To ask if your manager acknowledges your birthday with a gift?

[Merryoldgoat]

Where I currently work we don’t do birthday collections etc (which I am grateful for).

Would you generally expect to give a present to your direct report? Or receive one from your manager? If so, what kind of value would a gift like that be?

I’m newish to this dynamic and don’t want to embarrass or offend anyone or do something stupid.

We pre - empt any such nonsense with a voucher from the company and a card that everyone signs for every occasion. All the same and no one left out.

Whoever has the birthday brings in cakes. At one work place we got a £10shopping voucher which was sweet.

@bluebluezoo IME it's often the office manager who keeps an informal birthday list, which is done without recourse to HR systems. Sometimes they ask new starters, sometimes a little bird tells them. This must vary between industries and sectors as IME most people are happy to share this info... Though thinking about it, there are a few people at work who don't seem to have had any birthday celebrations, so I assume they asked not to have a fuss. Most people I work with are the types to joyously add their birthdays to a big wall calendar with a smiley face!

Or other places I've worked, it's just the manager who organises it, and they just make a note...
Manager: "doing anything nice at the weekend?"
Employee: "well, it's my birthday on Sunday, so we're going out for dinner"
Manager: "oh, that's nice!" (while thinking "shit, must run out and get a card and a cake at lunchtime")

I always buy birthday and Christmas gifts for my direct reports, flowers / fizz / something more specific if I know what they are into. Usually spend £10-£20.

As some posters said these are co-workers and not friends. When I took over a new workplace as manager I found that there was a culture of buying presents for cleaners and making collections etc. Some of the junior employees were on a lower hourly rate than the cleaners and could probably not afford these constant collections. I put a stop to them except in very special circumstances. Staff were welcome to give personal gifts to one another but not to hawk around with a begging bown morally blackmailing their co-workers. Birthdays are a personal matter.

Yes, usually a bottle of wine and some chocolates or something

Not usual in my experience. Sometimes colleagues exchange gifts if they are very friendly. It can get to be a bit of a burden if it's a lot of folk and collections and all that nonsense. When somebody leaves or gets married fine. Not birthdays.

No. In fact my current manager didn't know when my birthday was for the first year, forgot the next, and remembered the following day last year.

Nope, none of my coworkers know my birthday (by my choice)
Some choose to celebrate with cake etc, most of us just book annual leave if we want to for a few days or come in if not too fussed.

Not for birthdays, no. TBH at my current workplace if you've let people know when your birthday is you're always, without exception, given the day off - but its shift work 365 days per year so its not an extra day's holiday or anything, we're just never rotaed on on our birthday. Its so taken for granted that there was outrage (from coworkers, the relevant person wasn't even there) a few weeks ago when someone was on the plan for their birthday and much bustling to swap shifts.

At Christmas our big boss (who probably wouldn't know a lot of us if she passed us in the street) gave everyone an annual charity lotto ticket worth 30€ this year, plus the small token edible gift and printed card we always get, but I doubt she paid/ pays for either personally for about 800 people!

Wherever I've worked there has always been an office collection so a card and present from everyone. The person whose birthday it is supplied cakes.

As a boss I bought Christmas presents for direct reports.

@sneakysnoopysniper

As some posters said these are co-workers and not friends. When I took over a new workplace as manager I found that there was a culture of buying presents for cleaners and making collections etc. Some of the junior employees were on a lower hourly rate than the cleaners and could probably not afford these constant collections. I put a stop to them except in very special circumstances. Staff were welcome to give personal gifts to one another but not to hawk around with a begging bown morally blackmailing their co-workers. Birthdays are a personal matter.

Oh, please be my manager! This year SO FAR (day 22 for fecks sake!) we've had: A baby shower collection Three birthday collections An engagement collection (massive eye roll)

We do cards (actual team of 4 but we buddy with three other mini teams). If time allows we may end up for a drink and the birthday person gets his/hers paid.

For milestone birthdays our team does a collection for a gift.

People normally bring in cakes or sweets to share.

I think gifts are too much and I would personally not want to have my manager pay with his private funds.

No. We get an additional day off for our birthday which I would much rather have than a gift!

Not usually but we do a team collection for big birthdays

No. I think it would be odd. And it’s worse to do it for big birthdays if you don’t normally do it- lots of people won’t want to reveal their age at work - there’s already enough discrimination around - and Jane might not like it revealed that she’s actually 60 etc.

I used to manage a small team (10 people) and would make sure we sent a joint card and I would make a cake / brownies. It's nice to acknowledge other people's 'special days' and helps to build team relationships.

Too many staff members where I work, although some people get a card signed by whoever’s around. The last couple of years I haven’t even had that.

I dont think my manager knows when my birthday is.

I would never expect an acknowledgement never mind a card

No. Team card for regular birthdays but a collection for big birthdays - anyone having a baby or getting married gets a collection too. As a manager I normally brought everyone an Egg at Easter and the first round of drinks at the Christmas night out.

I'm not sure I've ever had a boss who knew when my birthday was, unless s/he looked through personnel data! Why on earth would anyone expect a present from their boss?

Ha ha, no - my manager doesn't even send out an email saying "have a nice Christmas". In my office we always organise a card/cake for birthdays, and the person whose birthday it is would usually bring some bits in too. It's my birthday next month and it will be weird to have no office cake!

No! Sometimes members of a small working group within the department might collaborate on a gift or cakes, etc. for someone in the group; but not the manager; only voluntarily; and only if they know that the person wishes to have the birthday acknowledged - i.e. not by looking it up in official records. I can't bear to have my birthday and especially age-milestones acknowledged even by friends; the thought of my boss doing so makes me absolutely squirm!

If we are working on our birthday the cook will make a cake.

Otherwise nothing really, beyond a mention in the Whatsapp chat group.