5 Tips For Surviving Your Office Christmas Party … With Job Intact

Office Christmas parties are a time for recognising and rewarding a job well done throughout the working year but being aware of potential traps can help ensure it's not your last, says the Australian College of Applied Psychology.

ACAP Chairman and psychotherapist Dhurva Davis says many employees see these events as a time to let their hair down and relax.

"Just add alcohol and the occasion can become fraught with avoidable dangers."

But she says following a few simple tips can help end the year on a high note and enable people to start afresh for the new year, including:

1. Don't get drunk. Just because it's been a hard year and you feel like letting your hair down, and you even if perceive a culture of heavy drinking within the organisation, getting drunk at office Chrissy party can lead to embarrassing consequences for the duration of your employment ... which could be shortened as a result

2. Don't pash or go home with anyone at the Christmas party that you might not go home with at any other time. If you think it's true love, wait two weeks.

3. Don't be the first to arrive or the last to leave the party. This can be interpreted as anxiety over your standing in the company. Being the last to leave can also mean you don't know when to call it quits.

4. Don't continue office politics at the party. Talk and mingle with everyone and avoid gravitating to the usual cliques. In the spirit of Christmas, put aside rivalries so that everyone can have a good time.

5. Don't tell anyone your New Years resolutions. Nobody keeps them anyway and you don't want to set yourself up for public failure. The less people know about what you would like to change about yourself the better.

For those who wake the next day to the reality that they have disgraced themselves, Ms Davis advises laying low until business closes for the year.

"Hope that everybody forgets what happened over the holiday period and be thankful it is the end of the year."

"If this is something that happens regularly then perhaps you need to review your personal situation. Talk to a professional to get some help if necessary."

To discuss this and many other interesting OH & S topics visit our discussion boards at http://unionsafe.labor.net.au/shoptalk/

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Last modified: Tuesday, 15-Nov-2005 20:37:33 EST