Holiday Bonuses and Inappropriate Office Gifts
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Hands-On Gift
One employee received a plaster cast of the co-worker's hand. -
Bare Essential
Another worker got camouflage toilet paper. -
Proper Hygiene
One person got a toothpaste squeezer. -
Circus Atmosphere
Another got a hand-painted porcelain clown wearing silk clothes. -
Good Karma
One employee received a unicorn calendar. -
Fowl Concept
Another got a painted concrete chicken. -
Postage Due
One worker received stamps. -
All-You-Can-Eat Buffet
Another got 50 pounds of Louisiana shrimp. -
Rinse and Repeat
One employee was given homemade laundry detergent. -
Conversation Piece
And one lucky worker got a talking fly swatter.
'Tis the season … for office workers to get a bit, well, weird. That's certainly the case for the 10 professionals who gave these oddball gifts to their colleagues during their office holiday party, as compiled by CareerBuilder.com. In addition to providing the chuckles inspired by these items, CareerBuilder also brings cheer with respect to results of its accompanying holiday-themed survey: Forty-five percent of employers plan to give their staffers holiday bonuses this year, and 40 percent plan to provide at least the same size—or larger—bonus as last year. Three out of five employers will throw holiday parties in December, and more than half expect the upcoming shindig to at least equal last year's. Meanwhile, 22 percent of employees are planning gift exchanges with co-workers, and 21 percent will buy a little something for the boss. As for how much to spend? The cut-off appears to be $25 or less, as 78 percent of workers intend to spend no more than that on office presents. More than 3,480 employees and nearly 2,100 managers and HR professionals took part in the research. Read below to see the strange holiday gifts professionals gave their colleagues.