Birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, wedding showers ... there are a number of employee personal milestones that many employers like to recognize one way or the other. Often, this recognition comes in the way of office celebrations ... and, according to a new survey from OfficeTeam, the tab for these celebrations often gets picked up by employees.

The survey reports that 75 percent of 150 senior executives said employees are asked by peers to contribute money to pay for such office celebrations at least once or twice a year. Meanwhile, 15 percent reported that employees are asked to contribute once a month.

About three-quarters of respondents likewise reported that employee birthdays are celebrated, usually in the form of a cake/treats (50 percent), department lunches/meals (24 percent) or gift cards (15 percent).

Are employees being asked to cover these expenses more than often than they can really afford? Perhaps, says Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam: "No one wants to appear a poor sport for not contributing, but when requests are made too frequently, employees may feel tapped out. Companies can do their part by leaving room in their budget for recognition events, but it won't prevent coworkers from wanting to chip in to buy a gift or other token of support for a colleague. Employees should avoid asking colleagues too often or for too much."

Among suggestions to keep employee costs at a reasonable level, OfficeTeam suggests that employees be asked to make a voluntary contribution toward the purchase of an item (such as a cake or gift) for an office celebration as opposed to being requested to contribute a specific dollar amount. Making requests for contributions via e-mail, versus in person, will also minimize the discomfort of employees who don't like being put "on the spot" in terms of making a donation.