The Day After The Office Holiday Party
By: Sandra T. Sosa, Senior HR Generalist
November 28, 2011
One of my favorite days of the year is the day after the office holiday party. There are usually great stories and this is the single event that allows management to make drastic and immediate decisions about what next year's party will involve.
If the day after the holiday party there are no scandalous stories, everyone had a good time and acted professionally, then employees know they will have a similar experience the following year. However, if managers get so drunk that end up naked in the hallway of a hotel, then HR is instructed to create a committee, send out surveys and come up with a completely different way to celebrate the holidays next year. Let me illustrate this by giving you real life example that happened two years ago.
In 2009, Company X organized a great holiday party for its employees and their significant others. The Company provided gourmet food, a marvelous venue downtown, open bar, live music and great prizes. A very animated group of people who included project managers, technicians and their significant others talked for weeks about the office holiday party, it seemed this would be the event of the year for them. The group rented a party limo, made plans to visit a few clubs after the office party and made hotel reservations to have their very own after party. Some employees were jealous when they were not invited to join this group.
At the party, it was hard to miss the group of about 20 people. The ladies were dressed provocatively and the gentlemen seemed to enjoy showing off their ability to dirty dance without spilling their drink. Yes, managers and technicians alike. While eating, they were laughing and talking loudly. They made it a point to express their gratitude to two members of the executive team by asking them to join them in taking tequila shots. The executives politely declined.
On Monday morning, the day after the holiday party, everyone was talking about different aspects of the celebration. However, it was hard to miss the fact that every conversation ended with the same story, the story of the group of 20.
After the office holiday party was over, the group of 20 visited a few clubs and then proceeded to go to the hotel where they continued drinking. No one is really sure of what or how it happened, and truth be told no one really cared, bottom line is one of the managers ended up naked in the hallway and a technician ended up with an unexpected guest in his room. You guessed it, a co-worker from another department who had recently gotten engaged.
While the group of 20 had a blast at the party, the clubs and the hotel; their embarrassment on Monday morning was obvious. The repercussion of their actions although not immediate, was felt by everyone within the company. The group of 20 found out the hard way, that the office holiday party should be approached with caution. The party aftermath haunted everyone in the group, it was impossible to avoid the jokes or to get angry when listening to comments about their unacceptable behavior, gaining the employees' respect back was hard. A few months later, one of the managers was considered for a promotion but did not receive it based on his lack of judgment during this event.
Last year, rather than having the same style of office holiday celebration, Company X opted to have a family oriented holiday luncheon where there was food, bouncy houses, music and face painters, no alcohol, no party limos and no opportunity for drunk naked managers.
The purpose of the office holiday party is to express appreciation to the employees and to provide a venue for you to have a good time, IT IS NOT the ideal place to be extreme. Remember it is a work function and any image you project of yourself, during or immediately after this event, will be remembered.
Work holiday parties are an opportunity to have conversations with people within the company that you may not ordinarily speak to during a busy work day. Use all these functions to mingle with your colleagues in an informal environment without slurred words, regretful dance moves or unfortunate next morning surprises.
The office holiday party is the perfect opportunity to share a good time with your colleagues, so relax and enjoy yourself but always keep in mind it is is not your 21st birthday celebration. You do not want to be the reason why next year your company decides to have a light breakfast with Santa.
This holiday season, remember to have fun but remain professional at all times.