New Study: Most Employees Don't like Workplace Parties

I've never worked at an organization that didn't insist on throwing holiday parties.  There is the annual Christmas party of course (or Holiday Party for the politically correct), and usually a summer picnic.  And without exception I have always hated going to these things.  Apparently I'm not alone.

Research conducted by British HR Firm Croner reports that about two thirds of workers would rather be anywhere else than at a company holiday party.  (As quoted in the Melcrum Blog - click here for the post.)

I admit part of my distaste for the holiday gala was because it was always assumed that because I was in HR that I would be the champion of the holiday gathering.  "It's about morale!" the leadership would quip, ignoring the fact that I and a majority of my brethren would rather be celebrating the holidays with anyone in the world besides our coworkers and bosses.  Think about it  - you spend forty or fifty hours a week with these people, and then when holidays roll around the company assumes you'd like to give up a Friday night or Sunday afternoon with your family and friends to spend more time with these people.  I've generally enjoyed my coworkers - don't get me wrong - but there is such a thing as too much togetherness.  The holidays and summer weekends are a time to enjoy my family, not my acquaintance over in accounts payable.

Have you ever been on a holiday party planning committee?  I have.  I had a better time getting my wisdom teeth extracted.  (At least during that I was drugged and semi-conscious.)  The general tone of these committees is "Your presence is mandatory - and if you don't respond with overwhelming enthusiasm then you are a bad employee and a lousy human being."  Moreover, these events tend to be expensive, and so there is pressure on the part of attendees to feel gratitude towards the company, while most employees whisper to each other that the only reason they came was to make their boss happy.

My opinion on the matter is to skip the holiday party or summer picnic unless it is something your employees are truly clamoring for.  Perhaps instead of deciding what employees should want during the holidays, we can ask them.  I imagine the answers may be simpler than many leaders anticipate.  A couple bucks to order pizza for a holiday lunch.  A little extra time to have a potluck one Friday afternoon.  A white elephant gift exchange at the staff meeting.  Sometimes the small things we ask for are more appreciated than the sweeping gestures imposed upon us.

Comments

[Raven]

Cheri - another great post! thanks for sharing the study and your own thoughts on company events. I'm going to reference this at my site since I too dread company parties and usually get poked at for not wanting to attend.

[cheri]

Thanks for the feedback. I was half-convinced that as soon as I posted this people would come out of the woodwork and say I'm a grumpy old bat! :)

[Prasad Kurian]

Hi Cheri,

Thank you very much for highlighting one of the most prevalent delusions in people management - one that creates a lot of ‘avoidable unhappiness’ at the workplace in addition to wasting money. While these are held under the respectable umbrella of ‘employee engagement activities’ – I don’t think that they will have any significant positive impact on employee engagement – at best they provide some distraction from (unpleasant) work – that too only if they are held during office hours !

Regards

Prasad

[bombaydosti]

Was thinking, whether to laugh or to think after reading this one!
A thought that has often preyed my mind.And as you said, being in HR, the expectation from me is to champion the same.
But there was a thought that my boss gave me once, when he realised my inherant lack of interest in office parties- he says, an informal gathering, is where you get to see the other side of the person,the unofficial side and that gives you an opportunity to break some barriers that would have been created in the workplace. I promised to think about it.
your views?

regards
preethi

[Employment Finder]

Thats true, workplace parties are more of doing it offciailay than just cooling down. You have to see what you do in these parties because a small mistake can ruin your career

[mr. mcworkerface]

this very true, the office party we had for the holidays at my work was awesome, only because it's a very small group of people and we all know each other very well already... when i worked at Home Depot and we had one of these things, it was awkward. I don't know half of these people and I don't care to know them better. I don't work with them on a daily basis therefore i don't care whether suzie's parents got her a car for christmas or a computer... not only that but the boss' do such an over the top job of promoting it that the other employees who dread going, then try and guilt everyone else into going so that they won't be the only ones there wishing they were somewhere else...

all in all the post is right, as with everything, if you want happy employees, ASK THEM... don't assume, and don't impose... you'll get yourself on a fast track to a revolving door in the workplace