It’s Christmas time (or advent according to the liturgical calendar as was pointed out by a client this morning, thank you, client!), and this time of year we all are forced to show each other how much we care about one another. 

This is cake when it comes to people you care for deeply. You give them gifts and bake them goods. 

But your coworkers are whole other story, some you love, some you hate and would love to never see again, and others you are just kind of indifferent about. So how do you show them that you care without hurting everyone’s feelings? I have a few ideas, please find them below.

Call out

Nothing says “you mean a whole hell of a lot to me” then calling out  because something (other than health issues, of course) came up. It doesn’t matter that nearly everyone else is on the vacation that they’ve earned, the people who are working will happily cover the time you were supposed to work, they’re happy to pull open to close shifts so you don’t have to suffer through a closing shift followed by an opening shift. Your coworkers are happy that you care about them so they’ll do anything for you.

Bring gifts 

But only for the people that you really like. You can’t afford presents for everyone, especially after you’ve purchased a few nice new things for yourself. 

Share 

Any infection, viral, bacterial, even prion, if you are so inclined, should be shared. If your infection isn’t immediately communicable, share the dirty details. If your coworkers aren’t intimately aware with the goop sliding out of you than you aren’t contributing to closeness and warmth of the group.