Believe it or not, having fun can be stressful. Revelry is especially wearisome during the holiday season when many of us try to jam a quarter's worth of events into a single month. If you have any part of planning or hosting office holiday gatherings, this post is for you. (If you're not in charge of and currently dreading your office party, perhaps you could print this post and slip it under a door or two.)
I'm all for celebrating the past year's achievements and looking forward to the future. I'm wary, though, of office holiday parties that can be fraught with forced fun and awkwardness. To avoid torturing your team members this year, follow these simple rules.
1. Office parties should be held in the office. Having to go to the boss's house for an evening can cast a pall over what should be a festive event.
2. Office parties should be comfortable. If they're held outside the office, the venue and dress codes should reflect your team's personality. Mature, family types will feel as awkward in a crowded nightclub as young, artsy types will in the brightly lit banquet room of a budget motel.
3. Office parties should last only a few hours. If spirits are to be served, stick to beer and wine. Why risk further blurring the line between work lives and personal lives with hard liquor?
4. Office parties should be secular. Unless you're prepared to represent all the world's religions, it's best to keep decorations belief-neutral. Focus any toasts or group addresses on last year's successes and next year's opportunities.
It should go without saying that desk-dancing, broom-closet groping, and body-part copying are things of the past. No matter how great the temptation to revive any of these tipsy traditions for auld lang syne, you must resist. Remember, the generations that partook in such frolicking didn't have to worry about Smartphones and social networking sites.
Cheers!
Franny Fried