I am Dwight and Jim in this episode. When I started my job, I replaced a woman who took over a new section of my office. She told me that I would be responsible for birthdays, it was part of this position. I later found out this wasn't true, but I'm stuck with it. I even missed someone's birthday because it wasn't written on the calendar incorrectly (a couple years before the office AND her children had forgotten her!).

Anyway, I hate celebrating birthdays in the office. We have 9 people, and it's just awkward when we are all together. One time I suggested we stop giving cards as all people ever do is write their name and people went insane. I couldn't believe they took birthdays so seriously.

I always loved "The Office", but after I actually started working in an office, I appreciate it so much more.

I'm not a fan of office birthdays.

Yup! Our firm takes everyone out for birthday happy hours. Good thing I like my coworkers!

Yup! The boss buys everyone lunch -- birthday baby's pick! For my last Birthday we went to a restaurant called Pasha... delicious Turkish food!

I could get on board with happy hours, it's the forced everyone-must-eat-this-not-so-yummy-cake-or-else-hear-you're-too-skinny-comments-all-afternoon that I don't like.

Everyone is responsible to bring his own birthday desert for his birthday. Fortunately, my birthday coincides with two others, so we split the fare bringing cake, ice cream and punch.

syako, i 100% agree. I worked in an office on campus during college, and some of the older women would make really awkward comments amount my size, appearance and youth. These comments were practically quadrupled on office birthdays. At first, I told the truth and said that I didn't really like cake, which resulted in weird passive aggressive comments. From then on, I always took a big slab just to avoid it! And I rreeaalllyy don't like store bought cake, the frosting tickles the roof of my mouth! lol Talk about sucking the fun out of birthdays.

o yeah we definitely do. We always go out for lunch as a team when it's someones bday

If it's within your specific group some depts do but I don't really care either way to be honest...

Yes, my office unfortunately celebrates birthdays.

Yup we come up with fake meeting invites (which everyone can pretty much predict) and get a cake to celebrate with the department. A card goes around for everyone to sign too.

I work in a small office so our boss remembers a nice little treat on birthdays. I used to work in a much bigger office that was mostly women, and there was a birthday celebrated practically every week and at least a dozen people would bake something or bring massive amounts of food. It was both good and bad... cake every week, skipping a healthy lunch. No official committees though, thank God!

i work in a retail setting, but no there's no big birthday committe or anything. sometimes people bring in treats but that's about it. one year, back when it was pretty much all college kids like me and we were all really good friends, i was working on my b-day and they bought hostess cupcakes out of the vending machine and sang to me on the sales floor. it pretty much made my year it was so awesome haha. customers were joining in and everything.

I work in a small office and we don't really celebrate birthdays very often. It depends on the person and if s/he is comfortable with it. My boss did remember my birthday this year though and gave me a gift card to one of my favorite stores--no fanfare or anything, just the way I like it, and it was a very sweet gesture on her part.

My office doesn't celebrate individual birthdays, but every month we have an office breakfast and that is sort of the celebration for them.

We celebrate by going out to lunch, branch chief buys the meal for the birthday people. We only do it once a month for everyone in that month, and they pick the restaurant.

My core group of friends at work and I always acknowledge each others' birthdays with at least a card.

my department definitely does something to celebrates birthdays. either it's a breakfast where they will bring in donuts and bagels etc or it's a lunch out. i don't like ppl to fuss over my birthday, so i don't ever tell anyone when it is, and therefore don't have mine celebrated.

Nah, we don't really celebrate birthdays. The person who's got the birthday usually brings a b-day treat for the whole lab and everyone wishes them a happy birthday, but that's about it. I do hate it when the older women that I work with asked me on my birthday: "How old are you?" and "So when are you having kids?" My answers: "Old enough to remember the original Cabbage Patch kids and the Smurfs" and "I'd consider having them if my birth control somehow failed, otherwise I'm not planning anything at the moment". People are so freakin' nosy and it drives me nuts.

i work in a pharmacy so no, unfortunately! but my friends all go out so it makes up for it. at work, we only do a birthday if its a coworkers milestone bday

no, not at all. our office is lame in that way. the only time i can remember celebrating was when it was one of the bosses' 40th and his wife brought a cake and presents and asked that we have a little party in a meeting room
and sometimes we do cards but i can't even recall the reason why we sometimes do that and sometimes don't. thankfully my birthday was on a sunday so i got to miss that awkwardness this year

haha i actually hope they forget mine. makes things easier. then i can also get my work done so i can sneak out early to really celebrate

The receptionist takes money from the kitty and buy a cake and desserts. We celebrate for everyonein that particular month, sing Happy Birthday and eat. It's okay. My supervisor treats each of us to a lunch of our choice. I was just happy to be working around my birthday last year.

To those offices that don't celebrate the day of someone's birth, or at least to just enjoy a quick moment chatting with coworkers around some coffee and cake, I wonder if these people haven't simply died inside, or have somehow lost their souls--trapped forever behind their computer screens! Indeed, these "office zombies" feed off the psychic energy of people who want to have a bit more fun in the office, to tell a few jokes, talk sports, or just to get to know your fellow workers. Office zombies hate interacting with people; they piss and moan, gnash their teeth, and grumble wherever they go. These mouth-breathers moan loudly and drool profusely as they shift back and forth, back and forth, lurching forward into their cubicle coffins, awaiting the dusk that marks their moment to depart their depressingly lifeless, emotionally vacuous tomb they call their desk where they will then take their misery elsewhere. Beware of these cold-blooded, walking dead, they will infiltrate your offices, spread like crafty viruses, and infect whole teams of office workers. If you've experienced an office zombie attack, you can combat them with sunlight, polite office greetings, and scheduled birthday gatherings. So remember, although troubling, office zombies can be combated! You shouldn't feel like the situation is out of control. You can win! You CAN take back your office!!! God luck and God speed!!