Cash collection for laid-off colleagues feels wrong

DEAR AMY: I work in a small office of about 20 employees for a regional company. While the company has been pretty resilient to the recession, the company recently had to lay off two workers. After the layoffs were announced, one employee in our office decided to announce that donation envelopes would be passed around and that everyone should give generously to the staff members who were laid off. She designated that only cash would be accepted. Personally, this felt inappropriate to me on multiple levels.

First, it does not seem fair to pressure other workers to give money when many of the employees also may be struggling financially and may not have had a meaningful relationship with the workers. Second, while I understand that a cash gift may be the most useful thing to someone who has been laid off, it seems like an awkward gift when compared with a gift certificate. Lastly, the gesture presumes that the two who were laid off did nothing to contribute to their dismissal, which seems naive and I don't believe it's entirely the case in this scenario. I have talked to several people who feel the exact same way, but no one wants to step in because no one wants to be perceived as heartless and insensitive to the situation. Can you offer any thoughts or suggestions?Peeved Worker

DEAR PEEVED: This is without a doubt a kind gesture on the part of your co-worker, but I agree with your reaction to this and further agree that no employee should pressure fellow employees to contribute cash to any particular cause.

If an employee wants to offer co-workers the opportunity to donate to laid-off workers, or if this co-worker wants to raise funds on their behalf outside the office, then those people who want to pony up some cash can do so. But no one should be pressured to donate or be penalized or judged if they decline.