Surviving The Holidays Part 3

So let’s talk about the Office Christmas Party

Restaurants and pubs are getting crammed full of revelers all from the same company supposedly having a good time.

There are also loads of company parties that take place at their own premises with trees and
tinsel and Secret Santas designed to create a festive mood.

Some parties are so cringingly horrible ‘The Office’ looks tame; some are great fun where people can let their hair down and get to know each other better.

Surviving the Office Christmas Party

There could be a long list of Dos and Don’ts. So how to avoid conflict at Christmas? I only have three Don’ts that if you follow them,
you will have survived yet another Company do.

1. Don’t drink too much

Yes, the booze might be free, it’s out of office hours, and it really is about letting your hair down. However, what’s free today you will pay for tomorrow if you make a complete fool of yourself. If you do drink alcohol, drink to get a lovely buzz and then switch to
water or juice. Even if you and two others are the only ones propping the bar up at 1 am, resist
the urge to keep on chugging it down. What you consume will be noticed and noted.

Actually, I remember quite a few years ago during one of our office Christmas parties someone relatively new to the company had a snootful too many and said something quite offensive about someone else.

It made me incredibly wary of her, slightly distrustful, and had to have a conversation with her
about it. What I found was that at subsequent parties I was always keeping half an eye on her.

2. Don’t gossip in public

Everybody gossips (I bet even the Dalai Lama gossips every now and then); for some people it’s a way of life with juicy titbits offered as currency to get other juicy titbits. For others, it’s being in on the tittle-tattle. And for others, it can be quite malicious and deliberately harmful.

It’s really hard to stop gossiping completely, though I do recommend cutting back. However, it’s
a seriously wise idea to keep your big fat trap shut during the office Christmas party. You don’t know who might overhear; gossip can be hurtful and wounding and you may find yourself on the end of some form of retaliation.

3. Don’t snog the boss

Unless she or he is your partner, and even then it’s probably in bad taste. Don’t snog anyone who’s in another relationship. Actually, my strong suggestion is that you leave snogging out altogether and save it for a different occasion.

The Office Christmas party is not a license to be an idiot – do that in your own time.

More advice on how to avoid conflict at Christmas

Office Christmas Party

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By Jo Ellen Grzyb, Director, ImpactFactory