10 Gift Ideas for Boss: Improve Your Image at the Workplace With the Best Gifts for Your Boss (2018)

Business etiquettes don't specify rules for gifting a boss. If it is an occasion which is important for your boss, like a birthday or a popular festival, then pooling in for a group gift rather than a personal gift would be more appropriate. That way you get to contribute without undue pressure. On the other hand, if you do feel compelled to get your boss a personal gift, then it should be done as discreetly as possible to avoid any inconvenience and unnecessary implications arising later. If you and your boss share a personal rapport, it’s best to be discreet and give your gift outside the office.

Gifting your boss is slightly complicated as it requires a gift that not only supports your well-meant intentions, is useful but also doesn’t come across as something you’d give it to your boss to earn brownie points! Keep the present simple and genuine and reasonably low-priced.

While selecting a gift for your boss, be it a guy or a woman, it is important to think it through properly – do you know them well enough or are still at an arm’s distance with them? In that case, something impersonal yet a stylish gift would be selecting a fountain pen which can be personalized.

If travel is an important segment of your boss’s portfolio, then a travel accessory like a kit would come in handy, an organic soap set would be an excellent de-stress present, an acupressure or shiatsu foot massager for relaxation after a long day at work would be welcome gifts.

The usual business manners never promote any sort of gift exchanges in a professional environment for various reasons. However, under unusual circumstances or special occasions, if there really is a need to gift something to your boss, the appropriate choices could be desk items, neckties or food items.

Whatever you choose to buy for the boss, ensure to have a set limit which is easy on the pocket and wouldn't make your boss feel awkward accepting it. Expensive gifts are usually welcomed when coming from a group. And the whole exercise need not be a roller coaster ride. Enjoy shopping for the boss, as you would for anyone else. Because the more fun you have looking for a gift, the happier the vibe your boss will get from it as well!

The Sheaffer Ball point pen is a perfect choice of a gift for your boss that will leave a lasting impression with the business card holder! A popular choice amongst the professionals this ballpoint pen functions with great weight balance, with a solid brass body, its trims are nickel plated with a clip that’s wide and sturdy. The included business card holder is an easy carry in the pocket or a bag, folded and placed on a desktop as well. The pen with the card holder comes with a magnetic closure to protect the cards. It is priced at Rs.1,528. Buy it from Amazon.

A device that exhibits energy preservation, using a series of swinging spheres is called a Newton’s Cradle. When a sphere at one end of the cradle is lifted and released, it strikes other stagnant spheres, sending a force through them that pushes the last one upwards. This makes the last sphere swing back and strikes the still nearly motionless spheres, repeating the entire process in the opposing direction.

The concept is inspired by the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton. The balls are made of frosted glass, while the lines joining them are made of fishing line with the stent and the base made of plastic. The cradle measures 12x12x9cm(L x H x W). The item’s unique characteristics are designed to be non-toxic and eco-friendly. It requires 4 AA batteries, which aren’t included in the package. The Cradle is priced at Rs. 654 on Banggood.

Carry basic essentials like mobile phones, credit cards, cash etc. to the gym or the running track safely and securely with the Phone storage workout bottle. This unique bottle has been designed, in a way to keep all your daily valuables protected while keeping you hydrated. This smart bottle is structured to hold a smartphone, credit cards and cash between the two water compartments, with a twist-off base that includes a headphones port to keep one tuned into their favourite music while working out.

The bottle is made of tritan plastic, is 100 per cent BPA free and leak-proof. Cleaning it is a breeze as it's also dishwasher safe. The bottle is priced at Rs.1,594 on Uncommon Goods.

This desk organizer which looks like a diary comes with an inbuilt calculator, post-it sticky notes and index tabs in a premium faux leather case. The calculator is battery operated and comes with included batteries. The high-quality paper is easy to peel with 100 sheets per pad in the 2 square yellow notepads and 5 index tabs in neon colour, 200 strips per pad. The package includes a leather case with sticky notes, 5 colour pads of index cards, colour marker, calculator, U-clips, stapler, two years calendars (2017-2018), a sharpener, an eraser and a ballpoint pen. It is priced at Rs. 599 on Amazon.

Here’s a nice and relaxing way to soothe the mind and help reduce some stress off your boss with the mini desk Zen Garden which includes a candle, a candleholder, an incense holder and incense, some fine sand, pebbles for décor and a mini rake. It’s a compact tabletop box with a wooden base measuring 8”x 6.5”x 3”. The concept of a Zen garden is to create a peaceful atmosphere in the form of a dry garden, where nature’s represented in a miniature form with the use of sand and fine gravel.

One can design the garden according to their mood or the time they spend on it. Indulging in the creation of a zen garden helps enhance mental focus, improves the level of patience and also increases a person’s creative talent. The mini Zen garden is priced at Rs. 1,114 on Luckyvitamin.

This wine bottle holder in the shape of a car gives a vintage feel that enhances one’s home décor. Measuring 12.5cm x 29.5cm, the car holder is made of resin, is long lasting and easy to clean. A perfect gift for your boss, it will make for a lovely bar accessory. The holder comes in two colours of wine red or blue and is priced at Rs. 1,750 on Quirktrunk.

Made out of a Finnish bedrock which is nearly 2 billion years old, these eye stones bring relief to the eyes from a long workout at the computers, working on puffy eyes, itching or seasonal allergies in the eyes. The orbit eye stones measure 1.75" Diam. x 1.5" W and are easy to clean with normal household washing detergent.

To use the stones, they just need to be chilled in the refrigerator, and then applied on the eyelids or under the eyes for a relaxing spa treatment in the comfort of one’s space. These stones are priced at Rs. 1,449 on Uncommongoods.

Ideal for use in a car, desktop or living space, this cool mist humidifier from Amazon is compact and lightweight. It comes with an auto-shut function and shuts down automatically after 3-hours but can work for 4 hours at a stretch if filled with water completely. The soothing light emanating from it creates a beautiful ambience which makes for a relaxing atmosphere and takes the chaos out of one’s immediate environment.

It has a USB port for easy functioning. Measuring 110 x 110 x 115mm/ 4.33 x 4.33 x 4.5 inch, the humidifier comes in plastic in wooden brown with differing light colours in yellow, purple, blue, orange, green, dark blue or pink. It is priced at Rs. 599 and includes 1 humidifier, a USB cable and an instruction manual in the package.

This unique lunchbox is lidless! All that needs to be done to twist its adaptable internal membrane thrice, securing it to the external box with an elastic band, thus preventing any spills, leaks or missing lids! It keeps the food hot for up to 4 hours and cold to a maximum of 6 hours. The lunchbox is made of silicon, polypropylene, EVA foam can hold up to 25fl oz. and measures 5" L x 5" W x 5" H. The internal box can be microwaved, are dishwasher and freezer safe. The external insulation box should be hand washed only. The Lidless Lunchbox from Uncommongoods is priced at Rs. 1,812.

The perfect tool to help your boss vent their stress out! The sucker punch tabletop punching bag is a wonderful tool to relieve tension and can be very addictive as well. It fixes rather well onto any flat surface with a suction at the base and can handle hard punches. With a heavy duty spring for fast reaction, bounce back and faster punching, it comes with a small pump which is required to fill the air in the beginning.

Measuring 34 cm in height, with a ball diameter of 14.5 cm, a base diameter of 12 cm and a spring height of 12 cm, the punching bag is made of PU soft film material. The package comes in red, including a boxing ball and a small pump. It is priced at Rs. 1,600 on Quirktrunk.

An unwritten rule of the professional world says that there’s no gift giving at work. When it comes to gifting the boss, you have to be tactful because it can be perceived as a manipulative or calculated gesture in order to gain favours. Here are some ways to reward your boss without offending them or breaking any official protocols. Read on.

Instead of gifting personally, make it a group venture. Have all your colleagues chip in for the gift for your boss. If you’d still like to give a personal gift, then how much you spend on the gift is best decided on the basis of your personal knowledge of your boss’s personality, personal preferences and/or what they like doing in their free time. If your know-how of their personal life is limited, then it doesn’t matter how much you spend on the gift.

Do not give or offer favours to please your boss, it’s best to gift a note of gratitude and/or something handcrafted or even something that’s reasonably priced. Like us all, your boss too would love being appreciated and acknowledged. Giving expensive gifts to get something in return, or outdo your colleagues is never a good idea. Excessive spending does not make you look good and usually make the recipient feel uncomfortable.

Before selecting a gift, it’d be good to review your reason behind gifting the boss. If the intention is to express respect and appreciation, then the value of the gift multiplies manifold. Avoid giving personal gifts that would make your boss uncomfortable, keep the gift a useful but impersonal choice to avoid any embarrassments on either your part or your boss’s.

Shopping for adult items are inappropriate professionally, gifts that can be offensive to any race, creed, sex or culture, gifts pertaining to political or religious sentiments, personal care products, intimate clothing, perfumes or jewellery should be off your list. Cash gifts are a clear ‘no’, irrespective of what value you have in mind for a gift for your boss, it can never be right and seem trivial or appear as a pleasing bribe to invite the boss’s good grades!