Averting Christmas party disasters - office Christmas parties.

Sep 23
21:17

2009

Matt Fuller

Matt Fuller

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Some friendly advice for employees regarding holding on to your job and reputation after the annual office Christmas party celebrations!

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It's a pretty common cliché,Averting Christmas party disasters - office Christmas parties. Articles intoxicated announcements of love, unloading a years worth of insults about your boss at the top of your voice while he stands right behind you, and the predictable drunken pash that will forever be remembered.

The end of year work Christmas party for many employees is their only chance all year to fully let go of work and socialize with their work mates. As a result, there is a lot of pent up emotions that can very quickly make or break your reputation, one that you have managed to keep in tact all year.

Know your boundaries.

It's unfamiliar territory for many workers to be socializing with their colleagues, so the answer to get past this unfamiliarity is to drink so much that everyone comes down to the same drunken level. Remember, not everyone reacts the same way when they are drunk, and you risk doing something you may well regret and you will have to face up to everyone at work feeling rather awkward. Be aware of how much you drink, and take your time doing so. Just because the beer is free isn't worth risking spending the night throwing up over the side of the boat on your annual work Christmas party boat cruise.

We know you're dying to - but avoid gossiping.

It's a terrible idea to start a conversation about how incompetent one of the managers are. Not only does it sound like you have nothing better to chat about, there is every chance your idol gossip will work it's way back to the wrong person.

Flirting - should you?

There is a girl at the party you don't really know that well but you've seen her around, and up till now there has been very little acknowledgement of each other. You notice her looking in your direction smiling, and funnily enough she's looking much better than you previously remembered. If you read the situation incorrectly through your beer goggles, you can expect a sexual harassment allegation the next day. Innocent flirting as an ice breaker is fine, but after several cocktails, your ability to make good judgment calls comes into question.

There's a time and a place.

If you want to paint the town red, don't do it at the office Christmas party. Pick an appropriate function and venue. Go and slag your boss off to someone you don't know at a bar, or visit one of the online dating sites for information regarding singles events where you can flirt like there's no tomorrow!