3 hours ago
I ended up thinking way more about office birthdays after I realized how awkward they can feel if you either overdo it or completely forget. At my last job we had this routine where someone would grab a generic cake and everyone would clap for thirty seconds, and honestly it felt more like a checkbox than a celebration. One year a teammate looked genuinely uncomfortable standing there, and that stuck with me, so when the next birthday came around I wanted to do something that didn’t scream forced fun. I started paying attention to small details like what music they liked, whether they enjoyed attention, or if they’d rather have something low-key, and that mindset completely changed how I approach these moments at work.