Office holiday parties go on hiatus, but the risks remain
Filed under: Economy, People, One Year Later
Whether the office holiday party is a chance to unwind with colleagues or an evening of forced fun with people you're already sick of seeing all day, it's an institution of corporate America. The food is abundant, the liquor flows, and for a few hours, your colleagues are human beings. Then the next morning, you return to work with a hangover and with the same beefs you had before the party.
There's only one thing worse than having to go to the holiday party, and that's to learn that yours has been canceled. When corporate penny-pinching axes the event, that sends an unequivocal message about the company's financial strength and puts everyone on edge.
This year, even as financial markets and day-to-day company performances show signs of improvement, companies are pulling back on their holiday plans, or skipping them entirely. Only 62 percent of respondents in an annual survey by executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas are planning holiday parties, down from 77 percent in 2008 and 90 percent in 2007. Ten percent of companies that had been planning parties are canceling, compared with 7 percent last year.
"The strength of the recovery, or whether we are even in recovery, is still unclear," says the firm's CEO, John A. Challenger. "Companies are postponing major investments, hiring initiatives, and many other expenses, including holiday parties. For companies that have recently announced layoffs or other significant cost-cutting measures, such as wage freezes, it would be difficult to justify, let alone get in the mood for a holiday party."
Employees of a troubled company often share that sentiment: It's hard to get into the holiday spirit after layoffs, given the nagging worry that the money used for an event would have been better spent on company resources or salaries. But canceling a party reinforces the notion that a company has very little wiggle room. An alternative for many companies is to host an event at a substantially lower cost; only 64 percent of companies are maintaining last year's party budget, the survey showed. More than a quarter of companies surveyed are spending less on their parties, either by throwing a party at the end of a workday, eschewing a caterer, or closing the event to employees' loved ones.
OK, so you may not need to hire a babysitter this year, but you always need to exercise the usual caution. Don't punch your boss at the party, as a former colleague of mine once did -- especially considering the dicey job market and the rising tide of unemployment. Still, it's possible to be too cautious. "These events offer great opportunities, such as socializing with senior executives who you do not interact with on a daily basis," Challenger says. "Make an effort to break away from your comfort zone and introduce yourself to those who might help your career." At the very least, do what I do: show up at the beginning, have a drink -- then bail for the next few hours and reappear right at the end, when you can watch your boss don a lampshade for the electric slide.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-27-2009 @ 6:08PM
Gina said...
"socializing with senior executives who you do not interact with on a daily basis" - ok, seriously - these executives DO NOT want to interact with you at all - and if they do - it's usually the ones you try to avoid in the office in the first place - it's so creepy trying to start a conversation with these people - they just want you go away so that they can continue their business discussions. After all, that's all they have in common - business - 24/7/365. If they don't want to associate with you during working hours, TRUST ME - they don't want to interact with you at a party. So sit back with your cliques and make fun of the bosses' assistant - out there on the dance floor, single, drunk and doing the "orangutang dance" by herself - you know - the one where she holds her hands up in the air and claps non stop for hours.
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10-27-2009 @ 8:29PM
vaughnvdg said...
Good post GINA. I always felt that those CORPORATE HOLIDAY PARTIES were on good for just to go get a FREE GRUB, ONE DRINK and GET THE HECK OUT OF THERE WITH YOUR CAREER INTACT!!!
10-27-2009 @ 10:17PM
lyn said...
True and enormously funny Gina!
10-27-2009 @ 6:53PM
dean said...
countrywide had a lot of parties as i can recall before going under. I know because I was there.
complete waste of time because they never really cared anyways. waste of time to even show up. given a choice, of course i turned it down. screw it.
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10-28-2009 @ 9:08AM
Hugh said...
I agree. Phony smiles and stuffed shirts totally bereft of any personality is not my idea of a good time. I was a manager and even I didn't want to hang out with the managers. Bunch of self-absorbed creeps. Thank God for retirement.
10-27-2009 @ 8:53PM
hajkl said...
I never liked holiday office parties. The only thing they were good for was to get out of working for a little while and to get free food. Unless you really like a lot of your coworkers, office parties can be more awkward than enjoyable. Who wants to sit next to people you can't wait to get away from at the end of the day and have to make conversation?
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10-27-2009 @ 9:44PM
The Party's Over said...
The real question is how lavish a White House Christmas party is President Obama planning?. This will determine how out of touch with reality he is during the economic depression going on now that he can't seem to do much on after nearly one year in office. And I'll bet Obama plans a big expensive holiday trip to Hawaii again now that he is president. Some change.
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10-27-2009 @ 10:48PM
BigChill said...
Not just the holiday parties but hidious "retreats" and seminars. The worst one for me was being held captive on some bozo's sail boat. Crammed in for 8 hours with a bunch of dullards, worst sun burn I've ever had and dry turkey burgers. Plus, I had to fly from SFO to Portland for this dungeon treatment! UGH!
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10-27-2009 @ 11:17PM
RC said...
Worse than the obligatory Christmas party are those hideous "retreats" and seminars: The minotaur's lair! The worst one for me was being crammed on some bozo's sail boat; 8 agonizing hours of close encounters with a bunch of dullards, the worst sun burn of my life and dry turkey burgers. Plus, I had to fly from SFO to Portland to attend this inquisition. UGH!
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10-28-2009 @ 9:07AM
MGordon514 said...
Ok, this is going to sound sexist - but that doesn't mean it isn't true: Anyone notice over the years that as more and more women have entered the work force that whenever it's someone's birthday, everyone has to gather in a conference room and have a piece of cake? Especially grown men? Knock it off already, you magpies!
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10-28-2009 @ 9:22AM
mursky said...
Yes, you do sound sexist. In my place of business, the "LET'S HAVE CAKE!!!" hound is our CEO/owner (Male).
Only 2 females work here, & we couldn't care less about cake. It's fattening.
10-28-2009 @ 11:43AM
vaughnvdg said...
Leave OBAMA alone creep. As if DUMBYA BUSH was a down to earth guy!!! How many times did he invite AVERAGE FOLK to one of HIS MANY VACATIONS at KENNEBUNKPORT, CRAWFORD or any of those other STUFFY JOINTS he hung out at? At least OBAMA's wife DRESSES OFF THE RACK. Did DUMBYA'S wife?
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10-28-2009 @ 12:02PM
Al yer pal said...
I have a client (production plant) with 88 employees. In 2007, the tab for outfitting a holiday party (which included one extra guest per employee) at a local hotel banquet room was $9,700. In 2008, they put it up for a vote of whether the employees wanted a party or the money ($115). The vote was 84-4 in favor of the money. As well, the company also offered up the plant lunchroom and an extra hour of lunchtime the week before Christmas for a pot luck. Those who attended the pot luck agreed that it was much better than a formal gathering on a Saturday night during a season where Saturday nights are often in prime demand. That way also, the muckity mucks from the penthouse office can stoop down into the employee lunch room and grin with the masses for a few minutes while still standing on neutral, company ground.. and then make a hasty exit for their office like they have to go do sometihing "important". Which is fine with the rank and file since they didn't want to see them anyway. Plus.. the drunk, single girl will not dance and clap her hands above her head at a pot luck lunch like she will when she is on a dance floor thinking she has suddenly become Shakira. All problems solved!!
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