a work anniversary is a specific occasion. the card aisle treats it as a general one.
the cards available exist in a register of sustained, weaponised optimism. they say things like “here’s to many more!” and “you’re an inspiration to us all!” they feature abstract gold stars and the word achievement in a font that has never met a difficult Tuesday. they are written, one suspects, by people who understood the purchase was largely obligatory and concluded the content could be too.
there is a person at your workplace who has seen things. specifically, they have seen you. they were there for the meeting that should have been an email. they were there when the system went down at the worst possible moment. they have received your messages at 7am and at 11pm and understood, without being told, which ones required a response and which ones just needed to be witnessed. you have eaten lunch together in silence in a way that was entirely comfortable. You have looked at each other across a room and communicated a complete sentence without speaking.
this person deserves something better than a card with a gold star on it.
the work anniversary is the obvious occasion - one year, or five, or ten of showing up alongside someone and continuing to function. it is underacknowledged as a category, which is strange, because the people we spend the most waking hours with are almost never the people we have cultural rituals for. you would buy a birthday card for a cousin you see twice a year. you have likely never bought anything much for the person who has witnessed more of your actual life than almost anyone (creepy).
that is the gap still employed. [card] exists to fill. the front says still employed. the inside says continues to be statistically plausible, somehow. it is accurate. it does not have a gold star.
if the work anniversary is also a farewell - its own specific situation, equal parts celebration and mild devastation - as per your final email. [card] handles that with comparable accuracy. the front is the line everyone is already thinking. the inside gives them somewhere to put it.
for the person who needs something beyond a card, the instruction chart [mug]. covers the daily reality of office existence with appropriate precision. for the person who ‘doesn’t drink coffee’ (weirdos) the still here. still underwhelmed. [tee] is great - everyone can use a fresh white tee. and if you happen to be reading this in winter the still here. [hoodie] is probably a better choice (extra show of care built in).
none of these require an occasion, strictly speaking. but a work anniversary is a better reason than most to acknowledge the person who has been there, continues to be there, and shows every sign of remaining so for the foreseeable future.
that counts for something, and a small gesture wins you brownie points for when you need them (which, let’s face it, is inevitably in the near future).
still here co. - what to send instead.