Are you considering adding your boss to your gift-giving list this year?
你今年打算给老板送礼吗？

"Tread carefully," warns Jo Bennett, partner in the New York City executive search firm Battalia Winston. "It's not all that common and I think if you want to give a gift to your boss, you need to think about what's in it for you."
纽约著名的高管猎头公司Battalia Winston的合伙人Jo Bennett警告人们给老板送礼要小心。“给老板送礼并不是平常的事情，如果你要送，你要知道这对你来说意味着什么。”

Here are some simple do's and don'ts to keep your holiday giving happy.
下面有一些很简单的规则可以让你送礼送的开心。

Do your homework.做好准备

Buying your boss a gift is just like any other workplace project. So research the history of gift-giving in your office:
把给老板买礼物当成和其他工作中的任务同样的事情来做，所以要先调查一下你办公室里别人送礼的旧例：

    * Do people give gifts to the boss?
    * If so, what kind?
    * Has it ever backfired for any of your coworkers, and if so, how?

　　* 人们给老板送礼吗？
　　* 如果送的话，送哪类的？
　　* 同事给老板送礼有弄巧成拙的情况出现吗？如果有的话是怎么一回事？

Don't make your boss uncomfortable.
别让老板觉得不舒服。

Now that you know the tradition, think about why you want to give your boss a gift in the first place.
现在你知道送礼的旧例了，首先应该考虑的就是你给老板送礼是想得到什么。

"If the answer is because you want to curry favor, I wouldn't do it," said Bennett. "The risk is that your boss will see it as trying to twist the relationship and get an advantage. You don't want to make your boss uncomfortable."

Bennett说，“如果答案是你想拍马屁，我劝你别送了。你老板可能会把这件事看成你想从他这里走关系拿好处。你也不想让你老板不自在吧。”

Do be sincere.一定要真诚

The best reason to give your boss a gift is to thank him or her for a specific act of kindness during the year that went "above and beyond the call of duty," Bennett said.
给老板送礼最好的理由是感谢他（她）在一年中对你做出的“职责之外”的特别的帮助。

"Maybe your boss smoothed over a particular issue you had with a customer," she suggested. "Or maybe your boss gave you some great career advice. In that case, give something small with a nice card of genuine thanks."
可能你老板解决了你和顾客之间发生的特别的事情，或者给了你很好的职业建议，在这种情况下，给老板一些小巧的礼物，附上一张精美的卡片表达你真诚的感谢吧。

Don't get personal.别送个人化的东西

The worst gifts for bosses are expensive or personal, said Dallas-based business etiquette expert Colleen Rickenbacher, author of "Be on Your Best Business Behavior."
最糟糕的礼物就是贵重的或者个人化的。

"The bottom line is always, 'Don't give something that touches the body,'" she said. Avoid clothes or perfume. Even flowers could be perceived as overly personal and start coworkers gossiping.
送礼的底线是不要送贴身的东西，衣服和香水都不是送礼的好选择。即使只是花都可能过于个人化引来同事的闲话。

Do cut costs. 降低成本。

One of the best ways to give your boss a gift, say both Rickenbacher and Bennett, is to buy her something as a team. If each person gives $10, you can give your boss a gift certificate to her favorite restaurant or buy him a pricier gift that his assistant recommends.
给老板送礼最好的方法之一就是合伙买东西。如果每个人出十块钱，你就能给老板送一张她最喜欢的餐馆的礼券或者他助手推荐的比较贵的礼物。

That way, no one gets singled out as a brown-noser, and everyone shares the holiday spirit.
这样就不会有人被认为是马屁精，每个人都能感受到节日的气氛。

Or consider something inexpensive and consumable: jam you make at home, wine made in your garage, or cookies are all simple and genuine ways to share the holiday spirit without crossing any lines.
或者可以考虑一些不贵的消耗品：自家做的果酱、自酿的葡萄酒或饼干，这些都是简单真诚的礼物，可以很好的体现节日气氛又不会越界。

Don't treat your boss like family. 不用把老板当自家人对待

"If someone in your family gives you a gift, you better give one back," said Bennett. "But it's different in an office."
如果有个家人送你一份礼物，你最好回送一份，但是在办公室和在家是不一样的。

Don't feel the need to reciprocate if your boss gives you something. At worst, Rickenbacher said rushing to respond with a gift could end up looking like an afterthought.
要是老板送了你什么东西，不要觉得一定要还礼。匆忙还一份礼最糟糕的地方是可能让人家觉得你是事后才想到要送礼物的。

"All you have to do when you receive a gift is show appreciation," she said, "and follow up with a thank-you note."
收到礼物之后唯一要做的事情就是表示感谢，附上一张感谢的卡片。

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