5 Bad Moves At Your Work Holiday Party
Does your place of employment throw a work holiday party? Sometimes it depends on the industry. Catering and restaurants… shops and other industries that are super busy during the holidays usually wait until January when business slows down. Whatever the situation, if your business has a work holiday party, I suggest you refresh your knowledge of the “do nots” for social business gatherings.
Melissa Stone is a PR expert in New York City. You can read her full thoughts on “Everything You Should Definitely Not Do at Your Office Holiday Party.” We gave to two minute elevator version below.
Work Holiday Party “Do Nots”
1. Do not over-imbibe. A strong tactic to avoid getting sloppy in front of your co-workers/employers is called “zebra striping.” For every adult beverage you consume, you have a water or other non-alcoholic beverage to balance things out and slow your roll.
2. Do not have a bucket mouth. Since parties are casual situations, it’s easy to slip into casual conversation mode… which is fine unless you starting talking about your personal dirt or situations you’ve been in that mind make you look… less than professional.
3. Do not hook up with a co-worker. It sounds obvious, and yet we all know someone who has done it. How do we know? Because they hooked up at the party in front of everyone probably after breaking suggestions #1 and #2.
4. Do not disregard the dress code. It’s not that it a big offense, but if you show up underdressed, you may not be as confident at the party as you could have been had you dressed to measure.
5. Do not post without permission. You don’t want to accidentally wreck a work relationship by sharing something on social media without the person’s consent. Ask first. It’s an easy way to show respect for your relationships with your co-workers. Having said that, I did not ask Lynn for her permission before I posted the picture above.
Are You Guilty of Any of These “Do Nots?”
OMG, obviously, I am SOOOOOOO guilty. I wish I had this list like 30 years ago and read it every time before a work holiday party. I haven’t hooked up with a co-worker, but 1,2,4,and 5? Sweet Jesus, help me. To be fair, I didn’t break them all at the same party and I didn’t break one at every single work holiday party. Still…
SIDE NOTE: Our work holiday parties used to be for “you and a guest.” Last year we didn’t do that and I liked it better. I think work parties should be just for the people who work there. I hung out with my co-workers 100% of the time because I wasn’t worried about whether or not my “plus one” was having a good time since they didn’t know the people as well as me. Just my two cents! Wishing you Happy Holidays… whatever the holidays are that you celebrate in your life!
