I Gifted My Boss a Handmade Crochet Gift for Team Building, but My Coworkers Had Strong Opinions About It

I spent the last few weeks making my boss a scarf for our team’s annual team building gift exchange. I enjoy crochet, and honestly, yarn, knitting, and other forms of handicraft have always been my favorite way to relax after work. It’s more than just a hobby for me. I put hours into this scarf, carefully choosing the yarn colors and making sure everything looked right. I even did some hand knitting in the evenings after finishing my work. Since I work remotely a few days a week, I had some quiet evenings to work on it. I thought a handmade gift would be more personal than buying some random thing online.

Apparently, my coworkers disagreed. When they found out what I was making, a couple of them started laughing and saying things like, “She can’t afford a decent gift, always budgeting, even for the boss.” Yeah, I’m careful with money. I have bills, savings goals, and actual responsibilities. I don’t think that makes me cheap, but apparently, my crochet hobby is now evidence that I’m broke. One coworker even joked that I should’ve just bought something instead of wasting so much yarn on a gift nobody asked for. I tried to brush it off because I didn’t want to make things awkward. But it really got to me.

Crochet and knitting are supposed to be things I enjoy, not reasons for people to make fun of me. I’ve always thought that hand knitting takes patience and care, and that those things should count for something. Anyway, I gave my boss the scarf at the team building dinner. He smiled awkwardly and thanked me. I couldn’t tell whether he genuinely liked it or whether he’d already heard the comments. During the thank-you speech, he said, “Not everyone deserves a thank-you. Some gifts come from the heart, and that’s what I asked for.”

My heart literally stopped for a second. Was he defending me? Had he heard what my coworkers were saying about my Crochet gift? Did he actually appreciate the time I’d spent choosing the Yarn and making the scarf, or was I reading way too much into it? The weirdest part is that our company constantly talks about teamwork, respect, and having a positive company culture. We do team building activities, and management encourages people to share their interests. But apparently, having a hobby like crochet, knitting, or handicraft is only acceptable until someone decides it’s something to mock.

Even with remote work becoming more common on our team, I still have to interact with these people regularly. I don’t want to dread every meeting or wonder whether my coworkers are laughing about me behind my back. Now I’m embarrassed that I even tried. I know this might sound dramatic, but this whole thing has made me question our company culture. I’ve actually started thinking about quitting for the first time. I haven’t made any decisions yet, because leaving a job over one team building dinner might be an overreaction. Maybe I’m taking the comments too personally, or maybe this is a sign that I don’t fit in with these people.
So, Bright Side, what would you do in my position? Should I talk to him about what happened, try to move past it, or start looking for another job? And honestly, is this kind of company culture something you’d tolerate, or would it be a dealbreaker for you?

Best,
Nancy.