Many office holiday parties are remembered as “that wild Christmas party we had a few years ago.” Usually this means that one or more of your coworkers over imbibed the Christmas affair and behaved badly.
Almost all of us have attended such a party, although the incident may vary the cause is usually the same, the consumption of too much alcohol.
Maybe the boss hit on a young woman from the secretarial pool or the mail room girl came on to a department head. At one such party that I attended, a rather buxom young lady from the shipping department wore a rather revealing dress. More than one less than sober male worker came on to her, sending the lady into tears.
If you are the one who has over-indulged you may not remember what happened but trust me you will be the topic of conversation around the water cooler and in the lunch room for quite some time and will be a favorite memory at future Christmas parties. It could cost you a promotion or even your job.
Wild Christmas parties are the subject of TV sitcoms and movies, but there is nothing funny about people passed out at the table or hearing of a coworker being arrested for public intoxication or wrapping themselves around a tree while driving home.
If an intoxicated employee gets drunk at an office Christmas party and hurts someone else in a wreck, the company can be held responsible for any damages. This could not only hurt the company financially but could do damage to your corporate reputation.
As the party planners, in addition to finding a source for cheap supplies and decorations, you have a responsibility to protect your coworkers, the company and the public from the results of too much alcohol. Set a 2 or 3 drink limit at your wild Christmas party.