Gift Guides
Funny Gifts for Work Colleagues Who Have Mentally Clocked Off
Thoughtful, useful and inappropriate enough to be remembered — how to pick a colleague gift that matches their workplace personality.
Buying a present for a work colleague is strange.
You may know exactly how they take their tea, which meetings destroy their remaining enthusiasm and how long they can stare at a spreadsheet without touching it.
You may not know their middle name.
The best colleague gift sits somewhere between thoughtful, useful and inappropriate enough to be remembered.
Match the gift to their workplace personality
Do not start with a generic gift category.
Start by deciding which workplace character they have become.
The chronic procrastinator
Their diary is full. Their inbox is worse. They regularly move the same task from Monday to Tuesday as though this counts as progress.
The A5 “Shit I’ll Probably Ignore” Notepad gives them 50 tear-off sheets for documenting everything they will definitely deal with later.
It works as:
- a colleague birthday present
- an office Secret Santa gift
- a small leaving present
- a gift for a new job
- a present for the permanently overwhelmed manager
- an accurate assessment of someone’s working method
A5 Notepad – “Shit I'll Probably Ignore”
A5 tear-off notepad with 50 sheets, made in the UK. For to-do lists that start with “survive”.
The colleague who has had enough
Every team has someone one “quick call” away from losing patience completely.
The Cheeky Cunt Colouring Book gives them 25 sweary A4 designs to colour while avoiding another unnecessary conversation.
It is an adult-humour product and suits colleagues who already enjoy rude language and unfiltered jokes.
Cheeky Cunt Colouring Book
25 pages of sweary, savage A4 colouring designs. Half therapy, half chaos, printed on paper thick enough to survive it.
The person who is leaving
Leaving presents often become unexpectedly emotional.
Everyone signs a card. Someone writes an essay despite having spoken to the departing colleague three times. Another person forgets until the card reaches them.
A funny leaving gift cuts through the forced sincerity.
Choose based on what they were known for:
- endless to-do lists
- ignoring endless to-do lists
- complaining about meetings
- counting down to lunch
- needing a quiet activity after dealing with everyone
- having the least appropriate desk in the building
The more accurately the gift matches them, the less generic it feels.
The office Secret Santa victim
For office Secret Santa, consider how the gift will be opened.
A present exchanged quietly between friends is different from something unwrapped in front of the entire company.
The notepad is the easier option where the workplace is relaxed but not completely lawless.
The colouring book is for a recipient and workplace where strong language is already part of the culture.
Read next: Rude Secret Santa Gifts Under £15 That Are Actually Funny
The manager with a sense of humour
Only buy a rude gift for a manager when you genuinely know they will enjoy it.
People laughing nervously at everything the manager says is not proof of a relaxed relationship.
If they regularly participate in the same humour, a practical rude gift such as the notepad is usually the safest choice.
Funny does not have to mean useless
A joke gift is better when it still serves a purpose.
The notepad can be used for work and home lists. The colouring book creates something to do away from a screen.
This makes them more memorable than something that produces one laugh and immediately disappears.
Four workplace gift rules
- Know the recipient. If you do not know whether they like rude humour, choose something else.
- Keep personal insecurities out of it. Jokes about harmless work habits are different from jokes about somebody’s body, health, identity or private life.
- Think about the audience. Consider who will be present when the gift is opened.
- Do not demand a reaction. Give the present and let them respond naturally.
Need help choosing?
The BanterBros Gift Finder can choose between the two currently promoted products based on the recipient, occasion, humour level and budget.
A good colleague gift says: “I noticed your personality.”
A great colleague gift says: “I noticed it, documented it and spent money using it against you.”
Read next: 25 Funny Things to Put on Your To-Do List When You’ve Mentally Clocked Off
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