The point of Secret Santa is that it's low-key. It's not a formal gift exchange, but rather a fun way to exchange (usually small) gifts and add a little bit of mystery to it. I used to do one with my high school friend group, and we'd usually give each other gag gifts, just so we could all have a laugh together when we exchanged them. But things can get a little trickier when it comes to gift-giving in the workplace. You have to be extra sure not to offend anyone, or else you might face profess…

Music is personal

There is no perfect way to fire someone, but this isn't it

It seems like in this day and age, you're never quite sure where you stand with your company . Getting let go is always a bit of a shock to the system, no matter who you are or what kind of work you're doing. That's what happened in this situation, when an employee who by all accounts was doing a commendable job, was suddenly relieved of their position after their big money-saving project was complete. It seems as though sometimes they just want you for a specific project but don't want you aft…

Giving gifts in a corporate setting is a tricky business . You may want to show your appreciation for the people you work with, but gifts mean money, and money is a delicate subject at work. So as a rule, and as these commenters pointed out, gifts should flow down, not up. It's a nice thing for a boss to give a little something to their employees (though a fair, competitive wage is the best gift of all). But it shouldn't be expected for those lower on the totem pole, and thus those making less…

Everyone wants to feel like they're being fairly compensated for the work they do. It's part of what makes a job sustainable. Not only do you need enough money to live, you need enough money to feel appreciated, or else your sense of purpose will dwindle over time. The best employers know this and do their best to pay their employees not only a living wage but a wage that matches their commitment to the company. Loyalty doesn't come for free when it comes to business. What certainly isn't appre…

Sharing one's location is a technological development that comes with a lot of moral and ethical quandaries. Folks 50 years ago didn't have to wonder if it was normal or not to ask for their boyfriend's location. They just had to believe him if he said he was going to pick up a case of beer from the next town over. But now that we have the ability to track each other's phones, and it has become a common custom to do so, it begs the question of where we draw the line. Having someone's location c…

Getting someone's name right is one of the basic building blocks of being someone's coworker

Going on a work trip can create a weird space between working and your personal life. Sure, you're there to work, and you have work obligations while you're there, but you also have to be a human while on company time. You need a place to stay, food to eat, and transportation to and from your home. Usually, this is covered by the company-- after all, you wouldn't be traveling if they hadn't asked you to. But what happens when you quit while you're away? That's the situation this worker found hi…

If you have PTO , using it shouldn't be an issue. Your company has already agreed on a certain amount of days you can take, so as long as you give a little bit of notice, they should have to give it to you. After all, why would they agree to it if they couldn't honor it? And it shouldn't matter what the days are for. You're allowed to use them however you'd like, whether it's to go on vacation or because a new video game is dropping and you want to be the first one to play it. But for important…

Sometimes the perks of a job are just another way they're deceiving you. They make it sound appealing in the application and the interview, but then you get there and you realize mandated company bowling outings are more of a nuisance than they are a perk. This is true of a few things workplaces offer to make themselves seem more appealing. It's part of the bait-and-switch culture of the corporate world. They lure you in with ping pong in the break room and then you're slowly driven crazy by th…

Being an assistant is a tricky job. You have to work incredibly closely with your boss and act on their behalf. And if you're a personal assistant, you probably have to help with aspects of their life that aren't work-related. You might have to schedule appointments, pick up their dry cleaning, run personal errands, and deal with their family. This can lead to a blurring of the professional and the personal world. You're in their lives, and they're in yours. But it's still a job. You can't lean…

It's always a little bit awkward to leave a job. You have your reasons for leaving, but you might not be on the best of terms with everyone there. You might be leaving because of a toxic environment or a toxic boss. You want to leave behind a place that made you feel bad about yourself or didn't value your contributions. If that's the case, then you might want to leave as quietly as possible, out like a lamb, because ruffling any feathers might make you feel worse. But you still need an outlet…

Unpaid internships are one of the biggest scams of our current work culture. We all agree that internships are valuable to young people who want to get a taste of a certain field, gain some practical experience, and start collecting references for their resumes. Moreover, interns are valuable to companies to train prospective hires, gain some new insight, and build their programs. But where, in all of that, does it say that it doesn't need to pay? You're doing real work, after all, and work sho…

Carpooling can be a wonderful thing . If you alternate, it saves you money on gas, it helps the environment, and it gives you a way to bond with your coworkers. Many work relationships are formed on the way to and from work. Commuting is something you have to do anyway, and it gives you a chance to chat about the goings-on of your workplace. But if the carpooling arrangement gets to be too one-sided, things can go wrong. Going to work can be a sacred time to gather yourself and your thoughts be…

Anyone who's looking for a job right now could tell you that it's rough out there. Finding a job can be a difficult, arduous task, especially if you're just starting. You quickly find out that you'll have to do some pretty major compromising. You might have to work for less money than expected, you might have to do something a little outside of your interests, and you might have to commute farther than ideal. It's part and parcel of figuring out a new work situation. But you find out which comp…