We’ve hit the digital age and thousands of employees are now working remotely. But that doesn’t stop the rise of quirky office culture and cubicle shenanigans! Just like everyone’s choice of personalised gifts is different, every office worker has their own gifting personality that just keeps on giving. We’ve seen it all, from the busybodies rushing around the party without an agenda to the burnouts who spend way too much, way too often. 

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Narrowing your office walls down to specific archetypes is difficult; as humans, we are constantly growing and changing. In fact, you’ve probably had days where you don’t want to step away from the water filter, too! But we’ve managed to break your office down into five main archetypes you absolutely need to know.

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Archetype 1: The Wrap and Go 

 

Ever been at an office birthday party, and just as the secretary is cutting into the cake, your boss rushes in to sign the card? He probably had a Wrap and Go moment! 

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Maybe these employees are overwhelmed with the stress of life, under pressure from other commitments, or they’re just too laid back; either way, the Wrap and Go tries to get away with the smallest contribution possible! They’ll pitch in at the very end of a gifting project with the smallest contribution and least amount of effort, and then rush off before the clock even touches 5 p.m.

 

How to spot them: They’re usually busybodies who aren’t actually busy! You might find them lingering at a friend’s desk, taking extended bathroom breaks (best not to ask), or on the phone for over an hour. Then, these late heroes show up right when your team is about to complete the assignment! 

 

How to help them: The Wrap and Go usually just needs a little push; they’re probably lacking enthusiasm or passion for the project! Find out what makes them tick, and discover new ways to get them excited about the job at hand.

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Archetype 2: The Creative Rebel 

 

It can be a little frustrating trying to collaborate with the Creative Rebel – they’re super innovative and have tons of gift ideas, but they’re all over the place and lack structure. They struggle to follow company protocols and guidelines for projects, but their ideas are insanely interesting. 

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How to spot them: Keep an eye out for the Creative Rebel at brainstorming sessions – they’ll be full of awesome ideas but have no idea how to implement them. You can also catch them refusing to chat on Slack because they prefer to WhatsApp business information – especially after hours!

 

How to help them: Don’t. Rather leverage from their genius minds.  Get them to write all their ideas down; it shows them that they are valued, and it will push them to focus on only a few of those written ideas a day. Then, expect nothing more. This is where the good time ends. 

 

Archetype 3: The Circle Backer 

 

This is the one that always prefers the ‘circle back’ route – until time catches up to them. Even some of the most productive office secretaries wait until the last minute to ‘circle back’ to year-end corporate gifts.

 

How to spot them: They’re kind of all over the place, to be honest. The Circle Backer is easy to spot; the projects they work on have great content, but they’ll generally miss small details along the way. Peep their work calendar and you’ll probably notice that some projects keep getting shifted to the tomorrow that never comes!

 

How to help them: You can help your Circle Backer by sending them on a time management course or hiring an outsourced partner to support ‘last minute’ bundles, like Woven Bark Studios. 

 

Archetype 4: The Burnout Gifter 

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Hard work is great, but not at the expense of mental health. 

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The Burnout Gifter over gives, and overspends. They work long hours and fill those hours with productivity. A lot of bosses will see their efficiency and success, and miss that they’re hanging on by a thread. It’s important to remember that mental health matters, and working too hard for too long can eventually result in complete burnout, lack of enthusiasm and lowered productivity over time. Sometimes, you can also miss important stuff along the way – it’s easy to get caught up in the 9-5, and things like choosing personalised gifts for your retainer clients are the last thing you do. But you – like the Burnout Gifter – just need to relax sometimes and pass the workload on. We’re happy to take that challenge on for our Burnouts!

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How to spot them: Usually, it’ll be one of the newer members of the team trying to prove themselves. An easy way to spot the Burnout is by taking note of how many overtime hours they clock in!

 

How to help them: Collaboration is key. If you notice one of your team members starting to sweat from the full schedule, see what you can help them with or what jobs can be outsourced, and vice versa. Teamwork makes the dream work, after all! Our gifting dream team works overtime sometimes too, but when we share the workload, we also share a laugh.

 

Archetype 5: The Anti-Social

 

These are the quiet ones. The wallflowers at the party. The Anti-Social doesn’t contribute to the pomp and ceremony, and it can be pretty difficult to find the perfect gift for them. They hardly join the after-work drinks, and normally eat lunch alone at their desks.

 

How to spot them: They’re usually hiding at the back of the boardroom, quietly taking notes. When you’re having a Zoom meeting with a client, they’re often stuck on mute!

 

How to help them: It’s important to create a safe working environment where your Anti-Socials feel comfortable contributing information to the event or gift idea. They may be a bit shy, but showing them how much you value their input when they do speak will encourage them to keep sharing their amazing ideas! 

 

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So here’s our message to you: You don’t need to wrap and go, work yourself into oblivion, or wait until the last minute to give a meaningful gift. Every personality type can be improved, or managed if we know how. And if not, there’s a gift and experience support team for that!  

Gift an experience with Woven Bark.

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