Holiday Parties
System
5,885 Posts
As I was reading through the answers to the essay question on our November survey on holidays I saw that some businesses' employees are having to pay to go to holiday parties and some companies have done away with holiday parties all together. Also saw this article from CNN.com today about that and was wondering if any of you have seen your organizations go this route and how employees are responding.
[url]http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/10/pf/wall_street_holiday_parties/index.htm[/url]
[url]http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/10/pf/wall_street_holiday_parties/index.htm[/url]
Comments
It's interesting that all of those big financial institutions that are making money hand over fist and still handing out huge bonuses to upper management are being such tightwads about the paying for holiday parties for their employees. They don't have to throw a really lavish, all-out, expensive party like in years past, but I think in terms of goodwill it would go a long way to pay for some sort of party. I work for a fairly small community bank and we have continued to pay for our holiday parties the same as always. We feel like it's our gift to the employees for their dedication and service throughout the year.
The company gifts started out with the $10 limit too, but they have increased a tiny bit each year. They are probably running anywhere from $18-$30 this year. The boss does all the shopping and wrapping and stays within budget every year (which also increases a little bit each year.)
We have a lot of fun fighting over the gifts and passing them around. Last year one of the employees even sang a few carols for us. Lots of fun, and fairly cheap.
Even if you have to cut expenses you can have a nice party for your employees. You just have to be willing to be creative and spend the time and energy organizing it. It looks like the big finance companies just don't have anyone who wants to bother.
Has anyone had any bad holiday party experiences? Have you had to deal with an employee's party faux pas? How did you handle the situation?
This year we had the staff bring dessert and we provided a simple soup and bread buffet. It was great.
We did a variation of the classic white elephant gift exchange. All in all it was a great time.
We don't serve any alcohol so that's not an issue. Our staff all get along great and most don't need any chemical assistance to have fun or be silly.
Tonight is my wife's christmas party. Its smaller and more awkward....
So the first person picks a gift and unwraps it. The second person can either pick another gift to unwrap or take away the first person's gift. And it goes on like that until everyone has a gift.
I've played where a gift can only be taken from someone three times or one person can only have something taken from them three times. I've seen it get pretty dirty indeed -- people get attached to their gifts only to have them snatched away.