Petty coworker Sapphire’s Secret Santa gift ignores colleague’s stated allergy, pushing the 27-year-old to report Sapphire once again: ‘My boss didn’t take sides, but it’s now been 4 days, and Sapphire refuses to make eye contact’

There's a meme I saw a while ago (and added below for you to also enjoy) where a boss tells a new employee there are pros and cons to working for his company. One being the fun activities they arrange for their employees, and the employee replies, " Right, and what are the pros?" And the story this woman shared instantly made me think of it.

I get why team building is important, I really do. The problem is that a lot of times, the more you get to know the people in your team, the more you start playing with the idea of building a one-man colony on a mountain and just completely dropping out of civilization. And although she doesn't say it explicitly, I know if I were in her shoes, my mind would be up that mountain growing his own produce.  And just team building activities, office holiday traditions tend to reveal more than they celebrate. Something as small as a gift exchange can quietly show how people really feel about one another. The smiles stay polite, but underneath the tinsel and coffee‑stained gift bags, there is a whole system of small grudges, fragile alliances, and silent competitions. Workplaces turn into small ecosystems where kindness shares space with irritation, and the annual cheer just gives everyone new props to work with.  

It is rarely about the gift itself. A five-dollar limit does not buy generosity, it buys interpretation. Every mug, candle, or candy bar becomes a small clue in an ongoing mystery of who likes whom. Sometimes the choices are thoughtful, sometimes lazy, and sometimes just pointed enough to raise an eyebrow. Even little moments like this can carry the weight of a long buildup, quiet resentment turned festive.  

That is the strange thing about office relationships: they collect tension almost by accident. Everyone wants to seem easygoing, but proximity turns every minor irritation into a small story. Gift exchanges just put a bow on that pattern. It is rarely malicious, just human, people trying to play nice while barely holding it together. 

Author image for Etai Eshet Etai Eshet
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