Office Gift Exchanges Can Be Awkward

Twenty-two percent of workers say they plan to buy holiday gifts for co-workers, and 21% plan to buy a gift for the boss, similar to last year, according to a survey from CareerBuilder.

Forty-six percent of employers plan to give their employees gifts this year, on par with last year. In addition, 69% of employers plan on throwing a holiday party for employees this year—up 3% from last year.

More than half (54%) of employers plan to give employees holiday bonuses this year—the same as 2015—but 15% say the bonus will be greater than last year. Nearly half of all employers (48%) plan to make charitable donations, on par with last year.

The following are among the most unusual presents workers received from co-workers:

  • Two left-handed gloves
  • Coconut bra
  • Jar of gravy
  • A fake lottery ticket
  • A real stuffed duck
  • Toilet paper that looked like money
  • Post-it Notes
  • Dish detergent
  • A pen holder that looks like a crime scene victim
  • A comic book of an obscure movie
  • A handmade ornament for a sports team the recipient had never heard of
  • A singing chicken
  • A whip

The national survey was conducted nationally online by Harris Poll from August 11 to September 7, 2016, and included more than 3,300 employees (of which 3,133 are in the private sector) and 2,379 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes.

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