To feel let down by my work colleagues?

[andpeggy1]

I've worked in my dept for 6 years, and as individual teams in the dept we all get on really well. We've always celebrated peoples birthdays in the dept with a card and desk decorating, and that's not changed even when the dept grew to 40 plus people.

Throughout lockdown we have tried keeping this tradition alive by getting everyone to put a message on a card and sending it to someone's house Iva moon pig etc. I've made sure that no one has been forgotten during this time as we are all working from home, some arnt coping with it as well as others (me being one of them, I've found this really rough, with no end insight) and like this was a good way to keep that caring human contact our dept is known for in tact.

It's my birthday today, and I've received loads of lovely cards from friends and family, but nothing from work. Like I know it's not obligatory but I can't help feel a little sad. It feels like I Clearly I think more of others than they do of me. I'm
Not someone who gives to receive, i love doing things for others. But it does feel a bit oh ok

@sally067 that’s interesting about the happy birthday on teams thing. My company specifically gave “birthday lists” as an improper use of personal data in GDPR training. A birthday list that people signed up to would be OK - though discouraged as people may feel pressured. Pulling the date of birth from the system - not OK. Although I personally don’t care, as a matter of principle - birthdays are not your work colleague’s business, and I support the principle of personal data not being used inappropriately.

[quote Cocomarine]@sally067 that’s interesting about the happy birthday on teams thing. My company specifically gave “birthday lists” as an improper use of personal data in GDPR training. A birthday list that people signed up to would be OK - though discouraged as people may feel pressured. Pulling the date of birth from the system - not OK. Although I personally don’t care, as a matter of principle - birthdays are not your work colleague’s business, and I support the principle of personal data not being used inappropriately.[/quote]
Yes my organisation too, we are not allowed to access birthday or address.

I hate the pressure to do this at work. Perhaps others aren’t as into it as you.

If your address couldn’t be given due to GDPR, someone could have arranged a virtual meeting instead.

I hope it’s delayed post and you feel better soon.

It's probably not personal OP. It sounds like you've been instrumental in keeping this tradition live because it matters to you, but it is very possible that it doesn't matter to other people. I don't mean to sound mean but I am a grown woman, and apart from family and close friends, I don't much care about other people's birthdays, including work colleagues I get along with. I am in a team of 10 and would hate the obligation of remember and getting something, and also don't want any fuss made of me when it's my birthday.

In a team of 40, this is just too much, and it would requite someone almost exclusively doing this as their job - massive exaggeration here, but you know what I mean.

[quote Cocomarine]@sally067 that’s interesting about the happy birthday on teams thing. My company specifically gave “birthday lists” as an improper use of personal data in GDPR training. A birthday list that people signed up to would be OK - though discouraged as people may feel pressured. Pulling the date of birth from the system - not OK. Although I personally don’t care, as a matter of principle - birthdays are not your work colleague’s business, and I support the principle of personal data not being used inappropriately.[/quote]
There's an opt out button on our HR system which gets round any GDPR issues but people rarely tick it.

From an office manager back in the day thank you so much @magicstar1 - those thoughtful things make a huge difference when you’re used to doing them for everyone else and you don’t receive the same kindnesses back.

Yea I realise 40 people is allot. Abs it's not always me organising the cards. I have a birthday list to which everyone who's on this list, consented to and is kept on an encrypted network. I message the birthday persons team to say it's so n sis birthday coming up (3-4weeks in advance) and let the smaller team sort out the card.

I've seen emails for other people in my delta birthdays for the 22nd, 30th dec and even the 3rd jan going round. So I guess if I hadn't seen that going around I wouldn't have felt so put out.

Yea maybe I should try and stop holding on to those years back where the team was closer n we got on better. Seems as the dept grew, we've all grew further apart.

Hi. Just wondering if anything turned up for your birthday?

This happened to me one year and I was disappointed about it too. Turned out because I always did the birthday stuff that it just never struck anyone to deal with it as they were used to birthdays being taken care of.

I know it is a bit naff of them but it won't he done purpose

Nope still nothing turned up. It was still playing on my mind, so I asked a colleague who I'm kinda close to if anything had gone round for my birthday. She said yes that my old boss had sorted it, there were 30 odd messages in the excel doc for the card, and that he sent it.

Must have gotten lost in the post, but I makes me feel better to know I wasn't forgotten about 😊

That’s good. Why don’t you do online e-cards now?