Passing the Envelope

Most employees asked by coworkers to chip in for office festivities, survey shows

There’s no such thing as a free lunch … and birthday cake may have a price, too. In a recent survey, three-quarters (75%) of executives polled said employees are asked by peers to contribute money to pay for celebrations — such as birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers and retirements — at least once a year; 15% of employees receive donation requests monthly.

The survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a leading staffing service specializing in highly skilled administrative professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 150 senior executives at the nation’s 1,000 largest companies in the U.S.