‘Tis the season…for parties! The office Christmas party is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, they’re a great way to celebrate the success of the year and give you a chance to socialise with colleagues you don’t normally work with. On the other, some people want to avoid awkward situations and find the idea of having to socialise with their workmates excruciatingly painful.
However you feel about the festive season, we’ll walk you through the DOs as well as the DON’Ts for making the most and surviving your company Christmas party:
DON’T GET TOO DRUNK
It’s best not to overindulge at the office Christmas party. Pace your drinking and have something to eat beforehand so that you don’t end up too drunk too quickly. You don’t want to be the talk of the office the next day. If you drink too much you’re bound to do or say something you’ll regret, and poor behaviour could seriously damage your reputation and set you up for a bad start to the New Year.
DO NETWORK
The office party is the perfect opportunity to socialise with people that you don’t usually talk to. While you don’t want to talk too much about work, getting to know your boss or someone from another team might open some new opportunities and build professional relationships.
If nothing else, it will allow you to put faces to people you normally only speak to on the phone or via email. It’s amazing how much easier it can be to work with people once we can put a face to a name!
DON’T TALK SHOP
Talking too much about upcoming deadlines, next month’s marketing campaign or the finer details of a recent expense report will certainly kill the party atmosphere!
Leave professional baggage at the door, keep the conversations casual, light, and fun and have a good time. You’ll get to know your colleagues on a slightly more personal level which can really help your professional relationship going forward.
DO FOLLOW THE DRESS CODE
Depending on the location and type of event – casual drinks at a bar, a classy sit-down dinner, or quite literally, a party in the office – you’ll likely be expected to conform to an appropriate dress code. You should be able to figure out what you should wear easily with some common sense, so make the effort to look the part.
DON’T SKIP IT
While it may be tempting to skip the Christmas party altogether, it’s important to make an appearance. It is your workplace after all and skipping could send the wrong message, namely that you are anti-social or not a team player. Who knows, you might end up enjoying yourself!
DO HAVE FUN
You can have fun without hurting your workplace reputation. Get into the Christmas spirit and get your dancing shoes on! You might even make a friend or two.
Just make sure you maintain certain standards of behaviour and you should be in for a good time!
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from everyone at SRS Partnership