How To Make The Most Of Your Office Xmas Party Without Getting The Fear

Office-based work romances, like that of The Office U.S.'s Pam and Jim, may seem like the thing of dreams, but your work Christmas party might not be the time to explore it for the first time. Speaking to the Evening Standard Claire Gilbert, an employment lawyer said, "relationships don’t end mutually very often. It's often not known by the employer that there was a relationship until the fallout.” What can seem like a fab idea when your eyes meet over the mulled wine can have some serious fall out, so make sure this is definitely the right time to go for it. Or maybe wait for a more private opportunity to chat to your crush.

Drinking is another grey area. You only need to google work Christmas parties to see there are a ton of dos and don'ts when all you really want to do is celebrate the holidays and let your hair down. HR specialist John Crowly from PeopleHR says, “Boozy nights can make for regrettable moments, and awkward environments the next day — do you want this on your conscience?”

If you fancy a big night out with your closest colleagues around the holidays then you may want to make it an out-of-work outing with a few of your closest pals from the office, and probably not your boss. For the main office party, you may not want to go as wild as you would while out with close pals.

You may be getting a little merry on mulled wine, but the office Christmas party is technically still work. DAS law recommends, “the work Christmas party should be considered to be an extension of the workplace, so the same rules will apply. In a normal working environment, employees would be aware that punching Tom from accounts is a gross misconduct offence. At an office party, however, the professional line is too often blurred, usually fuelled by alcohol.”

Office Christmas parties can seem like the prime opportunity to wear your new red jumper with lights, bells, whistles, and tassels on. They’re literally the time to dress up and have fun. However, the last thing you want throughout the night is a broken heel, a wardrobe malfunction, or to opt for casual clothes when everyone else has gone black-tie. According to Dovetail Recruitment your colleagues may be your best source of advice here. They write, “read the invitation carefully, and talk to your workmates — talk to a few to get the general consensus. Unless the invite specifies black tie or casual dress, assume you’ll need to wear something just as professional as you would wear to work – but with an evening twist."

Did you even go on a night out if you didn’t post it all over your instagram? While usually videoing your escapades and putting them online for your followers to enjoy might might be fine it might not be super appropriate at your office christmas party. Acas Senior Adviser, Tom Neil says, “If you love posting on social media about life outside of work, remember that you are still technically in a work environment and not everyone will want to be part of the Snapchat or Instagram story. While it is fine to post, maybe wait until the next day when judgement may be better. For example, posting a video of your manager as they start slurring may not go down so well in the clear light of the following day.”

When it comes to prepping for your office Christmas party you might want to think ahead to the day after. Nothing screams pulling a sicky quite like calling in the morning after your office Christmas party when everyone saw you have too many drinks the night before. Neil says, “in advance of the party, staff should consider if they will have any work responsibilities the day after. Where possible, it might be an idea to ask to take the following day off as annual leave or see if there may be scope to start a bit later and make up any hours missed. Requests should be made early as leaving it to the last minute or simply calling in sick the next morning can cause serious difficulties for your employer and co-workers.”