My former boss was terrible about positive feedback, and just a weird, weird vibe more of the time. But she always brought in a cake for our birthdays. I had LOVED my prior office's lack of concern about birthdays, but I recognized this was my new managers *thing*. We all got used to it.
YEARS pass. That manager gets replaced by someone who is hostile to sweets. And just HATES that we do this thing. My new coworkers hate this lady and dig their heels in. Suddenly every birthday in the workplace is a war. It's the worst. Eventually I just flat out announce I will not be party to it anymore. The pandemic hits. Birthday stuff dies.
But now it's back. And this current boss will just buy cupcakes once a month for those with birthdays. But, because one person on the team is gluten-free, these cupcakes are... just the worst. I can't stand them. They make me sad.
I once again yearn for a workplace with no birthday stuff.
(But I'd take a free day off and a giftcard, absolutely.)
