Your Work Christmas Party….The Aftermath

I gave you my 3 tips for surviving your work Christmas party and hopefully that was of some support. But what about the aftermath. It can be hard at times to know what to do next ….you got caught chatting to someone who shared too much and you are not sure what to do now or you met a work colleague you got on well with, how do you reconnect again in the workplace? These are just two examples of situations that I have offered support with following a work Christmas party and the others are just not appropriate to blog about!

I have pulled together a few suggestions that I have to anyone, both an employer and those that attend the Christmas party, for managing the aftermath.

For an employer…it is important to remember that the Christmas party is a work event and as I mentioned in my previous blog, all the company’s policies and procedures are relevant and applicable here. So an employer, when faced with a situation following the Christmas party needs to be fair and consistent with the application of its policies and procedures. I would always suggest to all employers to get support before you take any action to make sure you are not being reactive. Always speak with your HR contact or get in touch with me directly so I can ensure you are managing the situation in the best possible way so that you avoid any unnecessary pitfalls.

And for those attending a Christmas party…

For the person who organised the party it is nice to drop around to their desk or give them a call or email to say thanks. Organising a Christmas party take a lot of time so it is nice to take a quick moment to say thanks to those who organised it.

Often it is at a Christmas party you get the chance to chat to a colleague you would not ordinarily get the opportunity to speak with. For some it can be hard to know what do to next, especially if you found you got on well with the person or want to follow up on a conversation that you had. Ideally you might bump into them in the canteen / tea station where you can ask them face to face if they would like to grab a cup of tea or coffee; or if you do not happen to bump into them drop by their desk or give them a call and ask the same. It is important in the workplace to be able to build relationships and network with colleagues so this can be a great way to do this.

What about if someone posts some pictures of you on social media that you do not want public. I would always say to someone, check each of your social media accounts and the necessary publishing settings as this can be one way to mitigate this happening. It is always best if you are not comfortable with a post on social media to ask the person who posted it to remove the picture or content. Explain you are not comfortable with the picture and most times the person is more than happy to oblige and takes it down. In the situations where this is not the case, try and remove the post from your social media account yourself or if you feel that the social media post is a form of harassment or bullying I would advise you speak to your HR representative / Manager for advice and support.

Where you remember that you made a comment to someone that could have been taken out of context or be misinterpreted, it is often best to go up and speak to the person face to face and clarify what you meant. Nine times out of ten this works well at resolving any potential issues. For the situation that this doesn’t work, take it as a learning and try and avoid any similar comments at future work events.

Finally, if you find yourself in a situation where you might have upset or offended someone, I always advocate simply saying sorry – it is best to acknowledge the person’s issue and apologising for any offence caused. Then do your best to try and move on with the person.

For any support that you may need following the aftermath of your work Christmas party get in touch to see how I can work with you – myhrguardian@gmail.com – I am looking forward to hearing from you.