When an unhelpful, negative-minded coworker retires, it’s safe to say that you probably won’t miss them very much. Their attitude negatively impacted your work, your morale, and most importantly, your peace of mind. Farewell parties are typical workplace protocol, but that doesn’t mean you should be expected to cough up hundreds of dollars on a gift for the retiree, especially if they very clearly don’t deserve it. Shouldn’t the gift be on the company dollar instead?
The concept of a “mandatory” gift at the expense of employees’ finances is preposterous, and management should be help accountable whenever they pressure their employees to spend their hard-earned money on someone they don’t even like.
In the story below, an employee explains that they flat-out refused to contribute to their colleague’s farewell gift on principle. Not only is an expected $100 contribution entitled, but the colleague in question went out of her way to be as unhelpful as possible to the employee. In what world should the employee reward bad behavior?
What would you do in this situation? On the one hand, other colleagues might feel pressured to contribute more money. However… The employee is setting a precedent that they should not be expected to front any bills for gift-giving. Scroll to read the entire story.
