A US worker has sparked controversy after claiming he was fired over a hilarious Secret Santa wish list.
The shocking incident has sparked fierce debate about workplace dynamics and the limits of Christmas humour.
According to the anonymous employee, their workplace has participated in a non-work-sponsored Secret Santa gift exchange for the past four years, organized through the popular app Elfster.
Secret Santa is a Christmas tradition in which participants exchange gifts anonymously and each person draws a name to determine who they will give the gift to.
However, this year’s holiday tradition took a dramatic turn when the worker’s manager, who was not his Secret Santa, accessed his wish list and took offense to its contents.
The employee asked for a mug that said “I hate my boss” and a self-help book on leadership; The list also included a cheeky addition of lubricant, which the employee insists was meant to lighten the mood of the gift exchange.
“My boss called my wish list ‘offensive and hostile’ without giving an explanation,” the worker said on Glassdoor. “I meant it as a joke, but she didn’t see it that way.”
In a move many consider extreme, the employee says he was fired over a phone call, during which the company’s human resources director was present on speakerphone.
The employee ordered a mug that said ‘I hate my boss’ and a self-help book on leadership
The post quickly went viral, with many weighing in on whether the manager overreacted or the employee crossed a line.
Some commenters sided with the worker and described the incident as an overreach on the part of management.
‘In this case, this says a lot about the boss. I have managed teams, but I have never considered myself anyone’s boss.
‘I’d like to think that if I had a good boss, instead of getting angry and taking my livelihood over a perceived insult, without asking questions… That they would see it as an opportunity for improvement.
“Talk to the employee, ask them if they are serious and, if so, what they are doing wrong that could make any employee feel that way,” one said.
Another echoed: “If I were the boss, I wouldn’t fire an employee for this.” I have a sense of humour.’
“You should talk to a lawyer,” one man advised.
Others, however, felt that the wish list was inappropriate given the work context.
A US worker has sparked controversy after claiming he was fired over a hilarious Secret Santa wish list.
One explained where the former employee went wrong.
‘How old are you? There are some things your workplace doesn’t need to know about you and that wish list was definitely one of those things.
‘Whether it was sponsored work or not, at the time it was about the workplace it had to be appropriate for the workplace.
‘Or to try it another way: if you hadn’t put that stuff on a work-sponsored Secret Santa, it shouldn’t have been on a wish list you were giving to your coworkers.
‘But ‘it was just a joke!’ …clearly your boss was not amused. Try to be really funny next time. Passive-aggressive nonsense is not funny at all.
Others blamed the employee for being immature.
“You asked for it,” said one. Another commented: “Sometimes things are funnier in our heads than in reality.”
“You weren’t fired for your wish list, you were fired for creating a toxic, uncomfortable, and hostile environment,” one man wrote.