Put the wine glass down and back away from the copy machine!
Is there anyone out there who still hasn’t heard that letting loose at an office holiday party is not a wise move? No? We didn’t think so.
But this is a message that can’t be reinforced often enough, and one false move can lead to a case of the blues that lingers long after the holidays are over. So here are some Do’s and Don’ts of surviving the festivities with your career intact:
- DO THINK OF THIS AS A WORK EVENT. This is NOT a party in the way a fete with old friends, neighbors or family is. This is a friendly get-together of co-workers from all ranges of the hierarchy. Friendly doesn’t mean, however, that those boundaries disappear for one magical night to make you all equal, to make you all buddies. And on that note…
- DON’T OVERSHARE. Again, these aren’t you’re new BFFs – that’s just the Merlot goggles making you think so. Come Monday morning, you don’t want them remembering your revelations about how you lost your virginity at a frat party freshman year or can’t stand your sister-in-law because she is intolerant of your sometimes violent temper.
- DON’T HANG OUT BY THE PUNCH BOWL. Have one cocktail and nurse it all night. Watch for eager servers or fellow partygoers wielding pitchers and pouring refills, and unless that’s cranberry juice and club soda with a squeeze of lime in there, just say no, thank you. Otherwise, you know how this works: A second drink leads to a third, and before you know it you’re wearing a wastebasket on your head and grinding on the CFO.
- DO DRESS FOR SUCCESS. This event is not the time to bust out that new red leather micro-mini and stiletto boots. No, you’re not going to the office per se, but an office party is a whole lot closer to ‘office’ than ‘party.’ Turn on a little razzle-dazzle, but keep those bits covered.
- DON’T FORGET HOW HARD YOU’VE WORKED. The goodwill earned over 364 days of late nights in the office, going the extra mile on projects and adherence to networking can be seriously compromised in one careless evening. Under no circumstances are a few hours of debauchery worth the immeasurable quantities of shame and humiliation that will follow. And finally…
- DON’T POST. Just trust THE RECRUITING DYNAMO: Your new profile pic is not amongst those taken at your office party. Get a festive shot in front of your tree at home. Convince the cat to snuggle up for a quick photo. Take a mirror pic if you have to. But DO NOT drag your work life over that line into your personal life when it comes to Facebook. Just. Don’t. Do. It.
Keep in mind, too, that these guidelines apply long after the office menorah is packed away. Think of them whenever you are on a business trip or have a long layover at an airport where the bar is all but screaming your name, when your co-workers grab you for Happy Hour, when you make Presidents’ Club and are whisked away to Turks & Caicos for a week with all the other movers and shakers from your organization and others. You’ll be glad you did.
So until next week, enjoy the holidays – just not too much.
