After many holiday office parties were canceled in 2020 and 2021, 57% of businesses in a recent survey say they're planning to host one, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Just 13% of businesses said they had office parties a year ago. Even fewer companies had parties in 2020.
But some workers have had them go poorly in the past.
Out of 1,000 employees asked in a survey conducted by Price4Limo,14% say they were terminated shortly after their company's holiday party last year.
“If your judgment is so poor that you think it's okay to get extremely drunk and probably inappropriate as a result at a Christmas party, it's not a stretch for your employer to say, ‘Is this a person that we can also trust to have good judgment when they put them in front of a client,” said Julie Bauke, a career strategist.
This can be especially true for industries that have been seeing layoffs.
”Companies will start with the people who, in some cases, frankly, we've been looking for a reason to get rid of, anyway,” Bauke said. “And so, as far as holiday parties go, don't give them that reason.”
To avoid all this, she says to go to the party with a plan and just keep things simple.
”I'm going to stay for 90 minutes,” Bauke said. “I'm going to have one drink. I'm going to have a couple of plates of food. I'm going to meet two new people. That right there in my book is a win, and I think any of us can do that.”
She says it can also be helpful to have an excuse to leave if you feel the people around you are starting to behave poorly.
