Gifts ?

[Far from newbie]

It’s that time of year again......
the question needs to be asked:
Are you buying co-worker gifts ? For peers, subordinates, bosses ? Who have you received gifts from at work ? What kind of gifts have you given/received ?

 

[NKG]

Here's the gift buying chart-

Tms buy for other TMs/ maybe TL if you like them enough

Tl- Buy for ETLs and maybe Tms

ETL- buy for SD

Sd- collects expensive gifts 🤷‍♀️

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

last year GSTMs did a secret santa and we all just got each other small gift cards. was fun.

 

[IWishIKnew]

Gift etiquette rules in the workplace are that they flow down, not up. Get gifts for peers or people below you on the food chain, but not for people above you (unless you have a personal relationship outside of work).

If your leaders expect gifts from you they suck as it's pretty shitty to expect those that make less than you to get you a gift, and if they don't suck and don't expect gifts and you get them something you risk looking like an ass-kisser so just don't do it.

 

[happygoth]

@IWishIKnew is correct, it is considered improper to give gifts to your boss.

My store does not seem big on the gift-giving.

 

[Style2563]

I bought gifts for my two coworkers that I consider friends. We have given each other gifts every Christmas.

 

[Black Sheep 214]

At my store the TLs did a Secret Santa among themselves. No gifts to those above. We gave small gifts to the members of our team and brought food in for our departmental holiday celebration (friends from other departments were welcome to join us). The celebration lasted off and on all day during breaks and lunch breaks.
The ETLs gave gifts to the TLs of their areas. Most years it was two movie tickets. One year it was two tickets and a mini-bag of microwave popcorn. Guess the store must’ve done exceptionally well that year.😂

 

[Noiinteam]

Every year I buy for our hr tm. In the past I have bought for my tl and Etl log

 

[CIHYFS]

TLs at my store will sometimes give baked goodies to the ETL team, but never purchased gifts that I've ever seen. ETL giving to TL is hit or miss. My ETL will give out candy to his TLs and a different ETL at the store will spend hundreds of dollars on her TLs. It just depends who your boss is! SD usually gives out gift cards to TLs, probably from the recognition budget.

 

[Far from newbie]

Assuming home baked goodies would not be welcomed this year - other suggestions ?

 

[Fluttervale]

It would be inappropriate to accept a gift of much significance from a subordinate. Gift down, not up.

 

[rog the dog]

Yeah just wanna echo the previous posts. Even if it's a gesture of good faith and nothing more than that Target gets weird about shit like this

 

[Amanda Cantwell]

Assuming home baked goodies would not be welcomed this year - other suggestions ?

Agree home baked goods any other year would be great but not this year. Maybe small gift card or honestly nothing would make me happier than a truly nice handwritten card just showing me you care like that would make my week

 

[DBZ]

I bought a gift for a couple of TMs and one for a TL, but she isn't my TL. I don't know that I would do anything for my TLs. They probably aren't doing anything for their team, so....

 

[Cinnamon2005]

Last year, I was SETL. I gave each front of store team member a card, thanking them for their hard work. I kept snacks in my bottom desk drawer all through the year.

 

[Bufferine]

We actually have guidelines at our store for the baked goods or candy. You can give baked good to one person but that person takes them home and doesn’t share any. For the break room you can if they are individually wrapped. We also have been getting food which is meals individually wrapped. We loosened the rules and we had this all start on thanksgiving. I might add that since the beginning of COVID until thanksgiving we had 9 cases. Since Thanksgiving until 2 days ago we had 7.

 

[FlowTeamChick]

In the past I've given homemade baked goods to TMs who are friends. They've all moved on to other things though and for a few reasons, I haven't formed the same level of friendship with other TMs. One of them gave me an ornament one year, which reminds me of her every year since when I put it on the tree.
There was one year where one of them thought we should go in a group gift for our TL; I thought he was a jerk and didn't really want to but gave in to the (mild) peer pressure. Wouldn't do it again now even though I have a different TL I actually like.
For non-food gifts, I'd do a small, inexpensive ornament or a handwritten note.

 

[Bufferine]

We actually have guidelines at our store for the baked goods or candy. You can give baked good to one person but that person takes them home and doesn’t share any. For the break room you can if they are individually wrapped. We also have been getting food which is meals individually wrapped. Taking We loosened the rules and we had this all start on thanksgiving. I might add that since the beginning of COVID until thanksgiving we had 9 cases. Since Thanksgiving until 2 days ago we had 7.

 

[happygoth]

In the past I've given homemade baked goods to TMs who are friends. They've all moved on to other things though and for a few reasons, I haven't formed the same level of friendship with other TMs. One of them gave me an ornament one year, which reminds me of her every year since when I put it on the tree.
There was one year where one of them thought we should go in a group gift for our TL; I thought he was a jerk and didn't really want to but gave in to the (mild) peer pressure. Wouldn't do it again now even though I have a different TL I actually like.
For non-food gifts, I'd do a small, inexpensive ornament or a handwritten note.

Group gifts for one's leaders were big at Sears, but there would always be one or two from the group who refused to give, which of course was fodder for gossip.

 

[bymoonlight]

I got gifts for a couple of my close coworkers and a little bag of baked goods for each of the TLs

 

[rd123]

Our store had someone put individually packed homemade cookies 1-2 times recently.

 

[Used To Be Sane]

It’s that time of year again......
the question needs to be asked:
Are you buying co-worker gifts ? For peers, subordinates, bosses ? Who have you received gifts from at work ? What kind of gifts have you given/received ?

You can't. An ETL got fired last year for accepting a cookie basket from a lowlife guest service advocate.

It was a simple gift but Target does not want lowlife guest service advocates to be but diminished capacity slaves at the front end and not interact nor befriend others. Don't gift "equals" either. Target doesn't want interactions at ALL with others.

Target is more like a "machine". They want individuals to punch the clock, work like robots, punch out.

It's TRUE. Look in our handbook.

Our entire store culture has changed after they fired our SD. Now everyone is for themselves and knows they can, and WILL, be fired for ABSOLUTELY anything.

There isn't even ONE employee at my store that's happy anymore. Not even one.

 

[Patty]

I am so relieved to hear this. Thank you so much.

 

[james0707]

One of the team leads in my store has been handing out gift bags to her team members.