Employee suggests all staff gather their financial contributions before purchasing a joint farewell gift for their boss, so no one is expected to contribute an amount they're not comfortable with: ‘Maybe my coworkers think I’m being cheap or stingy’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Sep 6, 2025 6:00 AM EDT

You know how public school teachers often have to fund their own school supplies, goodie bags, and other miscellaneous "rewards" for their students? Well, as unfair and telling as that is, do you expect office employees to do the same thing? The employee in this next story proposes collecting cash from colleagues to pool money together for their boss's farewell gift, as opposed to someone footing the cost of the entire gift and expecting folks to shell out X amount of cash for it. Makes sense to me.

The employee, however, is second-guessing their proposal. They think that their colleagues aren't happy with this "stingy" attitude toward gift-giving in the office, but commenters raise important points. Shouldn't HR fund the gift? Otherwise, all staff members are put in a position of looking too cheap or being too giving. Not everyone is in the same tax bracket, even if they work under the same roof, and commenters explain that the employee shouldn't put themselves into a hole just to fund a new coffee machine or set of golf clubs for their EX-boss. What do you think of their proposal? Scroll below to read the full story.

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