Dear Cyn,
I have a male co-worker who gives gifts to me and another female colleague of the same cultural background for EVERY occasion each year - including Mother's Day (neither of us have children!). He is a very nice guy, but neither of us ladies have expressed a romantic interest in him nor do we socialize with him outside of the workplace. How can we tactfully decline the especially inappropriate gifts without hurting our co-workers feelings? ~Tara
Dear Tara,
As much as I like receiving gifts, even I would feel uncomfortable with this awkward situation. Hmmm...would I? Yeah, even I would too. It is interesting to me that he does the same thing for another co-worker. Is he really just a nice guy or does he have the potential to be stalkerish? Either way, the next time he gives you a "gift" tell him that while you are appreciative of his generosity, you feel uncomfortable because you aren't able to be as generous to him. If he still insists on showering you with gifts (which I suspect he will) tell him to limit the gift-giving to birthdays only or tell him you have a friend Cyn that loves to get gifts and give him my number.
See you in the city,
Cyn
