Ah, the holidays. There’s nothing quite like a company holiday party to spread goodwill and cheer…right up until it has a little too much of both.
At Emtrain, we know how easy it can be for a well-intentioned event—like the hypothetical company holiday party you see in the video above—to become an HR moment.
But the good news is if you work to build a positive workplace culture, and proactively address potential issues before they happen, you can avoid being the next what-not-to-do company holiday party story splashed all over the media.
Holiday Parties Can Be a Time to Let Loose
When your company suffers from a loose cultural fabric, it’s easy for behavior to get out of hand, like it apparently did for the employee in this video:
Friendly Gift Exchanges Can Get a Little Too Friendly
While the holiday parties gone wild get most of the negative press, that’s not the only pitfall the holidays bring. In this video, we see a Secret Santa gift exchange gone wrong:
Cultural Stereotypes Can Cause Issues Between Employees
Humans naturally use stereotypes to quickly process information. While this may have an evolutionary advantage, it can lead to some pretty awkward workplace exchanges amongst employees.
Inspire Conversations That Can Keep Your Company’s Holidays Happy
This year, instead of sending out an email that just reminds employees about your company’s code of conduct—which they are unlikely to read—consider how to encourage conversations that can help employees keep your culture in mind and drive thoughtful decision-making. Share these videos with your team and use them to spark conversation around being mindful in workplace holiday celebrations and conversations.
Too late for proactive conversations? Get in touch. We have over a decade of experience in helping companies build healthy workplace cultures.
Happy Holidays from your friends at Emtrain.
