I've been working in a multinational company for a few months now and I've noticed that, at least in the European branch, every time something "big" comes up (like a wedding or someone leaving), everyone is asked to contribute for a gift.
The way it usually goes is:
- a top manager asks all distribution lists via email if they'd want to contribute
- they select a person (the "gifter") that works together with the the person who's getting the gift
- people send money to the gifter
- the gifter chooses something that conforms to the amount sent and gives it on behalf of everyone who contributed
Now I don't like this system and I always choose not to participate, but I've found myself in a predicament.
- My boss is leaving the company and moving to another country at the end of the week and the gifting process has gone as usual, but this time my colleague decided to split the money (it was a few hundred €), and buy several things. Almost all of them came and they gave them to him, but the last one (an Amazon Echo) is taking longer.
- After that my boss went on vacation to start packing and moving things, and because my colleagues would all be going on vacation by the time he comes back to finish up some stuff, then my colleague told my boss that I'd be giving him the rest.
- And then he told me that the package didn't arrive, and he went on vacation.
Just for clarification, the way it was supposed to happen is:
My colleague gets the package -> He gives it to me -> I give it to my boss when he comes back
But the first part never completed so I'm stuck.
- So now I'm expected to give a gift I don't have, to which I didn't contribute to, to my direct boss who is leaving on friday, and he's been told I'd give it to him.
What can I do?
This is related to vacation schedule and it's a bit convoluted so I'm putting a rough calendar here:
4 weeks ago | 3 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | a week ago | this week |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gifts come, boss goes on vacation, colleague tells him I'll be giving him the rest | Colleague tells me the package is not coming | Everyone else goes on vacation, it's only me in the office | Boss comes back (It's me and him in the office) | Boss will be definitely going on friday, and I still don't have the package |