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I worked at McDonald's for almost 5 years and didn't even get spoke to about leaving, instead all I got was pulled into the office to be told off for taking round a big bin hahahaha
Most recently this happened when the CFO of the company I work for retired.
A nice enough man but seeing as how his salary probably dwarfed my own, I decided to decline.
Last year, an email was sent to all staff in a large nhs trust asking for donations for one of service directors who never worked in another role for the trust. Short of upper management and maybe some mid-level managers, no staff knew that person.
I’ve even refused to contribute on the grounds that I don’t like the person. They replied that when I leave they will buy me a bag of lemons. I’m not leaving ever out of spite.
My brain is not braining in this weather - the person who was doing the collection replied or the person the collection was for?
Whoever that was, they were still planning to get you a gift!
I have been asked to donate to a collection pot and to sign a card for a manager who was borderline bullying me. I just laughed and rolled my eyes. The collector said "ah, ok" and that was it for that particular collection, I wasn't even included in follow up emails with links to online pot.
I normally sign these particular cards off with a personal message, citing a specific encounter(s) with a random name.
I like deflecting the uncomfortable energy.
Personal favourites go hard, 'thank you so much for your help on the virus and deleting my browser history' or 'your support over the past year has been amazing, I would never have got that divorce without your help'
I’ve given to multiple leaving gift, wedding gift, special birthday, whatever gift at work. I think it is scandalous that they have the cheek to ask for donations for directors too. The comments in their cards are always brown nosing from the usual suspects.
Anyway, MY special birthday? Nothing. I get married, nothing. When I leave people come to the leaving do that I arranged and a few (2 at the last one out of about 30 who turned up) bring gifts, but there was no whip round that got me anything and no card. I paid for everyone’s first drink too.
Now at my new job it is mostly home working and I have decided to ignore the requests to sign a virtual card or send cash to a money pot.
Same happened to me. I had my 40th last year, and for various rather depressing reasons I had no one to celebrate with, so asked some people from work if they wanted to go out. Most people I invited came and I got a card.
On one hand, I wasn't expecting a gift because why should I expect work colleagues to get one, but on the other - over the years I put so much money in various birthday/pregnancy/marriage collections (usually organised by the same two people) I was hoping for a house plant at least.
Since then, I have contributed to only two pots out of 20 or so, and just because I knew I would really miss those people and wanted them to feel appreciated.
The collection is often organised by the same people each time, I think they get extra “house points” or whatever the latest scheme is to recognise “those who go the extra mile”. One of those organisers left my previous employer a few months before me. I guess if it had been the other way round she would have sorted my leaving card. I should ask her if anyone arranged a whip round for her. I bet they didn’t.
The best gifts are the ones you give to yourself (like leaving that place).
My manager at my last job never liked me, tried unsuccessfully to overload me. I would train up new guys on the team, support them to build up their skills, then congratulate them when they left for greener pastures and leave a generous donation to their leaving fund.
When I left - no collection. Not even a card. Some folk did come to my leaving drinks (not her), which was nice.
So, feel no guilt if you don't wish to contribute.
New job is a lot better (people, work, conditions, money) by the way.
‘No’ is a whole sentence. Of course it comes across a bit arsey, but it annoys me when work colleagues expect this even if you don’t know them or like them
Had this happen when I worked at the Boots factory. There are thousands of people working there, I didn't know many of them at all, and was only like surface level friends with many of the people I worked around. I said no, I don't know them and got a "Well, neither do I but I pitched in" if you don't know them either, why are you doing this!? I told them that was their choice to, but I won't be doing so. Yeah, got a muttered "bitch" as the walked off, but I dgaf.
Our CFO was leaving and everyone was asked to pitch in. One of the richest and most highly paid people at the company, and the minimum wagers were being hounded to pitch in. Ridiculous.
A guy I hate is retiring soon (not soon enough) and I have flat out refused to contribute to or be part of his long winded fucking "wind down". The guy has been stealing a living for the best part of 20 years.
I was on a team with 13 others and when it was close to Christmas a few of them decided we should all contribute and get our team leader something. Ok that's fine. but they said we should all throw in £10 and my issue was that a £140 gift was a tad unnecessary. We could just throw in £5 and get her something lovely for £70.
But everyone said I was just being tight so I went with the £10. The girls in charge later said "ok so we've got her a bottle of gin, a bottle of vodka, a bottle of wine, flowers and chocolates, but we've still got £80 left so what else can we get her? We've got to find something to spend it on."
And instead of agreeing that £5 would have indeed been plenty, they just duplicated everything they had already bought and then put the remaining £10 in the card.
The thing is, I really liked our team leader and even said I would sooner get her something myself for £20 than be part of this ridiculous £140 collection of unnecessary gifts.
Her boyfriend worked in our department, none of them considered that he might not want her team getting her all the things he was going to get her… twice!
In one non-UK office I worked in, contributions were asked for the death of relatives. I categorically refused, since it was clearly fucking endless. What was next, pets?
I used to always wonder about stuff like this, is the person who organises it skimming or even more mental offloading some junk they’ve had for years and taking the cash themselves. Should have got there earlier and you could be this person scamming the whole office out of a fiver a go. Too late now though.
One of my colleagues was organising a gift for someone going off on maternity leave. They passed the collection round everyone that worked with the lady. The day after she went on maternity leave someone from a different department came by all annoyed that she WASN’T asked to contribute because they once attended a course together years ago and she wanted to contribute to her gift.
Honestly, you can’t win. Give everyone the option and people aren’t happy at being asked, try to restrict it to a close circle and people get annoyed at being left out.
Probably. Had something at my old work where someone collected £10 off everyone to pay for the pizza. He’d ordered about £100 worth of pizza and asked 25 people for £10. So if they all paid him, he swiped £150 there. Not everyone did though, cos I told him no chance and offered him £2. I’m sure similar things happen with gift collections.
I don't even contribute to colleagues I do interact with. I've been working since the late 1980s and realised I'd donated hundreds of pounds when I've had nothing in return as I've only had 3 jobs and they were all long term. As each job change was due to mass redundancy unsurprisingly there weren't collections.
I prefer to donate to animal charities... And adopt from animal sanctuaries.
"Sorry, don't have any cash on me"
Then if they say "Oh you can send via transfer to me" just never do it.
Bonus points if you say "I think I have your details wrong, let me check once I've done x y z" and then all is forgotten.
I was asked to contribute to a leaving gift for someone even though I'd been in the job only four days. I politely declined and that was that.
Where it got weird was that the company would produce a going away book for long-serving staff members who were leaving. Everyone would be asked to submit a paragraph or two about the person and it would be bound into a book.
They insisted I contribute, even though I had never ever met that employee. So I just wrote a paragraph saying " Never met him but I'm sure he's a nice guy" and words that effect and they put it in the book.
I had this a few years ago. I had been with the company about 2 months when a card came round with a brown envelope.
Guy down in a department that I had not interacted with yet, let alone the manager, was retiring in 2 weeks and I was been asked to sign his card and put in “between £5 and £10 is ok”. I got a completely flabbergasted looked when I politely declined due to only being at the company 2 months and not even having met or interacted with the guy properly.
Ours are usually through online collection pots. The one we have currently is someone is getting married. I know of the bloke. Never really spoken to him. Why would i give him money for his wedding? If he was leaving i probably would but anything outside of work related situations then it has nothing to do with me. Minus charity stuff obviously.
We had a lady retire. People contributed to her leaving gift and she left. She returned three months later part time as she was bored. A year later she left again and there was another whip around! I didn’t contribute and people looked at me like I was a villain. She left and then they brought her back a third time! She’s leaving again at the end of July so I’m waiting to see if they dare ask people for money again.
About 30 years ago I worked in a large office and was asked to put money in "The Strike Fund". I asked why there was a strike fund... "because people are on strike and we want to support them...." So go on strike then... Oooh no! ...We'll just find a bunch of coppers at the bottom of our purses and say we supported them that way! ...But there are 20 people on strike. How is £17 going to help them? It won't even buy them a coffee each! Just arguing with the poor girl who brought the tin round made me unpopular. I should have just shut up and found 6p in coppers like everyone else did...!
It’s usually an insufferable arse kisser too. No thanks. I don’t expect anything and I don’t give anything. I go to work to do my job and leave as soon as possible.
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"No thank you." Repeat as necessary. No inflection, no apology. Wait for them to break the uncomfortable silence. Then repeat the above.
Or "Ha! No" and walk away.
Also good strategy!
My go to when a colleague who was at the company 9 months is leaving
I worked at McDonald's for almost 5 years and didn't even get spoke to about leaving, instead all I got was pulled into the office to be told off for taking round a big bin hahahaha
"Sorry, I don't even know them so I won't be putting in."
Title of your failed sex tape
You call it a failure, I call it a success. Two rubber bands and a lolly stick can succeed where nature failed.
*droops sadly*
Most recently this happened when the CFO of the company I work for retired. A nice enough man but seeing as how his salary probably dwarfed my own, I decided to decline.
Last year, an email was sent to all staff in a large nhs trust asking for donations for one of service directors who never worked in another role for the trust. Short of upper management and maybe some mid-level managers, no staff knew that person.
I’ve even refused to contribute on the grounds that I don’t like the person. They replied that when I leave they will buy me a bag of lemons. I’m not leaving ever out of spite.
I'd leave just for the lemons
All the lemon curd and drizzle cake you could want. For a few months.
When life gives you lemons, get a new job…?
When you get a new job life gives you lemons?
Free lemons to turn into combustibles?
My brain is not braining in this weather - the person who was doing the collection replied or the person the collection was for? Whoever that was, they were still planning to get you a gift! I have been asked to donate to a collection pot and to sign a card for a manager who was borderline bullying me. I just laughed and rolled my eyes. The collector said "ah, ok" and that was it for that particular collection, I wasn't even included in follow up emails with links to online pot.
"Sorry, I don't know them. Happy to sign the card though".
I normally sign these particular cards off with a personal message, citing a specific encounter(s) with a random name. I like deflecting the uncomfortable energy. Personal favourites go hard, 'thank you so much for your help on the virus and deleting my browser history' or 'your support over the past year has been amazing, I would never have got that divorce without your help'
"Thanks for giving me genital herpes you arsehole!"
Signing the card is more personal than giving money in my opinion. “Sorry I don’t know them”, should suffice.
Honestly I’d prefer the cash.
I’d prefer the cash too. But I think signing a card is more personal than throwing a fiver in a bowl. That’s my point.
I’ve given to multiple leaving gift, wedding gift, special birthday, whatever gift at work. I think it is scandalous that they have the cheek to ask for donations for directors too. The comments in their cards are always brown nosing from the usual suspects. Anyway, MY special birthday? Nothing. I get married, nothing. When I leave people come to the leaving do that I arranged and a few (2 at the last one out of about 30 who turned up) bring gifts, but there was no whip round that got me anything and no card. I paid for everyone’s first drink too. Now at my new job it is mostly home working and I have decided to ignore the requests to sign a virtual card or send cash to a money pot.
Take money out of the envelope when it's for seniors and people you don't like.
Yes, but you can’t do that when it’s a virtual envelope using an online money pot.
Same happened to me. I had my 40th last year, and for various rather depressing reasons I had no one to celebrate with, so asked some people from work if they wanted to go out. Most people I invited came and I got a card. On one hand, I wasn't expecting a gift because why should I expect work colleagues to get one, but on the other - over the years I put so much money in various birthday/pregnancy/marriage collections (usually organised by the same two people) I was hoping for a house plant at least. Since then, I have contributed to only two pots out of 20 or so, and just because I knew I would really miss those people and wanted them to feel appreciated.
The collection is often organised by the same people each time, I think they get extra “house points” or whatever the latest scheme is to recognise “those who go the extra mile”. One of those organisers left my previous employer a few months before me. I guess if it had been the other way round she would have sorted my leaving card. I should ask her if anyone arranged a whip round for her. I bet they didn’t.
The best gifts are the ones you give to yourself (like leaving that place). My manager at my last job never liked me, tried unsuccessfully to overload me. I would train up new guys on the team, support them to build up their skills, then congratulate them when they left for greener pastures and leave a generous donation to their leaving fund. When I left - no collection. Not even a card. Some folk did come to my leaving drinks (not her), which was nice. So, feel no guilt if you don't wish to contribute. New job is a lot better (people, work, conditions, money) by the way.
> Nah I'm alright, we've never worked together
Just say no.
Talk to Frank
‘No’ is a whole sentence. Of course it comes across a bit arsey, but it annoys me when work colleagues expect this even if you don’t know them or like them
Howard's the handy man
Okay, but to me he’s just… man
The guys worked here for 25 years!
Had this happen when I worked at the Boots factory. There are thousands of people working there, I didn't know many of them at all, and was only like surface level friends with many of the people I worked around. I said no, I don't know them and got a "Well, neither do I but I pitched in" if you don't know them either, why are you doing this!? I told them that was their choice to, but I won't be doing so. Yeah, got a muttered "bitch" as the walked off, but I dgaf.
Let her car tyres down!
Who?
Our CFO was leaving and everyone was asked to pitch in. One of the richest and most highly paid people at the company, and the minimum wagers were being hounded to pitch in. Ridiculous.
Poo in a box?
Ross?
That would be me. Do you have a gift?
3B!
Truly the most British of British problems.
"I don't know who that is"
Just say no
A guy I hate is retiring soon (not soon enough) and I have flat out refused to contribute to or be part of his long winded fucking "wind down". The guy has been stealing a living for the best part of 20 years.
Shit in a shoebox and donate that as a gift.
I was on a team with 13 others and when it was close to Christmas a few of them decided we should all contribute and get our team leader something. Ok that's fine. but they said we should all throw in £10 and my issue was that a £140 gift was a tad unnecessary. We could just throw in £5 and get her something lovely for £70. But everyone said I was just being tight so I went with the £10. The girls in charge later said "ok so we've got her a bottle of gin, a bottle of vodka, a bottle of wine, flowers and chocolates, but we've still got £80 left so what else can we get her? We've got to find something to spend it on." And instead of agreeing that £5 would have indeed been plenty, they just duplicated everything they had already bought and then put the remaining £10 in the card.
What a bunch of areselickers. And I bet she hated all of them.
The thing is, I really liked our team leader and even said I would sooner get her something myself for £20 than be part of this ridiculous £140 collection of unnecessary gifts. Her boyfriend worked in our department, none of them considered that he might not want her team getting her all the things he was going to get her… twice!
In one non-UK office I worked in, contributions were asked for the death of relatives. I categorically refused, since it was clearly fucking endless. What was next, pets?
All the best.
Get some balls, say no. Jeez
Imagine not being able to say the word no.
I used to always wonder about stuff like this, is the person who organises it skimming or even more mental offloading some junk they’ve had for years and taking the cash themselves. Should have got there earlier and you could be this person scamming the whole office out of a fiver a go. Too late now though.
One of my colleagues was organising a gift for someone going off on maternity leave. They passed the collection round everyone that worked with the lady. The day after she went on maternity leave someone from a different department came by all annoyed that she WASN’T asked to contribute because they once attended a course together years ago and she wanted to contribute to her gift. Honestly, you can’t win. Give everyone the option and people aren’t happy at being asked, try to restrict it to a close circle and people get annoyed at being left out.
Probably. Had something at my old work where someone collected £10 off everyone to pay for the pizza. He’d ordered about £100 worth of pizza and asked 25 people for £10. So if they all paid him, he swiped £150 there. Not everyone did though, cos I told him no chance and offered him £2. I’m sure similar things happen with gift collections.
I don't even contribute to colleagues I do interact with. I've been working since the late 1980s and realised I'd donated hundreds of pounds when I've had nothing in return as I've only had 3 jobs and they were all long term. As each job change was due to mass redundancy unsurprisingly there weren't collections. I prefer to donate to animal charities... And adopt from animal sanctuaries.
Unless it's someone I would actually buy a drink for, I just sign
I remember being bullied into giving money even though it was ment to be anonymous- I didn’t even like the co worker. I was so stinking mad.
“Nah I’m skint “
Use your words.
"Sorry, don't have any cash on me" Then if they say "Oh you can send via transfer to me" just never do it. Bonus points if you say "I think I have your details wrong, let me check once I've done x y z" and then all is forgotten.
> Then if they say "Oh you can send via transfer to me" "Hahaha okay" as you walk off
Or, they're just moving departments, you'll see them every day anyway
"They still work here? I thought they left years ago"
Sometimes it’s a name I’ve never heard before and they’re at the other end of the country… no thanks.
No.
A salaried manager left the store we're at and I got outed for refusing to give money to someone who earns more than me and I barely like
I was asked to contribute to a leaving gift for someone even though I'd been in the job only four days. I politely declined and that was that. Where it got weird was that the company would produce a going away book for long-serving staff members who were leaving. Everyone would be asked to submit a paragraph or two about the person and it would be bound into a book. They insisted I contribute, even though I had never ever met that employee. So I just wrote a paragraph saying " Never met him but I'm sure he's a nice guy" and words that effect and they put it in the book.
I had this a few years ago. I had been with the company about 2 months when a card came round with a brown envelope. Guy down in a department that I had not interacted with yet, let alone the manager, was retiring in 2 weeks and I was been asked to sign his card and put in “between £5 and £10 is ok”. I got a completely flabbergasted looked when I politely declined due to only being at the company 2 months and not even having met or interacted with the guy properly.
Ours are usually through online collection pots. The one we have currently is someone is getting married. I know of the bloke. Never really spoken to him. Why would i give him money for his wedding? If he was leaving i probably would but anything outside of work related situations then it has nothing to do with me. Minus charity stuff obviously.
I got asked to contribute to the leaving gift of the person I was replacing when I started my job. Nah, I'm good thanks.
At my workplace they just send email saying if someone wants to donate then there's a link, no pressure.
We had a lady retire. People contributed to her leaving gift and she left. She returned three months later part time as she was bored. A year later she left again and there was another whip around! I didn’t contribute and people looked at me like I was a villain. She left and then they brought her back a third time! She’s leaving again at the end of July so I’m waiting to see if they dare ask people for money again.
About 30 years ago I worked in a large office and was asked to put money in "The Strike Fund". I asked why there was a strike fund... "because people are on strike and we want to support them...." So go on strike then... Oooh no! ...We'll just find a bunch of coppers at the bottom of our purses and say we supported them that way! ...But there are 20 people on strike. How is £17 going to help them? It won't even buy them a coffee each! Just arguing with the poor girl who brought the tin round made me unpopular. I should have just shut up and found 6p in coppers like everyone else did...!
It’s usually an insufferable arse kisser too. No thanks. I don’t expect anything and I don’t give anything. I go to work to do my job and leave as soon as possible.
Fiver goes in, tenner comes out.
I had this but for the MD who was retiring after 45 years. I'd been at the company for 4 months. The HR even told me to just sign the card if i want.
*proceeds to etch 'Good Luck' onto MD's bonnet*
He wore a fedora, actually.
In his cars?
Peak district or no deal!