When I worked in an office (my first “real” job), birthdays were always recognized with an all-office gathering complete with cupcakes. Of course, the company was a small startup agency lead by younger executives. As the company grew, it seemed like there was less emphasis on recognizing birthdays, and more on just powering through work. We’d still gather for birthdays, but the conversation would turn to clients or outstanding proposals or some other business-related discussion.

Now that I work from home with a team located all over the country, it’s impossible for us to gather together to enjoy cupcakes in honor of a birthday. But I still think it’s important to recognize birthdays — it can help build relationships and bring the team together as people and not just employees.

Here’s a good resource on birthdays in the workplace: https://hrsimple.com/blog/birthdays