Summer is winding down, fall is approaching fast and before you know it, the holidays roll around. The holidays bring forth arguments over vacation hours to spend time with the family and the infamous holiday office party.
Following the wrong protocol at the office holiday party leads to dashed dreams of promotion and embarrassing gossip around the office for months after. To treat it as an orgy or splurge sends you down a dangerous road. Think of it as an Edwardian soiree, everyone on their best behavior with no excess.
Holiday Office Party Etiquette 101
- If your office attire is tennis shoes and jeans, wearing a tux or sequins to the office party shocks your co-workers. Putting on a pair of loafers or boots is sensible. Replace the jeans with leggings if you’re female or dress pants if you’re male.
- Avoid stuffing yourself with appetizers, dinner, drinks, and dessert. Smile and converse about the weather, shopping, your visiting relatives and other trivia. Do not subject your co-workers or management to 10-minute rants about your new project at work.
- Thank the management and their assistants for the super party. Talk to the people in the accounting department even if you don’t like them. Don’t pester the DJ with song requests especially if your first demand emptied the dance floor.
- Mix and mingle, and indulge in a little fun. But avoid standing out like a sore thumb at the office holiday party.
I hope you enjoyed these four tips on how to best conduct yourself at the office holiday party. You might also want to check out holiday party games and funny holiday party themes. What do you think about these tips?
