I Refused to Join the Office Secret Santa, I’m Not Here to Pretend We’re a Family
When building a career, we often have concerns about money, and that can lead to a lot of anxiety. Things get even worse when unexpected expenses are thrown in our laps. One of our readers shared a story on our website expressing her frustration about a recent work event. We reached out to her to find out more details and turned her story into an article.
I started a new job this month after being unemployed for a good while. My finances are very tight because of this, so I was hoping this opportunity would provide me with some relief. But unfortunately, nothing is ever as easy as it seems.
On Friday, I found out that every December, our office organizes a huge Secret Santa exchange, and we were all expected to bring a gift with a value of $100. I approached my boss and told her that I wouldn’t be able to participate this year.
She asked me why, and I told her, “Sorry, I’m not spending money on gifts when I’m struggling to pay rent!” She seemed to understand and went out to tell my coworkers not to include me in the gift exchange. Everyone said, “It’s fine! No worries! We’ll catch you next year.”
But when I arrived at the office on Monday, I saw my name crossed out on the team holiday card and someone had written ‘Grinch’ beside it. My coworkers all seem to be upset with me, with some even saying that I ruined the tradition.
Turns out some of my coworkers complained about me not being part of the experience and my boss ended up telling them why I refused. They feel I could’ve at least made the effort to get a cheaper gift, and say that would’ve been more acceptable than not doing anything at all.
But the problem is that I can’t even afford to stock up my pantry because I’m back paying my rent. That $100 or even $50 could be better spent on me trying to survive instead of giving a coworker something they’ll probably end up throwing away.
Now I’m at a loss. I don’t want to have a bad reputation within the company. But I also don’t want to throw away money I can use for my survival.
So Bright Side, what do you think? Should I buy a cheaper gift, or should I stock up on groceries?
