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(Office) Party on?!

听By Lynne Bell

听听听听听听听听听听听 They say there's an exception to every rule-and I'll get to that-but in the meantime, I have a confession to make: I'm a grumpy curmudgeon when it comes to office parties.

听听听听听听听听听听听 In the past, I have dutifully attended these well-intentioned gatherings grudgingly-and here's that word again-grumpily.

听听听听听听听听听听听 I remember the awkward turn around the dance floor with an old-school gentleman of a boss from long ago, who saw it as his duty to trip the light fantastic with each of the single ladies in his employ-whether we were 17 or 70. He was gallant and charming when a certain clumsy 17-year-old repeatedly stepped on his toes, but a sedate waltz with an actual grown-up didn't meet my criteria for a great teenager's night out-and when he literally limped into work Monday morning, it was the beginning of my dislike for enforced workplace festivities of any kind.

听听听听听听听听听听听 And I'm such a dull party guest, I don't even have any ribald stories to regale you with, dear readers. However, I know the potential for all kinds of social disaster exists for everyone at these gatherings.

听听听听听听听听听听听 Which brings me to my main argument: Isn't the point of a party the chance to cut loose and have some uncensored and unchecked (well, within reason...) fun with the people who are closest to you?

听听听听听听听听听听听 And with personal commitments outside the workplace, aren't most people time-crunched enough without devoting any of their precious leisure time to anything related to work?

听听听听听听听听听听听 I used to have a theory that workplace Christmas parties should be replaced with a day-or even an afternoon off-so that employees could get a jump on their holiday prep, or even take some time-out before the festive season began in earnest. And if this time-off was accompanied by a bonus, all the better.

听听听听听听听听听听听 However, that was before I attended Team Observer's Christmas party last year. And before you assume this is a shameless suck-up, I can assure you it's not. Our party was held close enough to Christmas to feel the holiday spirit, but far enough away from the big day that none of us felt swamped.

It was a relaxed, sit-down dinner (catered by none of us) and there was no pressure to attend, just a welcome if you wanted to.

听听听听听听听听听听听 If memory serves me, we all cleaned up pretty well, but there was no last-minute angst from anybody regarding wardrobe choices or the need for a new Christmas party outfit. We had the opportunity to reconnect (or in my case, meet) some of the staffers from our sister papers, who are otherwise just voices on the phone during the rest of the year.

听听听听听听听听听听听 People brought their spouses, their plus-ones, their children or just themselves, and you know what? I had a good time. So much so that when our boss and his lovely wife (Thank you, Ted and Paulette!) hosted an end-of-summer soiree at their cabin, I attended without hesitation.

听听听听听听听听听听听 So you see, there are exceptions to every rule. And hey, party on...

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Making an effort at an office party

By Kelly Running

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听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 This week鈥檚 topic developed as Observer employees were invited to a staff BBQ. Lynne and I were both excited about going, but we realized not everyone is fond of office parties. In fact, office parties are sometimes detested by people who don鈥檛 enjoy where they work or the people they work with, which as I鈥檝e said is not the case with us, but a dialogue developed and we decided to take a look into the pros and cons of office parties.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Love them or hate them, office parties are something that are typically held to bolster team morale around the office. It gives you the opportunity to get to know your co-workers better and who doesn鈥檛 like to enjoy a meal, whether it鈥檚 going out to a local restaurant or out to someone鈥檚 house for a BBQ.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 I know in our office, the ladies out front do their work and visit a little bit because of the set up they鈥檙e in. Others in our office are hidden away in their offices in the back and I rarely get a chance to visit with them. If I go out front, to even talk about work, I always feel like I鈥檓 distracting them from what they鈥檙e doing, so I tend to keep my interactions short.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Office parties allow you all to come together for a few hours without feeling like you鈥檙e taking away from their work by trying to go have a chat with them during work hours.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Also, it鈥檚 sometimes surprising to people, but if you鈥檙e open to an office party, you might actually have fun. Those people moping in the corner probably should have stayed at home, so if you decide to go then make the most of it.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 At the very least go late and leave early, and make the most of your time there. Besides as I鈥檝e said above, if you鈥檙e making the most of it, you might surprise yourself with how much of a good time you鈥檙e having.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 After all the idea behind the Christmas party or a summer picnic is for employers to show their appreciation of your work. They鈥檙e designed to recognize employees for their efforts and it鈥檚 a way to show gratitude for the work employees do throughout the year.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 So, whether you鈥檙e making a quick appearance or going for the duration, enjoy the office party or picnic. Go, have fun, and help make your office the best it can be.