Dec. 16, 2022 "A work party isn't fun if it's forced — and could even trigger resignations": Today I found this article by Emma Jacobs on the Financial Post:
Once at a hotel, I spied a group of women in sparkly outfits out on their Christmas jolly. They ran to the dance floor, jumped up and down, and shouted, “fun, fun, fun.” Not just once, but for the duration of that banging tune and then the next, before returning to their seats. Was this an expression of pure joy or a protest directed at their employer?
I like to think it was the latter. Because who hasn’t felt a frisson of irritation — or even the weight of misery — attending a naff work event hell-bent on putting the fun into function? This Christmas, after the pandemic put the brake on office jollies, many employees may find themselves experiencing forced fun for the first time in two years.
Some, of course, had endured virtual cocktails, wreath making and even online discos with big-name DJs. In 2020, Judge Jules told the FT how bizarre it was to play to employees in their bedrooms and kitchens: “There’s no goggle-eyed people in front of you, no audience.”
Perhaps it is OK to resist boss-directed jollity? Certainly, it would seem to be in France, where last month, a court backed a man’s right to say no to forced fun. It found in favour of the consultant who had been dismissed after he refused to join in socializing, which, according to the ruling, involved weekend drinks, “excessive alcoholism” and “promiscuity, bullying and incitement to various excesses.”
I’m no grinch. I’ve partaken of alcohol and danced, sometimes with other people. A party is a chance to
let off steam,
a reward for working hard,
a reminder that work is a collective enterprise
and an opportunity to discover new sides to colleagues.
But organized office fun can swiftly stray into un-fun. As management writer Stephen Fineman once wrote: “Fun typically gains its ‘funness’ from its spontaneity, surprise, and often subversion of the extant order.” Of course, not all fun can be spontaneous. Sometimes it takes preparation — for a party, drinks or dinner.
Fun is between consenting adults, seemingly compulsory un-fun is not. Peter Fleming, author of The Mythology of Work, points out that attendance at a work party may not be mandatory, but the power of being labelled a “party-pooper by the person who ultimately pays your salary” can make it feel that way.
Some people are just not wired for office parties. Nancy Rothbard, professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, says some employees are
“integrators,” meaning they are happy with work seeping into their home life and vice versa;
others, “segmentors,” are not.
Managers, she says, must allow employees not to participate and also offer other activities, such as a working lunch or even just mentoring, to forge connections and “build trust.”
So many work events play to extroverts’ strengths. Recently, I met a self-declared introvert who took issue with his characterization as the office recluse for not wanting to attend company socials, such as karaoke. “I can’t work a room but can probably make long-term relationships better,” he told me.
Work events can transport us back to schooldays. One friend reports going to a team bowling night that was so un-fun — she came last out of 20, her low score broadcast on a massive board — that it made her feel physically ill, reminding her of being bad at P.E. The same people who ruled the playground are often rewarded at the office party.
From the outside, it can be hard to understand how a company operates. For many new recruits, who have spent so much time in the last couple of years working remotely, a party might be the first time they see it up close. They might like what they see, or they may not.
If the turkey is drab and the conversation matches, the Christmas party could trigger an epiphany: that in the new year, it’s time for a new job.
© 2022 The Financial Times Ltd.
A work party isn't fun if it's forced — and could trigger resignations | Financial Post
Dec. 8, 2023 "The office Christmas party is being replaced with pickleball and guac": Today I found this article by Jo Constanz on the Financial Post:
Many companies are moving away from the champagne, sequins and “Secret Santa” gift exchanges of office Christmas parties crystallized in public consciousness through TV shows like The Office. Instead, business leaders are opting for year-end celebrations cut totally free from seasonal connotations.
That impulse is part of what led education technology company Outschool to explore options besides the typical dinner-and-drinks routine at a bar decked with boughs of holly.
The startup’s staff opted to do something completely different this year: a pickleball lesson.
Outschool isn’t alone. Many companies are looking for fresh ways to bring teams together for the holidays, which is part of what’s led to a spike in demand for outdoor spaces, according to Derek Callow, chief executive of a startup that rents out private pickleball courts and pools called Swimply.
The office holiday party has been declared a thing of the past several times, including after the Great Recession, #MeToo and COVID-19. And then, just as reliably, people have hailed its comeback.
For many companies, however, the celebration never really disappeared — it just looks a lot different now. This change stems from an effort to be more inclusive and create the kind of camaraderie that’s difficult to build on a Zoom call.
Angela Robinson, a marketing coordinator at corporate events company Teambuilding.com, which works with big names from NASA to Harvard University, said she’s seen an uptick in companies booking virtual murder mysteries or “The Great Guac Off” — a team guacamole-making competition — instead of specifically holiday-themed events.
Part of this trend, Robinson said, is about not focusing on one holiday over others. The shift also gives companies the opportunity to move away from making drinking the main activity.
“There are many reasons organizers would want alcohol not to be at the centre of these gatherings — firstly, for safety reasons and to prevent potential unprofessional behaviour,” Robinson said. “This also ties back into inclusivity — employees may not drink for religious reasons, sobriety, or because they just don’t enjoy it.”
Melanie Zelnick, CEO of corporate event planning company Glow Events, whose customers include a range of tech and finance powerhouses from Netflix Inc. to Andreessen Horowitz, said that the days of full-out red-and-green festooned Christmas parties are long gone for her Bay Area clients. But it’s only in the last few years that any remaining vestiges have been swept away.
Before the pandemic, a few festive wreaths would’ve probably been fine, Zelnick said. Now, though, “clients say, ‘Hey, not even a tinsel Christmas tree,’” she said. “With everyone being so mindful, the closest you can get to holiday is a winter crystal-and-ice theme, where we just lean into what the weather’s like that time of year.”
While Glow’s events are more akin to traditional parties — with food, drinks and music — than pickleball lessons or a guacamole-making contest, the immersive experiences they design, many of which encourage guests to come in costume, are a far cry from your basic open bar.
One company is throwing a 1920s golden-era soiree, complete with gin martini bar carts and lots of art deco.
For one that went the wintry route, Glow’s bringing in an ice bar and building a giant art installation with glowing blocks that look like ice cubes.
And though both parties will serve alcohol, drinking is downplayed. Zelnick declined to name the companies.
“None of our clients support taking shots or anything like that at holiday parties,” Zelnick said. Glow keeps all of the beverages it serves on the weaker side to keep employees safe.
Still, the event company doesn’t want to water down a cool cocktail: It’s bringing in ice luges for the crystal-and-ice bash. “It’s manned by a bartender, where they throw the cocktail down and it chills it and makes it still a fun experience — without encouraging that typical ice luge behaviour,” she said.
Another firm is transforming its office space into outer space. Each floor will take on its own motif, with special cocktails and entertainment:
from the moon landing on the first floor, with black-and-white hues and a giant inflatable moon;
to a green-and-black alien-themed level;
to Area 51, a rust-coloured desert production.
Behind many of the off-the-wall celebrations is the desire to make it memorable, Teambuilding.com’s Robinson said.
Above all, it’s a chance to reward staff, she said: “Not only do parties honour the holidays, but they are a chance to celebrate the company’s achievements and thank employees for their hard work.”
Because companies are tired of all the complaints about how celebrating Christmas isn't inclusive, offends people, is divisive, etc. Woke politics has driven any sense of tradition or celebration out of our norms. The ironic thing is that when research is done it is usually not immigrants who feel this way but the virtue-signaling Canadians who are a product of our now morally corrupt academic institutions.
No issues with Xmas Parties - our companies held three this week for staff...
"... pickleball lessons or a guacamole-making contest ..."
What if I don't like pickleball or guacamole?
Exclusionary!!
when I was a kid everybody went to church at christmas
so while we lament the loss of Santa from our culture we have already lost chirst
My opinion: I went to the Christmas parties at the Soup Place in 2008 and 2009. We went to a Chinese restaurant and was able to bring a guest. I brought my friend Angela on the 2008 one.
I attended the ones at my Hotel Restaurant job from 2012 to 2020. They have big buffets. There are draws and you can win prizes.
In 2012: I won a $20 Pottery Barn gift card. I bought a $26 scented candle from there in 2016. There wasn't really anything I liked there than a candle. I did light and it melted all of this.
In 2016, I won a box of 6 wine glasses that I didn't want. I traded with my co-worker and friend Leo for her gift basket of chocolate. I ate all the chocolate.
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