Is it that bad if the Grinch steals the Christmas party this year?

By Lucia Mabasa

It’s the happiest time of the year we are told, family gatherings and festivities. But the Season of Goodwill is a tough ask for some companies; there are bonuses to pay out and office Christmas parties to hold – or not. 

It’s difficult to be full of goodwill if the company hasn’t hit its targets this year. There’s nothing that will make a CEO’s glass of wine turn to vinegar in their mouth as they watch their team members partying like its 1999 while they’re worrying about the company overdraft and the booze bill that is going to follow. 

And then there are the Karens in every office, attending under duress, wondering if they couldn’t have had the cost of the party added to their December salary instead.

Perhaps the question is whether Christmas parties still have a role to play in the corporate year now that its 2024? And if so, in what shape or form? Many companies have dramatically changed how these functions are held. Some hold them during the day, rather than at night, in respect of the wishes of those who do not drink and those who have a long way to travel home afterwards – to make the process safer for everyone attending. Other companies draw up a strict per capita budget that expressly makes any alcohol consumption for the individual’s account and not the firm’s cost.

Are Christmas parties about reward and recognition – or is that the role of payroll and HR? It’s a real question that must be asked but there isn’t a single answer. What is clear is that the evolution of the office Christmas party has come a long way from Bruce Willis in the first Die Hard movie, it’s aeons away from the enforced jollity of the Christmas Tree functions and secret Santas for the children of staff that were the norm in the 1990s – and yet you will still find some companies hosting these relics year in and year out. 

Old school functions are not without risk, Hollywood has created an entire sub-genre of dramas about office parties that go awry thanks to the toxic trifecta of booze, bravado and bigotry. And yet, used properly they can be extremely good team building exercises; a great way of making DEI a reality outside of placards on lift walls and well-intentioned staff lectures.

Some companies manage to marry experience with education in teambuilding events that are as effective as they are enjoyable, while others stick to the tried and tested six pack of beer and a takeaway hamburger. 

In the end it depends on your company credo. Be true to it, be true to your staff, by letting them know upfront what you are doing at the end of the year – if it’s an all expenses paid gala dinner and prize giving in December or an emailed newsletter wishing them all a safe trip for their year-end travels and/or a peaceful break. There’s nothing worse than creating expectations and not meeting them and, in South Africa, sometime the Karens are right, a couple of hundred rands extra in the December pay slip and a couple of days off between Christmas and New Year are worth far more than being forced to sit through tortured speeches, chewing on cold sausage rolls wearing hideous paper hats.

If the experiences of the last four years since the pandemic have taught us anything, is that business leaders have far more options than ever before – as long as they are authentic, consistent and transparent in their actions and communications. Having a Christmas party won’t miraculously make staff relations any less toxic if the underlying problems are not addressed, but equally if your staff understand where the company is at, maybe they will be happy not to be made to endure the purgatory of forced jollity and fake goodwill if it means getting laid off early in the New Year.

As Dr Seuss’s story of the Grinch reminds us, Christmas must mean more than just  presents and feasting for one day a year.

* Lucia Mabasa is Chief Executive Officer of pinpoint one human resources, a proudly South African black women owned executive search firm. pinpoint one human resources provides executive search solutions in the demand for C suite, specialist and critical skills across industries and functional disciplines, in South Africa and across Africa. Visit www.pinpointone.co.za to find out more or read her previous columns on leadership; avoiding the pitfalls of the boardroom and becoming the best C-suite executive you can be.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.