Giving downwards is easier than giving upwards — nobody suspects a manager of currying favour with their own team — and it fails in a way that is much more visible.
The failure is inequality. One person gets something and the others notice, and what was meant as thoughtfulness reads as a ranking.
The rule that matters more than any other
All of them or none of them.
Not identical in value — identical in kind. If one person gets a made object and everybody else gets a card, you have communicated something you did not mean.
⚠️ This holds even when there is an obvious reason. Somebody had a hard year, somebody delivered the big thing, somebody is your favourite. Reward that in the review, in the allocation of work, in what you say. Not in a gift, where it is visible to a room that does not have your context.
| Situation | Do |
|---|---|
| Diwali or year end | The same thing for everybody |
| Somebody is leaving | Individual is fine. They are exiting the comparison |
| A promotion | Congratulate. Do not gift up a level you just created |
| Somebody had a hard year | Give privately, and not as a gift — a day off, flexibility |
| A team milestone | One shared thing, not one thing each |
Keep it small, for a different reason
Upwards, the risk is that a gift reads as influence-buying. Downwards, the risk is that it reads as compensation.
A large gift to someone you manage sits uncomfortably close to pay — particularly if the year has been hard, or a raise did not happen. Modest removes that entirely.
₹270 to ₹500 a head is the range that reads as a gesture rather than as a substitute for something else.
For a whole team
Something shared beats something individual, and it costs less per head.
A print pack of thirty prints at ₹270 covering the year — the offsite, the launch, the desk arrangement that changed four times — goes on a wall and belongs to everybody.
A 27-card deck at ₹999 for a team of up to twenty-five, one card per person, works particularly well when it comes from the manager: it is a record of who was there, and each person is on it exactly once. Card decks as a group gift →
For one person who is leaving
The exception, and the one place a genuinely personal gift is straightforward.
They are leaving the comparison, the reporting line is ending, and nobody on the team reads it as favouritism. This is the point at which the manager’s gift can be the substantial one. Office farewell gift ideas →
If you are buying for a large team
At more than about twenty-five people this stops being a personal decision and becomes a procurement one, with a different set of questions — budget per head, GST, lead times. Gifting for large teams in India →
Do it at a moment they choose, not a date
The calendar occasions — Diwali, year end, a work anniversary — are the ones every manager uses, which is exactly why they are the least noticed.
The alternative is a moment that belongs to them: the week after a hard project shipped, the day something they had been pushing for was approved, the point at which something they were worried about turned out fine.
⚠️ This is the one place the all-or-nobody rule can bend, because the occasion is specific rather than seasonal. Marking a project the whole team worked on is not favouritism; marking one person’s calendar date while ignoring everyone else’s is.
Frequently asked
Should a manager give gifts to their team? Yes, if all of them get something of the same kind. Giving to some and not others is the one failure that matters.
Can I give more to somebody who did more? No, not as a gift. Reward that in the review and in the work. A gift is visible to people who do not have your context.
How much per person? ₹270 to ₹500. Larger amounts start to read as compensation rather than as a gesture.
What about someone who is leaving? Individual is fine and can be substantial. They are exiting the comparison and the reporting line is ending.
What works for a whole team? Something shared — a print pack for a wall, or a card deck with one card per person.
Part of our guide to office gifting etiquette. See also: gifts for a manager and gifting for large teams in India.
For a team: Photo Card Deck from ₹999 · Corporate and bulk gifting