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That’s not what the copier is for – How to deal with the works party.

March 26, 2018

You knew what I meant with that title didn’t you? We have all been at the Christmas works party where the booze is flowing, the laughs are happening, and then one person decides to use the photocopier to copy, well, let’s just say they copy their personal information.

The works party can be a minefield of difficulties for the employee and sometimes the manager who needs to deal with the fallout from them. It is easy for us to get a little bit carried away and end up with a hangover and that terrible, embarrassed walk into work the day after. So, before you set off for the night why not tell yourself these five rules for office socials.

I will not indulge in office gossip!

People love a good bit of muck slinging when the have had a few drinks. Do not get involved if possible and certainly do not join in. Half of the time the gossip is exactly that, just gossip, and the other half you have no need to know about it. Be polite and disentangle yourself from the conversation.

Remember the boss is still the boss!

No matter how friendly, nice and fun-loving your manager is, at work tomorrow, they will still be your manager. Have fun, have a good laugh, have a great evening but remember that the end of the party is the start of going back to the working relationship.

Keep the work chat to a minimum!

Although it’s a party full of your work colleagues that doesn’t mean everyone will want to talk about work. Of course it is going to come up, it would be weird if it didn’t because you all have the workplace in common, but it doesn’t need to ruin the night.

Behave as you would at work!

People tend to forget that while you are at a work party, your employer is actually responsible for your conduct in the same way as they are in the workplace. That means you can be subject to disciplinary action if you do something silly. This cuts both ways as well, and you shouldn’t allow alcohol to be an excuse for unacceptable behaviour from your colleagues. Just because it is a party doesn’t mean it’s OK for someone to suddenly develop wandering hands or tell the boss exactly what they think of her.

Don’t play around with Mr Booze!

I think we all know this is the most common cause of the embarrassing event at the office party. Try to keep one drink below the point where you are not fully in control of your actions. At best you will be embarrassed by your drunken state but at worst you could find yourself on the receiving end of disciplinary action.

So, have a great time at the work’s party but make sure that you don’t need that poor, long-suffering, photocopier to run off some CV’s afterwards.

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