Yes that time of year is here, to raise a glass to the year and celebrate. Given that the workplace culture was at an all time low this time last year, almost nobody got to experience that one rare night a year when everybody in the workplace comes together to socialise in sparkly outfits and questionable jumpers.
Luckily, workplace culture is back on the rise and with the exception of much larger parties perhaps, offices and workplaces in general can plan some sort of celebration again this year, much to the delight of employees and employers.
But with the new variant threatening to sweep the nation and rules back in place to wear masks and work from home, if possible, will your company still be going ahead with the festivities?
Here at Avatar International we booked our Christmas party early but decided to keep it low key and local with a Christmas dinner and drinks at the Chequers in Marlow, with an exclusive room hire. Ahead of the event all employees carried out our LFT’s and this meant we could all enjoy the night as safely as possible. Of course, the health and safety of workers always comes first, and this party had been arranged before the current rules came back into play. But it was such a welcome and needed breath of fresh air to have everybody together to enjoy the evening with some delicious food and drinks.
Unfortunately, due to the current government guidelines, a lot of companies who had booked their Christmas party later in December will now have to cancel these get togethers for the safety of employees.
Another option for those organisations who just cannot safely hold a gathering for all employees is to head into the virtual world of Christmas get-togethers, which are proving very popular! Some interesting ideas for hosting an online Christmas event are:
- An online cooking class (perhaps rustling up some festive favourites)
- A Christmas Quiz, with prizes (this can include partners and children if at home also)
- Awards ceremonies (light-hearted awards are voted for and given out in a dress to impress virtual ceremony, some good categories are: Most Organised; Biggest procrastinator; Office chatter-box; Best in a crisis! You get the idea)
- Ugly Christmas jumper contest!
- Cheese and wine night (hampers of cheese and wine are delivered to employees, or home made versions are enjoyed whilst having a catch up with colleagues)
- Christmas talent show
These can be hosted on MS Teams or Zoom and can be pulled together fairly quickly for those who will be missing out this year!
According to PeepsHR ‘Your business’s culture may be one of the primary reasons your employees stay working where they are. Celebrations of this kind enhance your company’s culture and remind employees why they are working for your organisation’. Although a smaller or even the lack of Christmas party seems frivolous and a very small price to pay for keeping workers safe, out-of-office- events like this are important to keeping team morale high and allowing co-workers to build stronger relationships of trust and acceptance.
InsideHR notes that another reason not to forget your Christmas celebrations: ‘its a great way to thank your staff for their hard work over the year and acknowledge everyone’s contributions. Rewarding them with a Christmas party lets them know that they are appreciated for their time and effort, which is especially important this year as it has been one of the toughest years in recent times.’
Whether you will be heading out for an office Christmas party, heading up a virtual night of entertainment, or even postponing to the new year – remember that ‘88% of Employees Believe a Distinct Workplace Culture is Important to Business Success’ (libertymind.co.uk taken from a 2017 study by Deloitte).
This will be our final blog post of the year, so whichever way you choose to celebrate, and whatever you will be celebrating, we wish you a happy and healthy festive period, from the whole team at Avatar International.
Written by Aimee Martin, Marketing Assistant at Avatar International
