During the holiday season, many Michigan businesses want to show appreciation to their employees. One method businesses sometimes turn to for showing such appreciation is throwing a holiday office party for their employees. When done right, such parties can be a lot of fun, foster good feelings within a company and be a morale-booster.
Leading up to a holiday office party, a lot of a business owner's focus may be on the logistics of the party, such as how important party details will be determined, where the party will be, what sort of food will be served at the party and what sort of activities the party will involve.
Properly ironing out these logistical details is very important for a holiday office party. However, one thing it can be vital for a business owner to not lose sight of in the midst of all these logistical concerns is the importance of also taking steps to reduce the likelihood of problems arising during the party.
Problems during a holiday office party, such as an employee engaging in inappropriate conduct, could end up keeping the party from being a positive experience for those involved. Furthermore, such problems could even have the potential to expose a business to legal troubles. For example, allegations of sexually harassing conduct occurring during an office party could lead to a business facing employment litigation.
Alcohol over-consumption is one of the things that could lead to serious problems at an office party. Given alcohol's effects on a person's inhibitions, over-consumption of alcohol could lead to an employee engaging in inappropriate conduct that they would normally stay far away from in the work environment. Thus, alcohol issues can be important ones for a business owner to give careful thought to when planning a holiday party. Steps employers could take to help prevent alcohol over-consumption at parties include not having alcohol served at office parties or, if alcohol is being served, taking measures to limit alcohol consumption, such as using a drink ticket system.
Another thing that can be helpful when it comes to trying to prevent problems at office parties is setting clear expectations for employees regarding what conduct is and is not appropriate at the party. Business owners may want to keep this in mind when it comes to deciding what communications to send to their employees about the party leading up to a holiday office party.