I am a Band 3 line manager in NHS. I always by my staff gifts at Christmas time. This year my team has grown slightly and with times being hard, I simply cannot afford to gift them all.
I have a family of my own and this money needs to spend on them as a priority.
I know my team will feel let down and they will feel like they haven’t got anything because they don’t deserve it. I really don’t know what to do. I really don’t want to tell the real reason (that money is tight). I usually spend £5 each on them so not much but when it’s multipled it’s around £50. The culture in my workplace is that line managers buy their staff individual gifts so getting a shared gift is not really an option. I guess I am just asking for suggestions of something that’s thoughtful, shows appreciation but very inexpensive! I really can’t spend anymore that £25 TOTAL this is between 10 members of staff. Please help.