by Judith Willson

Created on: August 31, 2010   Last Updated: October 19, 2010

When the boss’s birthday card comes your way for signing it is very tempting to add all kinds of nice little messages.  Most of these nice little messages are highly inadvisable.  They could lead to disgruntled colleagues, a highly annoyed boss, or, worst of all, a boss who thinks you are flirting with them.  Keep it safe and boring with a generic ‘have a great day’ or the like unless you want trouble.  Particularly inadvisable things to write include these:

‘Lots of love xxxxx’. 

Even if the boss is, in fact, your best friend, do not write overly affectionate messages.  Colleagues will not appreciate this evidence of somebody just a little bit too close to the boss, or else sucking up revoltingly.  If the boss is not your best friend he or she will react in one of two ways.  You won’t like either. In many cases the boss may become a bit wary of you and wonder what you are up to.  In others the boss will be delighted and take this as evidence their affection is reciprocated.  You’ll have many days of fun trying to tactfully turn down lots of lovely dates with them.

’81 again eh?’

Incredibly funny comments about their age, appearance or drinking habits are rarely a good idea.  Witty as you think you are it is unlikely that your boss will share your unique sense of humour.  Your boss does not know that everybody else knows he wears a toupee and he won’t like all those wig puns you saw fit to include.  If your boss is a woman she might not enormously appreciate bawdy jokes about her necklines.  Neither wants reminding they are twenty years older than everybody else in the office.

‘Best wishes.  Mr Johnson’

You can also be too formal.  If everybody else has added good-natured comments and you add something stiff then your boss will wonder what is wrong.  There might not have been anything wrong when you wrote it, there will be after your boss has read it.  Follow the example of everybody else.  The boss’s birthday card is not a place to try and stand out from the crowd.

The boss’s birthday card is usually a political place, not really a friendly place.  Unless you are lucky enough to work in a place where everybody genuinely is good friends with everybody else you should err on the side of caution.  Add something friendly and innocuous and save any other comments for another time. 

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