APART from the office Christmas party there is no greater minefield this time of the year than the cross-cubicle gift exchange. Especially 'Secret Santa'.
"It's become a huge operational risk to businesses," explains Andrew Nicholls, director of NCS-Nicholls, a boutique chartered accounting firm.
So huge, says Mr Nicholls, who is launching a corporate gift service early next year, that larger corporations have started sending out explicit "rules of engagement" for office gift-giving.
Just one dodgy present can be all it takes to fall foul of harassment, discrimination and corporate ethics policies - and smart companies aren't taking any chances.
Particularly problematic are the common 'Secret Santa', or 'Kris Kringle', gift swaps, where employees are randomly appointed to purchase an anonymous gift, usually with a price tag limited to $10 or $20, for one of their co-workers.
Revenge gifts
"It can be an issue because people often use it as a way to get back at others in the office, and let out their innermost frustrations with an individual," says Lisa Montgomery, head of marketing and consumer advocacy with mortgage company Resi.
Seeing someone renowned for hissy fits unwrap a packet of baby's dummies, or a stinky-footed manager who's always shedding his shoes in the office saddled with a pair of charcoal-infused insoles, can provide some fleeting moments of satisfaction.
But even when defended as "jokes", such mean-spirited actions can sink workplace morale and, in the very worst-case scenarios, open up career-destroying claims of harassment, discrimination or bullying.
"It's a very dangerous area to be in," says Wayne Spanner, national leader of the workplace relations group with Deacons, a law firm which reports seeing discrimination complaints spike during and after the festive period.
"You do have to tread very carefully."
Don't give sex toys
Trouble can arise even if the recipient of a bad-taste gift seemingly cops it all with a blush and a big smile - yet people standing around them don't find it such a hoot, he explains.
All it takes, for instance, is one person to be offended by the sight of a secretary unwrapping a pair of edible undies, a sex toy, or a slinky set of lingerie, for the makings of a discrimination or harassment complaint.
As Barbara West and Frances Murphy discovered while researching their recently released book G'Day Boss! Australian Culture and the Workplace, other cheap and nasty novelties "can push the boundaries of acceptability" in different ways.
"Someone we interviewed was at a corporate function where the boss received a toy that said things like 'f-off' and 'you're an a-hole' when you pushed a button - awkward for everybody else," says Ms West.
Be sensitive
Even seemingly innocuous gifts can miss the mark in the highly-charged environment leading up to Christmas.
"In the work environment, we've always got a bit of a joke about someone who is slow or late, or perhaps someone who messed up big time on a major project," says Meredith Fuller, a Melbourne-based psychologist who specialises in career change.
"You might give someone a gift that alludes to that, and get everyone laughing, but the person on the receiving end is standing there, wanting the floor to swallow them up," she says.
"People tend to take things more stoically at other times of the year.
"When giving gifts, you need to be aware that we're all more sensitive, and stressed, and a bit frayed around the edges coming up to Christmas," she says.
Don't spend too much
While it doesn't have quite the same devastating consequences, another common pitfall during the annual present whirl is spending up too big on gifts for colleagues.
Firstly, it sets up precedents and expectations, which might not match your fortunes or desires in years to come.
And, even if you're a generous person by nature, your actions may still provoke resentment, hostility, suspicion that you're trying to curry favour, or claims that "we must be paying you too much".
Thought that counts
In any case, says Ms Fuller, it's the thought behind a gift that counts, not the monetary value attached to it.
"There's something about the intention that's more important," she says. "People can spend a lot of money on something that does not touch your heart at all."
This can be a tough call for people who can barely remember the names of people they work alongside, let alone whether they have pets, read Patricia Cornwall or prefer pink to purple.
Sonya Clancy, head of people capital for the personal division of ANZ Bank, points out that a personal, handwritten note acknowledging the recipient's work that year, can be more meaningful than an expensive gift chosen at random.
And if you're planning to exchange gifts with friends you've made at work, it's best to do so off-site and after hours to avoid others feeling excluded, adds Mr Nicholls.
Client gift ethics
The issue of giving gifts to clients, or receiving gifts from them, is a ball game with its own set of ethical, and sometimes legal, dilemmas.
These sorts of reasons, along with demands for greater transparency, have resulted in many businesses telling their employees that any gifts valued over a certain dollar amount must either be approved, or politely declined, says Mr Nicholls.
"Some gifts can be effectively considered bribes," he adds.
Safe Christmas gift choices
Pens, stationery, photo frames, maps, sunblock, calendars, books, magazine subscriptions, movie passes, hampers, chocolates, gift vouchers, donations to charity, pot plants, board games, clocks.
Proceed with caution (or not at all)
Clothes, lingerie, jewellery, sex toys, toiletries, alcohol, religious items, cash.
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