“What I don’t like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day.”
– Phyllis Diller
The office Christmas party is notorious for horror stories. It’s no wonder – your colleagues are the people you spend the most amount of time around. Add alcohol, carbs and the inevitable Secret Santa into the mix and you’ve got yourself a very, very volatile cocktail.
You don’t have to look far before you uncover some tales of Christmas party terror. Now the stress of the occasion has been heightened with the addition of our pal social media…
Christmas parties are an incredibly important part of the year for a great deal of workplaces. They are a great source of reward for many of your colleagues. They can help bring your team together and promote a sense of community within the workplace. But for certain personalities these can also be a considerably stressful experience – and it’s not always the person you expect.
The last thing you want to do is wake up with an awful hangover to discover that you said something untoward to your Managing Director, shouted at Jeff from accounts because you “just can’t stand that haircut any longer”, before making a pass at your HR Manager. But sadly – it happens.
There are plenty of articles out there that can help you make sure you don’t do something silly at the party itself. A good model to follow is moderation. Now we are in an age of social media, there’s another thing that you should keep in mind before – and after – the party, to make sure you don’t inadvertently end up losing your job…
Be careful what you post online
For the Facebook savvy, this can seem like a fairly obvious tip. But with more and more people realising the potential that not overdoing your privacy settings can have on your job prospects, it’s a good idea to remind yourself. Here are a few pointers to help make sure you still have a job in the morning:
1. Double-check people are cool with you posting
We know how positive posting pictures of your office occasions can be on brand awareness and PR so we think you should definitely be doing it – but your bosses and people you work with may be less keen. So double-check they are cool with it before you get going.
2. Post positive…
Regardless of how harrowing your party is, somebody went to the trouble of organising it for you. Show your appreciation to these people by being positive about it. If it’s obvious that people in charge have really gone the extra mile, rave about it.
3. Don’t focus on the booze…
There’s a likelihood that there will be alcohol at the party, there will certainly be other things you could rave about. The food for example. Or the novelty pencil sharpener that you got given as your Secret Santa present.
4. It’s not just you that could be hurt…
If you have a video of sweaty colleagues dancing inappropriately they may encourage you to post it right there. But would they the morning after? Or when their line Manager brings it up in their next appraisal? It can be good to keep those sort of decisions until the morning after.
The office Christmas party can be incredible for social media engagement – so long as you think about what you post! So keep these tips in mind, be sensible and have a fantastic time. The most merriest of merry Christmases to you and your colleagues!
