As the winter season is only two months away, what me and most of you readers out there want is a more relaxed and friendly atmosphere at work and I think that after the winter holidays you will be able to have exactly that by making presents  at work. But what do we do if we have a difficult boss? What is there to do?

As relationship with the direct boss is often on an edge between fear and friendliness, polite chats and strict orders, I always tried to find a common ground and keep a friendly, peaceful and professional relationship with by boss.

gift (Source: littlepeanutsbabygifts.com)

Most work psychologists have their own point of view regarding the ways to better bear the difficult bosses during the holiday season, and what gifts to get them, if you want of course.

How can we enjoy the winter holidays atmosphere even with an authoritarian, aggressive boss? It is very important to remember that they way our boss behaves (more or less aggressive) is just a simple external stimulus and under no circumstances is not the direct cause of the way we live and feel the Christmas atmosphere. Some enjoy the snow because that way they can go skiing, while others are angry that they didn’t bought winter tires for their cars. Likewise, the way we feel in the presence of this external irreplaceable stimulus depends on how we choose to interpret this stimulus in our minds. What is very helpful is to not take the boss’s behavior personally and actually that is the main guideline for proficiency and professionalism.

What gift can we make to difficult bosses (so that they understand the message of peace we are trying to send)?

gift (Source: chiasso.com)

If this gift making habit is shared at work by most people, you should it as well. It's hard to recommend a gift that is “appropriate” as this depends on many personal aspects. The safest thing is to offer a traditional gift. How to relate to some bias that we see on certain holidays (gifts from the boss only to some of the subordinates only)?

The first thing to do is not to take things personally as a gift to someone else does not say anything about you, about the fact that I have not received one. Our personal situation complicates even more if we look at these gifts as biases and the best thing to do when someone receives a gift from the boss and not us is to be relaxed.

I said previously that is recommended to avoid some accessories such as handbags for women, belts or jewelry that generally have personal accents and are hard to guess. However, some things need to be clear; there are those accessories that fit everyone and are always welcomed. A little not too ostentatious jewelry made of gold or platinum without too much shine or stones will be certainly appreciated as simplicity says more than opulence. Wristwatches, in turn, are a nice gift as long as they are of high quality and keep neutrality, neither too elegant, nor a sporty look. For an even better impression, and some bigger effort, you can engrave the back of the wristwatch with a quote or famous lines that you know the gift receiver appreciates. For men, a pair of cufflinks or a tie pin made of a precious metal may be a more suitable gift of good taste.

Gift Shop (Source: mypewterart.co.uk)

A category often avoided by people is “music”, as many believe that everyone has different tastes and it is impossible to know what one listens to or not. Well, those styles of music that are appreciated by everyone, which complete any collection of music. I do not refer to classical music, because this is the only one that will sometimes fail as a gift. I am talking about jazz, blues, bossa-nova, Chillout, lounge or rock ballads that are musical styles considered somewhat “universal”, not bothering the listener and are welcomed in the car or at home.

Gift Shop (Source: sunshine-baskets.com)

Of course, the album should be an original one, not a cheap or even expensive fake or “burned” by you on your home computer. If we want to be even more original in terms of music you can look towards vinyl (plates) that are rare now and are very popular and valuable but this might also fail as the receiver might not have a pick-up to play them.

Another detail that many forget it is a gift bag or a good looking packaging. The best thing would be to avoid too colored papers, with the colored strip not too bright.

All I have said so far are just ideas for gifts and there are, indeed, worthy things to remember, but you have to realize something and that is buying the right gift at the last minute or at random will never happen for corporate gifts and an effort must be made and special attention should be paid to shown an interest, so that the gift will make a good impression.

As in the previous article about corporate gifts I was talking about old objects and offering a new life to valuable books in limited editions that we can always get in old antique shops or bookstores in town or the art albums mentioned I must continue the saga with some more ideas as I think the subject is far from over or exhausted and new ideas and concepts must be exploited too.

gifts (Source: iwicorp.co.za)

A good idea for a corporate gift with the given fact that the one that is planning to make the gift is to buy a voucher for an auto shop if the one that is to receive the gift is passionate about cars or buy a ticket or two, usually in pairs, for the latest fore coming local auto show. The only condition for finding an interesting gift is to invest a little time, because many creative ideas can be found if you know exactly how the business man that you want to offer a gift is passionate about.

A nice gift for a man that we know is religious and a Christian would be a religious item such as a statue or a sacred painting, but we must be careful where we buy it and how it looks as we have to exclude in an instant those paintings or pictures that are made in series or have all sort of modern concepts such as holograms or lights or whatever there might be; classic framed painting or picture is best.

If you do not such an item at dedicated shops, a brief visit to a monastery or a church can be very helpful as in these places you will most probably find hand crafted items that will most surely be unique and will make a very good impression.

gifts (Source: chocolategraphics.co.uk)

If the gift is inspired, the level of respect is higher and your gift will most probably end up on a wall or in the special religious corner in the man’s house. Such an item that is worth the price is one in which the colors are not too strong, in which there have been used several techniques, which was applied with gold leafs or silver ones, which when looking at it makes us understand and appreciate the hard work of the passionate author. To impress even more you can talk to a priest to sanctify it as it only takes a few days at most and the one that receives it will be even more grateful.