How Much, If Anything, to Spend on the Boss
It turns out the more money you make, the less likely you are to spend some of it on a gift for your boss. Some 34 percent of workers who make under $50,000 a year say they will buy a gift for their boss, a CareerBuilder.com survey found, compared with 27 percent of employees who make between $50,000 and $100,000 a year and only 23 percent of workers who make over $100,000 a year. Female employees are more than twice as likely as men to buy their boss a gift, but only 5 percent of all workers report feeling obligated to do so.
"In general, you do not give your boss a gift," says etiquette expert Peggy Post, although she concedes there are always exceptions to that rule. If you feel the need to bestow a present, don't give your supervisor a gift that's just from you, advises Post: "You may look like you're trying to curry favor with the boss." Instead, she recommends that you pool your money with coworkers to get the boss a joint gift.
How much do most people spend on a team gift for the boss? This is what the CareerBuilder.com survey found:
How Much Is Spent on the Boss
| Amount Spent | Percentage of Employees |
|---|---|
| $5 or less | 18 percent |
| $6 to $10 | 29 percent |
| $11 to $15 | 13 percent |
| $16 to $20 | 17 percent |
| $21 to $25 | 7 percent |
| $26 to $50 | 8 percent |
| $51 or more | 8 percent |
Source: CareerBuilder.com
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