Of course, there are people who enjoy their birthdays, however, others experience sadness on this special day. To feel cherished and adored, though, is always pleasant. One day a year gives you the opportunity to feel like the biggest star. Everyone gathers to celebrate and express their appreciation for you, including friends, family, and coworkers. The giving and receiving of gifts, which represent affection, consideration, and well wishes for the person celebrating, is one of the best parts of birthday celebrations. Even though gifts from friends and family hold a special feeling, receiving gifts from coworkers enhances the feeling of warmth and appreciation in the office. Being congratulated at the workplace reflects the connection and support among colleagues that makes your birthday even more special.
More info: Reddit
It’s nice to feel appreciated on one's birthday by coworkers, especially when you are contributing to everybody’s gifts all the time
Image credits: twingly (not the actual photo)
This employee shared a story about how he was asked twice in 48 hours to contribute to his coworkers’ birthday gifts without receiving any himself
Image credits: ElChappie1
Image credits: Cortney Martin (not the actual photo)
Image credits: ElChappie1
He recently refused to give money and he's preparing to do the same for future requests
Reddit user "ElChappie1" recently posted his experience on the "Antiwork" subreddit after receiving requests to contribute money for his coworkers' birthday gifts despite not receiving any himself. The article quickly gained popularity and in just 24 hours, it had more than 6.2K upvotes and more than 700 comments.
The author starts his story by saying that he has been working at his current job for around 3 years, and to calculate birthdays - he had 2 birthdays there. However, he never received any gifts but always requests to contribute. He mentions that he has never refused to contribute but enough is enough.
Recently, one of his coworkers had an upcoming birthday, and even though she was off work on her birthday, before leaving she got a gift card and flowers, and OP got a message that he owes money for this contribution. And this was the last straw as he finally put his foot down and stated that he is not going to contribute any money.
However, right after this email, another message came with the same request - tomorrow is another coworker’s birthday and everybody please contribute. The author mentioned that he hasn’t responded to this request yet, but he is planning on just saying that he is not going to do it. Additionally, he explained that it’s not the first time that he has been told that he owes (not even asked if he would like to contribute) money for people’s birthdays.
He ends his story by saying that he believes he has every right to refuse, however, he is confident that it will be followed with a snub from his colleagues.
Image credits: mliu92 (not the actual photo)
People in the comment section agreed with the author that it is messed up and not fair, and shared their own experiences at their workplaces. One user started by suggesting: “You could ignore it but I’m petty. ‘You know, it’s pretty insulting that people keep asking me to contribute, yet in my several years of working here, I’ve never received a birthday gift.'” Others noticed a very odd thing that the contribution looked more like an obligation: “It's the "owe" part that gets me. No request, no notice, just a demand that you use a little of your paycheck toward your coworkers.”
Additionally, Bored Panda contacted the author of this story, who agreed to share more insights regarding the whole situation.
“ElChappie1” started by saying that since he has posted his story on Reddit, there haven’t been any more developments, however he said that “based on previous experience, one would assume I'll get an email shortly asking me again to send money.”
We also asked the OP if he knows or has noticed if there is somebody else in the office that doesn't get any gifts but always contributes for others' gifts: “I know for a fact that I was the only one who has never gotten a present.” Moreover, when asked if he has spoken with any of the coworkers regarding this situation, the author mentioned that he hasn’t gone into any details, only a single reply to decline this contribution.
And finally, the guy was very happy about people’s reactions under his post: “I honestly was surprised! Mainly because I didn't think “antiwork” was that high profile of a subreddit, but also because I thought it was a pretty no-brainer solution to simply say no.”
The author finished by saying that he is really happy to see people take his side and support him in this situation. “I hope it helps other people who might find themselves in similar circumstances to stand up for themselves.”
Image credits: Lara604 (not the actual photo)
Folks in the comments shared their own suggestions on how to handle this situation:
