a specific holiday.

Where I work, we all receive a gift from senior leadership.  And, from the reactions I have heard so far, everyone really appreciates it.  We don’t exchange gifts in the HR department, but had a wonderful baking-from-scratch contest yesterday, a holiday lunch for the team, some special treats today, and made time to just enjoy being together as a group.  It was wonderful.

I thought I’d do a very unscientific study to find out:

• Does your organization give a gift to each employee?  Do the employees appreciate it if they receive one?
• Do you exchange gifts within your department?
• If you do exchange gifts, how is it done (openly, Secret Santa, White Elephant style, etc.)?
• Do you think that Christmas gift-giving shouldn’t be done because not everyone celebrates this holiday? Pros/ cons?

Share with me in the comments.  I think it will be interesting to hear how different organizations acknowledge the holiday or if they don’t.