I worked for more than two decades in a very male dominated industry. Birthdays were marked only by the birthday boy/girl bringing in cakes or inviting people to the pub (if they chose to, many didnt)The managers didn't keep tabs on when birthdays were but would wish you a happy birthday when they had a cake.
Now I work with about 90% women and find, that as line manager for c.20 staff, I'm not only expected to remember their birthday but also to buy a gift. Also, as part of the leadership team, I'm expected to contribute £10 for a birthday gift from the team in each member's birthday and come up with ideas and there is a whole organisation collection for big birthdays (150 staff)
The cost adds up, but more than that, it's really time consuming. I'm not good at buying presents, even for people I know well and I find it actually quite stressful trying to come up with decent ideas for appropriate gifts.
Is this a male/female thing or have I just worked in two extremes of the "system?