Love it or loathe it, office Christmas party time is here. Despite face to face Christmas parties being a washout in 2020, they will be back with a bang when it is safe to do so. This year, many businesses are having their office Christmas party online. Whilst this does remove some of the more personal HR problems office Christmas parties bring, it doesn’t eradicate them all. But don’t worry-the Metis HR guide to avoiding an HR headache after the office Christmas party will help you navigate this problematic tradition. What Are The Potential Problems At An Office Christmas Party? Throw together a group of people who don’t normally see each other socially, add some alcohol and the letting down of hair and you have seemingly endless opportunities for offence to be caused and bad behaviour. Sometimes the bad behaviour is fairly innocuous and sometimes it is very serious. Some serious office Christmas party problems are: Sexual harassment Violence and aggression Damage to property or theft Verbal abuse or hate speech Bringing the company into disrepute It doesn’t always have to be alcohol-related, either. There are some very cringe-worthy horror stories here that no doubt resulted in a big metaphorical […]
