Polite Paradise

So I thought I'd put this out there for all of you helpful people to comment on...

Office Boss decided for some reason (there was some kind of conflict recently) that we would no longer celebrate anyone's birthday. This may have been because the office person responsible wasn't being appreciated on their birthday, or could have been a conflict over money and junk food that happened at each birthday stories have been conflicting. Anyway, no birthday celebrations were decided but not announced to the office until the day of celebration of the Big Boss's secretary happened. After that last birthday everyone was cut off.

Since this change they've "snuck in" celebrations for Big Boss's secretary, Big Boss, & "Boss Who Decided No More Birthdays". Everyone else has been ignored.

So now no one knows if their birthday will be ignored or celebrated  & it seems to be going on senority rather than calendar day now. What would you good people do? Start an office uprising and celebrate the peons by bringing in your own treats at your own cost? Make a stand at the next Big Boss celebration? Find a new job? What's most appropriate?

I'm conflict-averse, buuuuut I'd probably bring in treats for my own birthday and openly tell people to go get some of the birthday cake I brought for myself!

I'm conflict-averse, buuuuut I'd probably bring in treats for my own birthday and openly tell people to go get some of the birthday cake I brought for myself!

Celebrating your own birthday? The horror! *faints*

No seriously, I think this is not a bad approach. If you wanted to be more subtle about it, you could just bring in some cookies/donuts/cupcakes/whatever and leave them out for people and if someone asks why, then say something about "No reason, it's just my birthday treat!"

Unfortunately my birthday won't be till the end of the year. So more birthdays will happen before mine.

Hmmm...is there someone with a closer birthday you could suggest this to? Just to get the ball rolling?

This could be so many things and it's ridiculous that nobody straight told the office that "due to budget cuts, we can no longer continue birthday celebrations". Who knows who's footing the bill for the random celebrations. Bleh.

I would agree to bring in treats yourself, I've never had office birthday celebrations until my current job. It's my job to keep track of them, which is glorious because it means that I can happily brush mine under the rug 

You could try organising something simple for the next peon's b'day; get the ball rolling and all that. Spread the word so whoever else is interested can also chip in.

Wouldn't hurt to seek clarification on the uneven treatment of birthday celebrations either.

Celebrating your own birthday? The horror! *faints*

I love you

I think something like this came up on Ask A Manager, and one suggestion was that there was a monthly 'all the May birthdays' do. It didn't need to be big, maybe just a half hour coffee break with doughnuts, and 'this month, happy birthday to Free Range Hippy Chick, myfamily, and Billia (polite applause)'.

Sidenote: Billia, the spellchecker on my tablet thinks you're called Billiards. Eventually I will call you that, so I'm getting my apology in now.