Summer is over and the fall is now here. Soon it will get a little chilly outside, in some places it will begin to snow. We will spend more time inside than outside due to the weather. In the fall we watch the leaves change color and it looks beautiful.
While many see this time of the year as beautiful, others find it gloomy and depressing. Yet there is one thing we all are aware of, the holidays will soon be here. What does this mean? Well, it means we will have many family get-togethers and parties to go to during this time.
In October, there is Halloween. Sure, it’s not an official holiday but that doesn’t stop anyone from having lots of fun. There is a lot of fun stuff to do on this day. This is one of the days the kids look forward to. They get to get cool costumes and go out trick or treating for candy. The adults will have a great costume party. November will bring us Thanksgiving Day. This holiday we celebrate with close friends and family, prepare a great meal for all to enjoy and eat until we feel like a stuff turkey. Then there is Christmas and New Year’s Eve. These months will fly by because we will all be having fun. Now, at these parties, there are always a few that will act like fools. They will drink too much, begin to flirt with others, might fall down, fall asleep in a corner, yell too much or just pass out. Most likely we have seen this happen before and expect it. Is it a good thing to watch or experience, no. These people might get an earful from their family or friends but will soon be forgiven.
Now, this is not the case everywhere you go. One party we will be going to this year will be our company’s Christmas Party. The purpose of this get together is to show their employees how much they truly appreciate them. Of course, what would really show us how much they appreciate us is a nice hefty raise and a huge bonus. For some reason, a cold ham meal and cheap wine doesn’t really seem to make us feel that appreciated. But what the heck, we go anyways because while we are there, we can at least have fun watching some of our co-workers make fools of themselves in public.
The company will rent a hall for the night at a hotel. The meals will be catered and will have an open bar. Many don’t care about the meal but are hoping that the bar is fully stocked and they offer everything. They also hope it will be open all night long. At these party’s we are obligated to hear a long winded speech as to how great we did this year, how much we struggled and that due to our hard work and dedication the company is stronger than ever. After we hear that load of malarkey we need a good stiff drink. It’s the only way to deal with this. One thing we are told is that when we go to this company party we should behave. We should remember that the company executives will be there and we should impress them. Well, one thing is for sure, many will impress these executives. Heck some of these executives will impress us. There will always be a few co-workers that will always be remembered for their actions not their work.
At one party, a manager that had too much to drink went on stage with the band. This doesn’t sound too bad right. Well, next thing you know they begin to rub themselves up and down on the guitar player, dancing provocatively and if they hadn’t taken her off the stage, would have done a striptease. At this point, many of us would have gouged our eyes out. There was another party that was actually held at the President of the company house. You would think that the idea that the party is there would prevent them from misbehaving. Well that was not the case. An executive got a little frisky with one of the employees. He was truly drunk out of his mind. He kept after her and she kept pushing him away. Out of nowhere, another drunken employee, this time a female, came running to her rescue. This woman slugged the executive and knocked him into the pool. Next thing you know, all the drunks find it fun and jump in the pool in their evening attire. Yes, what a beautiful sight this was.
Let’s not forget the ones that have so much to drink that they begin to grope themselves in the middle of the room. The situation has become so uncomfortable that they have to be escorted out. Best of all is when a brawl breaks out. Yes, this does happen. It all starts with either someone flirting with another person’s partner or maybe a silly comment was made. Next thing you know it looks like a comedy where you see everyone punching each other out. Of course, for those of us that don’t like getting knocked out we hide under the tables. Ah such beautiful memories. Best part, the police come in, break up the fight and arrest a group of employees. Yes, this is exactly what they expected at the party.
Even though it might have been a bit dangerous, we did take a chance and record everything on our cell phones. You have to love these gadgets. We want to make sure to capture this hilarious scene so that we can quickly go home and share it with everyone at work and everyone we know. Why keep it to ourselves? Someone might need a laugh and this will be perfect for them. Of course, their humiliation doesn’t end here. It will continue into the office. They will be the talk of the office. It could be for a couple of weeks, months or they could be lucky and be remembered for years and years to come.
Now, not only did they make a fool of themselves and by the way it was funny, but now they have to face their co-workers and supervisors. Depending on how bad of a stunt they pulled at the party, they may find that working there is just not a good idea anymore. No one will take them seriously. Obviously their supervisors will look down on them. Best of all if it was the supervisor that acted like a fool, there is no way they will be able to command respect from their employees. Some employees have actually lost their jobs due to their behavior.
So what does this mean? Office parties are great to get together with co-workers, spend a little time with them. It can be fun at times, there is music and at times they will have prizes for the employees. It is an event that you might be able to have a little fun but it is not an event that you should go crazy and do stunts that can cost you your job. Many believe because it’s outside the office it won’t be a big deal. Well, it is a big deal. It can hurt your reputation, any possibility of promotions, raises, bonuses, etc. If you find the event boring or dull, get together with a few friends and go elsewhere, a place where it won’t affect you if you get loud, rowdy or drunk. Also, it’s better that the boss made a fool of himself than you. So, whenever you go to a company party or outing, remember, they are still watching you so behave. Don’t become the office clown.