Buying gifts for a coworker is a delicate balance to strike. The standard etiquette of gift giving in the office is that you shouldn’t buy anything too personal or extravagant. But you also don’t want to just toss them something you picked up at the dollar store.
For a coworker’s birthday, especially if you consider them a friend outside of the workplace, exceptions can be made, but still within limit (assuming you’re giving the gift inside the workplace and during office hours).
With that said, tech gadgets strike a good balance of not being personal or extravagant, but still thoughtful and useful to the person receiving the gift, maybe even something they would start using immediately.
In this article, I’ve summarized a few nice gadgets that would be appropriate to give a coworker on their birthday. If your coworker isn’t known to be fond of cool tech gadgets, here’s a list of 41 other things you can give him.
5 Gadgets You Can Give to a Co-worker on His Birthday
#1. Wireless earbuds
This is a tricky gift to get right, but it can be very appreciated by the person. First you need to know what type of phone they have. If they’re an Apple user, it’s most likely they prefer Apple’s own EarPods and would not replace using them with the brand you buy. Apple product loyalty is very high among iPhone users.
But if they’re an Android user and you notice them using cheap earbuds, such as the basic earphones that came with their phone, you’d be doing them a massive service by upgrading their audio quality.
There are some fantastic wireless earbuds for under $50, which really improve the audio quality of music and voice calls. My own 1More Triple Driver earphones are probably the best $80 I’ve ever spent, but that’s a bit too much for a coworker gift.
Some great wireless earbuds in the sub-$50 range include:
- Mpow X3
- Anker Soundcore Life P2
- Earfun Air
- TaoTronics SoundLiberty 79
- Fiil TX1 TWS
#2. Powerbank
If you notice your coworker constantly charging their phone, or using a relatively weak power bank that barely keeps their phone alive, consider upgrading them.
The $30 price range will get you a really nice power bank that can hold a high capacity, and even charge multiple devices at once.
For example, the INIU Portable Charger, at only $25 on Amazon, holds a massive 20000mAh, has 18W fast-charging technology, two USB ports, and a nice LED display.
#3. Temperature controlled mug
Coffee is an essential part of getting through the day for many office workers, but nobody should have to grimace through cold coffee that’s been sitting on their desk for a couple of hours.
A temperature controlled mug does exactly what it says, keeping their coffee (or tea) hot throughout the day as the mug automatically heats itself up to keep the beverage temperature consistent.
This is one gadget where the more you spend, the more features you’ll get, but you want to be in range of what’s appropriate for an office gift. Yes, a $120 temperature controlled smart mug can be controlled via app and have temperature LED panels, but that’s a bit much.
Around the $50 price range you’ll still find mugs with automatic temperature adjustments and reliable heating plates, like the Cosori Coffee Mug and Mug Warmer set.
#4. Smartwatch
Smartwatches have been around for enough time now to warrant and prove their use and necessity. Provided that they are not the right fit for everyone, they still give enough use and benefit out of them that almost everyone is at least attracted to them initially.
A coworker who keeps up with their exercise or one who needs to constantly check their phone for important notifications- a smartwatch is a great gift for them and they will surely appreciate the thought as well as the use behind it
Some of the smartwatches out there can be a little expensive but even the budgeted ones can provide great value.
#5. Bluetooth Speakers
If your co-workers love music and have a good interest in watching movies then you can gift a Bluetooth speaker. Like the earbuds, in market you can get many branded speakers with good bass and sound quality.
A decent wireless speaker starts from $25 and all these would be from a well know brand. Here’s some speakers that you can buy to gift your co-workers:
- OontZ Angle 3
- JBL Flip 4
- W-King 50W
- Sony SRS-XB 12
- Bose SoundLink
I hope you will like this list of tech gifts for your co-workers. Please share it with other and don’t forget to comment below.
