Office Christmas parties: The do's and dont's

Nov 5 2010

OFFICE Christmas parties may be an excuse to let your hair down a little at the end of a gruelling work year, but you don’t want it, or you, to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Getting so drunk that you find yourself losing your lunch or dinner in your desk drawers is unlikely to impress your boss (or the cleaners).

Hooking up with a colleague might be the beginning of a beautiful relationship, but being caught steaming up the windows of your car on the security CCTV won’t do much for your professional reputation.

And getting loud and lairy as a guest at functions organised by firms you do business with could cost you money and contacts.

There is no reason you can’t have fun at the office bash, but don’t lose your business head. Keep your hedonistic tendencies for when you are out partying in private.

Top tips for surviving the works party

1. Do go along. Unless you have another, unbreakable commitment it is really politic to attend, even if it is just for a short while.

2. Don’t drink too much. You want to be relaxed. Not dancing on tables, singing karaoke and exposing yourself on the photocopier before slumping unconscious in a corner.

3. Do dress appropriately. Transform yourself from be-suited ugly duckling into sequinned swan by all means, just don’t wear something so revealing that colleagues can’t look you in the eye.

4. Don’t treat it like a singles bar. With a one night stand the chances are you will never meet again after your pre or post-breakfast parting. Get frisky with someone from the office and you will have to face them every day. Don’t do it if it is going to have you curling your toes in regret from 9 to 5.

5. Don’t be too flirtatious. It may be innocent but could lead to a lot of mixed messages, hurt feelings and the need for damage control come Monday morning.

6. Don’t let careless talk cost you career advancement. Just because your tongue has been relaxed by a few Cosmo’s, it doesn’t mean you are in an episode of Sex and the City. Bitching about your boss or colleagues isn’t nice and could get back them if you don’t know who is listening. Likewise you don’t want to unload all your emotional baggage on your fellow guests. Maintain a little mystery.

7. Don’t tell suspect jokes or use foul language, especially if you don’t know your audience. Some business associates could be offended.

8. Do socialise and network, but keep it relaxed, it could be perceived as self-serving, boring and brand you as the office quicker than Alan Sugar can say “You’re Fired”.

9. Do say thank you to the organiser. Some poor sap will have had to organise it all so they would probably appreciate the acknowledgement.

10. Don’t do drugs or anything else illegal. Unless all you want for Christmas is your P45 and a criminal record.