With the dawn of "Bosses' Day", giving gifts to one's Supervisor or Manager has become more acceptable. However, one should still exercise good judgement in the giving of a gift to ones' Boss, as the action can conjure up ideas of hidden agendas, as well as trigger speculations amongst other employees. Additionally, the recipient of the gift, namely the Boss, may also consider possible motives or reasons for the gift.
Yet, in the spirit of good office camaraderie, as well as in genuine appreciation of a decent and well-liked Boss, there is no reason to avoid giving a gift to one's Boss. The ideal way to give the Boss a gift is for a group of employees to pool together to purchase the gift, and thus make it a joint gift giving effort.
The giving of a gift to the Boss from a group of employees will eliminate any speculation that one is endeavouring to endear themself to the Boss. However, by receiving the gift from a group of employees, the Boss will know that they are appreciated.
As usual, there are always exceptions to every situation. For instance, if someone has worked with and / or for the Boss for an extended period of time, then a personal but inexpensive gift is appropriate on pertinent occasions. These occasions would include birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, Bosses' days, Christmas, and / or any other particular religious holiday wherein gift giving is common. Also, if the Boss has been ill for a period of time, or has been hospitalised, a floral arrangement or a plant is usually acceptable from an individual employee. The trend is now leaning towards sending silk floral arrangements, as these can be kept on a permanent basis as opposed to fresh flowers.
The Boss is just as human as employees, and just as employees do, the Boss likes to know that their efforts and actions are appreciated. The art to giving a gift to the Boss lies in the manner in which it is done.
