UK 
United States
For many years, it has been common courtesy to tip restaurant servers, hotel cleaners or even taxi drivers if they have provided you with a high-level of service.
But, what was once confined to the activities enjoyed outside of work seems to have migrated over into the employment world. One which has been termed ‘peer-to-peer tipping’.
According to the BBC, “peer-to-peer micro bonuses” are the process of tipping colleagues for doing a good job and it seems that this is becoming more common in UK businesses. Contrary to what you might think, employees aren’t expected to dig deep into their own pockets. The tip money comes from a designated company budget that is allocated to employees.
One boss spearheading this movement is Becky Thornton. As a UK boss, she has recently introduced this initiative that allocates a budget to workers for tipping colleagues’ small amounts of money when they have produced good work.
"We normally tip around £2, but if someone does something really good, then they might get a fiver. It's a really tangible way of saying, 'You know what, I really liked that,” she explained.
"It feels like a positive way to show that you appreciate someone's work. I save up my tips and withdraw them when I've got over £100, then I treat myself.”
This added financial bonus may be a great way to incentivise hard work, but there are downfalls. Workplace “tipping” could result in rife competition, leading to conflict and stress if employees don’t continually get tipped and start to feel worthless.
Martha Nahar, an Internal Communications Officer, told Refinery 29 that micro-tipping doesn’t have a natural place at work, and it can quickly easily escalate to cause problems. “It should be left as something that happens in a restaurant. I'd find it far more rewarding to receive a thank you from my manager and colleagues, or to receive praise through emails, one-on-ones or meetings.
"Everyone is doing fantastic work in their day jobs and if I found out that other colleagues were getting 'tipped' because they did something great, it would make me feel as if I’m not good enough."
Do you think tipping colleagues will cause more problems than it’s worth? Let us know in the comments below…
