It’s that time of year again.
The Christmas trees and decorations are springing up everywhere, from shops to our homes.
The rush of every day life has just gone up by about a zillion, as every one tries to run to the finish line for the year and knock off those projects / see all those friends and family / plan for the new year.
And in businesses all across the globe, it’s the time of year where employees get together to celebrate at the annual Xmas party.
Sometimes it is the only time that whole organisations get together.
But your resident workplace culture expert aka me has been pondering in recent times - should Xmas Parties still be a ‘thing’ when it comes to organisations who are aiming to have exceptional workplace culture [side note: that should be your aim, in your organisation. In every organisation].
And if the answer is yes - then what should that look like?
Ghosts of Xmas Parties Past
Back in my long distant youth, in the days when I was a practising lawyer and pre-kids, I went to some pretty wild work Xmas parties.
Memorable highlights include taking buses to exclusive restaurants in neighbouring towns - and said bus having to stop several times on the return trip to allow guests to have a breath of fresh air outside of the bus (read: vomit).
Or there was the time when several members of the law firm I worked for behaved so badly and inappropriately (including towards wait staff of the venue) that said law firm was banned from ever holding a function in the restaurant again. Note - I was not one of the misbehavers.
And last but definitely not least, the winery tour in the Yarra Valley that saw one female member of staff let her alter-ego loose - the alter ego that apparently likes to gyrate and otherwise inappropriately manhandle the male members of staff. One particular member in particular. #superawkward.
Note - again - this was not me that was misbehaving. 😇
Then there was the time when I was recruited to the role of People and Performance Manager of a Training Organisation to replace the previous HR Manager who had been dismissed for her behaviour at the Xmas party which included inappropriate touching of male colleagues (I’m sensing a theme) as well as swearing profusely, loudly and repeatedly at colleagues - including the business owner.
I would like to think that these kinds of behaviours are a thing of Xmas’ past. But just this week, I heard from a mate about his work Xmas party, where one of his colleagues had (without any form of authority) rang the venue prior to the party kick off and requested the champagne on offer be upgraded.
Leading to a $1600 cost increase. Gulp.
This same woman proceeded to apparently over indulge in the bubbles, to the point where she had to be put in a cab and sent home after her light flirtation with coworkers turned into another example of that theme I mentioned.
Why we still need to have a Xmas Celebration of some kind in all businesses
We’ve all heard or read cases about Xmas parties gone bad, and employees losing their jobs as a result.
In recent years, it has become standard practice for HR Managers to send out reminders to all staff about the guidelines and rules around Xmas parties.
As this excellent article published in HRM online notes:
The behaviour expectation email has become even more important with the introduction and implementation of the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth.) on employers to eliminate, as far as possible, sexual harassment in connection with work. This duty requires employers to take proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment — the behaviour email is an example of such a step.
From 12 December 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission has new powers of investigation and enforcement in relation to the positive duty – just in time for many workplace Christmas events!
BTW the article is a great resource for steps you should take to minimise the legal risks associated with work Xmas parties.
Given the very real risk of poor or costly outcomes from work Xmas Parties, more than once I have heard business owners and leaders wonder aloud about whether there is still any point in holding Xmas parties.
My answer is: Yes, it absolutely is.
Your people work hard, and life is tough in these current times.
Their efforts deserve to be celebrated and acknowledged, and a Xmas party is one way to do this.
Celebrating achievements and milestones via the Xmas party is a good way to round out the year, draw a line in the sand for that year, so that the new year can start fresh.
Connection is a vital ingredient when it comes to exceptional workplace culture - which means that your employees need to spend time together.
The Xmas Party is one way to do just that.
Rules have changed though: so be aware
So we can agree that a Xmas party is still an excellent way to both acknowledge the efforts of your people over the last year, and help build connection.
On the other hand, we are aware and alert to the dangers Xmas parties can present.
Alcohol inevitably lowers inhibitions and impacts decision making. And as evidenced from the examples from my past and case examples, sometimes this leads to poor decision making.
What should we do?
So how can you successfully hold a Xmas party that ticks all the boxes you want to tick (acknowledgement, celebration, connection) but none of the ones you don’t (hello sexual harassment claims).
And bearing in mind that not all employees enjoy doing the same things when it comes to Xmas parties.
For example, you might think taking your team to do a Escape Room activity is a great idea - but do you really want to be locked in a room with May, who seems to NEVER STOP TALKING.
Or you might be a member of a community choir and love to get your Karaoke on - but not everyone does - and nor can everyone hold a tune. Our ears don’t need to listen to tone deaf Mick from Accounts belting out Creep [yes, that is a *subtle nod to a certain Community Choir’s 10. 6 plus million plus TikTok views when singing a little Radiohead. You can check it out here. And yes, yours truly is indeed a very happy member of said choir].
Start by asking your people what they want to do. Either give them a list of options to vote for, or ask for suggestions, then from those, provide a top 3 list and ask for votes towards that list.
And what's next after the listening part?
Once you have landed on something that appeals to the majority, book that party in.
On the day, make sure that you have designated leaders who guarantee to remain sober (enough) and will police for inappropriate behaviour.
If you, or the fun police, witness inappropriate behaviour then make sure you act on it asap - i.e. send Ms Inappropriate home in a cab ASAP and before the light flirting turns into groping.
Make sure you read the article referenced above, which provides more tips to be on alert for and tick of the cautionary list pre and post party.
And then you are G to G, as the youngsters say. [Good to Go for those of us not so young or who don’t have Millennials living in da house].
If you would like to learn more about the value of, and how to, listen to your employees; then here is a little something I prepared earlier.
If you are keen to improve your current culture so that next year’s Xmas Party is a whole different ball game of celebration, connection and clean communication, then check out our Cultural Health Check package here.
Otherwise, all the best wishes for a merry, festive, safe and successful work Xmas party!
[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]