As a virtual or on-site assistant, it may fall to you to purchase flowers for a variety of employee events, including birthdays, births, employment-related anniversaries, illnesses and deaths. This responsibility requires a great deal of tact and empathy, especially in today’s highly sensitized and litigious working environment. Here are a few tips for economically and appropriately celebrating employee events with flowers:

Avoid highly symbolic flowers
For example, roses are both expensive and mean romance to many people. Nearly every color of rose has a symbolic meaning, so steer clear. You do not want to accidentally hurt someone’s feelings or offend them with a gift of flowers. 

Present flowers publicly
Whenever possible, present the flowers in a public setting, possibly after a small office party for which the flowers served as decoration. Do not wait until after office hours or have the flowers delivered unless this is standard office practice.

Consider privacy issues
If you know that a co-worker is dealing with a death in the family, stop before you go into “flower mode.” Does everyone know this? Does this co-worker want people to be aware of the problem? Will the receipt of flowers make him or her uncomfortable? If you have doubts, then tell the co-worker ahead of time that the office wants to express their concern and support and request guidance on how best to do this.

With a little forethought, you can easily make the purchase and presentation of flowers to an employee a meaningful gesture that will enrich their working life.