The reward is a secret code: if the frequency is wrong, there will be a big explosion

Actually, gifts are not just objects, not only at Christmas. It’s always a message too. A cookbook means “I know you like to cook” or “You should finally learn to cook”. Massage vouchers can convey closeness – or convey hidden accusations: “You’re always uptight.” And that’s why gifts are the ideal fuel for emotional uplift.

From now on the atmosphere is no longer festive

Couples fight because one partner spent three hours browsing the shops in town while the other ordered a Bluetooth cup of coffee – convenient, quick, but less than romantic.

The family tries to reduce the tension through Secret Secret Santa, but only succeeds in creating more uncertainty because no one really knows how expensive “reasonable” is.

The reward is a secret code: if the frequency is wrong, there will be a big explosion

In the office, a coworker brought a box of chocolates while another appeared with an 80 euro food basket.

From now on, the atmosphere was no longer festive – but tense. Overperformers destroy informal balance and trigger subtle competitive pressures.

Prizes are secret codes. And if the transmitter and receiver do not have the same frequency, an explosion will occur.

Potential conflicts over gifts aside, Advent is generally a strange mix of sprinting and meditation – at least in theory. In practice, people race through calendars, package delivery notices and Christmas market dates as if they were training for an emotional marathon while someone whispers in their ear: “Stay relaxed.” This contradiction creates stress. And the pressure rarely sounds like a choir of angels.

The lead up to Christmas is a magnifying glass

It is a common sight in the office where a colleague says: “We can do this by the end of the year.” No one disagreed, but internal alarm bells started ringing in everyone’s heads. Something similar happened at home.

The family just wanted to clarify the planning “briefly” – and suddenly everyone was sitting in a Zoom conference where everyone emphasized that it would be “easy”, but their tone sounded like diplomatic preparations for a crisis meeting.

The hope of being harmonious, functioning perfectly and smiling brightly at the same time is too much for many people. And overwhelmed always looks for a way out: in disputes, ridicule and discussions that no one really wants.

The lead up to Christmas is a magnifying glass. Everything that usually burned quietly now seemed to be on fire.

The boss tells his favorite joke for the third time

Corporate events in December are experiments in which the combination of honesty and mulled wine often goes wrong. During the day, everyone moves in clearly defined roles.

In the evening you suddenly find yourself standing at the buffet table with the boss, and for many people, this thought alone triggers latent panic. The boss told his favorite joke for the third time, and although everyone laughed good-naturedly, the air was heavier than mulled wine.

He calls it “honest feedback”, he calls it “a test of courage”

An employee uses her courage to suddenly address a topic that has been bubbling to the surface for months. He called it “honest feedback.” He called it a ‘test of courage’.

Strange micro-drama emerged between the tables. Two coworkers who haven’t been able to stand each other for months are talking about tomato soup — only to the next second get into a conversation about “team culture” that they really wanted to avoid.

“How much longer do I have to stay here?”

Controlling introverts have long found the toilet a safe place to rest and write desperate messages to Slack from there: “How much longer do I have to stay here?”

Moods often change as the two worlds – private and professional – collide. And neither side really knows how to deal with it. The line between “being intimate” and “being too close” is very thin. And thin boundaries will quickly break down.

A massage voucher could mean: “You are always tense”