In my office, bosses give Christmas gifts to their assistants. But every boss is different and each assistant gets something different – one may get season tickets to a professional sports team while another may get a basket of bruised fruit that is obviously a re-gift. It runs the gamut.
I received my usual gift card and was VERY grateful for the amount this year. I thanked my boss and his team and put the card in my purse and went about my work.
Two coworkers came by and asked what I got. I hesitated and told them a gift card. They asked “for how much”. It felt to me they were asking a personal question, almost like asking how much I make a year. I told them I didn’t want to say. CW1 said, “oooh, that much huh, come on, how much was the card?” I said I wouldn’t discuss it and bean-dipped about the holiday cookies that were in the kitchen. CW2 said, “fine, be that way” and stormed off. CW1 whispered, “you can tell me later, I want to know” and she walked off. An hour later, I get an email from CW1 asking again how much was the card and did I want to share. She said she was just kidding about the share part, but still wanted to know how much. I never responded.
That was the day I left for vacation and am back today hoping the fascination with my gift card has subsided.
Is it rude not to divulge a gift amount?
