Healthy Business

Fun is the aim of the game – although for people tasked with overseeing employee wellbeing, the objective is to make sure all the festive cheer doesn’t tip over into inappropriate behaviour. We’ve all heard tales of office party mayhem – and maybe even witnessed the occasional incident ourselves.

Making sure the office party is enjoyable and safe for all is largely a matter of planning and communication. It’s a good idea to let people know in advance what the company’s policy on acceptable behaviour consists of, while emphasising that employee enjoyment and safety are the principal concerns. That way, staff have a clear idea of what’s expected and are less likely behave in a manner that’s inappropriate during the evening.

Aim to ensure also that there are plenty of non-alcoholic drinks available on the night, and food is made available before the booze flows. Make sure too that everyone’s thought about how they’re getting home. Personnel Today’s useful Christmas FAQs section advises that ‘employers have a duty of care to employees and must consider how they will get home after work-related social events’. This means that employers should ‘issue advice in advance of an event about not drinking and driving, and encourage staff to think beforehand about how they will get home’. And if possible to ‘consider hiring coaches or minibuses to leave at set times towards and at the end of the event, or providing the telephone numbers for local taxi firms’.

And how about the morning after the night before? With as much as £216 million lost to the economy each year through ‘Christmas party sickie hangovers’, it’s no small issue. Again, communication is key:  letting staff know that any lateness or sickness absence without genuine reason isn’t acceptable and will be dealt with should it arise.

Do you have any tips on managing the office party? Let us know in the comments…