The holiday seasons are here and that desire to give is burning in all. The question becomes what is appropriate to give as a gift in the office place, especially given how diverse the office space has become, not to mention politically correct aspects. The following practical tips will help keep you out of human resources while experiencing the joy of giving.

As crazy as it sounds, giving a gift can create a lot of trouble. Some gifts, for example, could be offensive to certain cultures, religions, and lifestyles. Giving gifts in general may create jealousy and animosity in others resulting in destructive conflicts. There are some safe choices.

Food is always a great gift universally accepted by all because we all love to eat. Not everyone eats the same things, however, and some foods are considered unclean, inhumane, or dangerous. The solution: the group lunch. Take everyone out to eat, but let them collectively decide on where.

This not only insures everyone has a chance to speak up about food allergies, likes and dislikes; everyone is also presented with choices and will get what they want. You get your entire gift buying out of the way in one swoop. You also give the gift of team building by allowing people to have a time to interact on a social level instead of a business level.

Gift cards are another non-offensive way of giving. Gas card, calling cards, and other types of services people typically use are great choices. In all your gifting, try to be as equal in what you spend on each person as possible to avoid any jealousy. Gift cards are an easy way to do this.

Time off on the sly is always a great gift if you are in a supervisory role and if letting people go home a few hours earlier will not cause you to lose you job or jeopardize theirs. It is a gift of time. Of course, you still have to pay them for that time to make it of any value to them.

There are of course practical items like calendars, pens, and other items that will remind people of work. These gifts are safe, but while everyone will show appreciation, they hero will be the one that treated everyone to lunch. The memories created during that time will be what people talk about next year, not the cool mouse pads you got everyone.

Then there are the gag gifts. If done tastefully this can be a lot of fun, the real gift being the gift of laughter. To be successful at this, however, you must know your co-workers and where to draw the line between what is funny and what is offensive.

Another safe gift to give is organizing a team of people to do some form of charity work during the season. This is a gift of service that brings about a sense of pride, accomplishment, and common purpose. It also extends the giving outside the office walls, perhaps even to a needy co-worker.

Gift giving is can bring about a great sense of personal satisfaction while meeting the needs of others. As work environments become more diverse, sensitivity of what kind of gifts are appropriate are something that now needs to be considered. Keeping generic and focusing on basic needs will keep you out of trouble while accomplishing your goal to give

Learn more about this author, David Kramer.
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