To party or not to party

by Claire Leheny, Content Development, North America

At an executive benchmarking meeting in London last Thursday, I took part in an interesting conversation during our after-meeting drinks.

The topic: whether or not to attend the company holiday party.

Shaking their heads and looking guiltily into their modest glasses of wine, a few of the executives mentioned they couldn’t bear the thought of attending a presumably “jolly” event while knowing that many of those in attendance could be made redundant or laid off in the months to come.

Hmmmm. To be jolly or not to be jolly, knowing that the months to come may be lacking joviality.

As I traveled from London to Chicago, I thought of those execs a few times and concluded they were being a little overly sensitive. I thought, go for it, don your best red frocks and have a glass of champagne. Damn the consequences of being happy for an evening.

Then last night I was in an elevator in Chicago. As I ascended to the 42nd floor of the building, I eavesdropped on two gentlemen who were talking about what else? Yes, the company holiday party.

“I just can’t go. No way”
“Yeah, me either.”
“Too many people are going to be laid off; I can’t face it.”
“Yeah. It’s a shame.”

When these men exited on a 30-something floor, the only other occupant in the elevator, a young woman, turned to me and said: “I would go just for the free food.” Also a good point.

This overheard exchange made me realize the challenge of the holiday party is being felt the world over and not just with communicators. I quickly revised my opinion that my communication colleagues were too sensitive. From the street to the penthouse suite, employees are dreading the organizational festivities of the season.

But is it true that with every challenge comes an opportunity? Are your organizations tackling head on the widespread dread of the holiday party? Are you using it to communicate something over than “thank you” and “be merry.”

There are plenty of examples of companies scaling back their parties to fit with the current economic climate. That’s great, but the majority are still investing in gathering employees together to eat, drink and be merry.

I want to know – are you going to your party? If not, why not? Is your company doing something “different” this year to use the gathering to communicate something more substantive than, “happy holidays”?

Comments

[Jeremy Schultz]

You bet, I'm going. Our "holiday party" is in February; I don't know why, maybe it helps avoid the Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas political correctness wars. They're not feeding us dinner this year, but I work with a fun group, and last year's party was a gas. Why would I pass on another potential great memory with my best friends at work?