Workplace Christmas parties aren't the wild, late-night spectacles they once were. Photo / Getty Images
By Serena Solomon of RNZ
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to remember the excessive workplace Christmas parties in days of yore.
They were expensive, wild and at times, a cesspool of bad behaviour. These parties were also fun (for some people, anyway) and had their own style of creativity, with odd ways of rewarding employees for their hard work.
The causes of death are numerous: the accountability of social media, the #metoo movement, Covid-19, an enduring cost-of-living crisis and the proliferation of non-alcoholic beverages, according to those in the events industry and others who lived through the heyday of Christmas parties in the 80s, 90s and 2000s.
Instead, many companies are opting for DIY (do it yourself) office parties, family-friendly celebrations and events in the New Year to welcome employees back to work.
There was a time when some large New Zealand companies regularly spent over $1 million on their Christmas parties, Colin Ennor, a 25-year veteran of the events industry and owner of I Want Orange, an event planning company, said.
“It has definitely toned down from the days of the over-the-top stuff. We put a lot more time into the quality of the food, the service and the entertainment, and not showing a lot of extravagance when the cost of living is a bit scary.”
Many companies are opting for daytime events that are family-friendly and have a charity element. For example, the Port of Auckland hosted a daytime festival at an urban farm, featuring games and presents for the kids, entertainment and several food trucks. Leftover presents were donated to a charity, and alcohol was not provided.
“When you remove alcohol from an event, it just changes the whole vibe of what you are doing,” Ennor said.
This year, some of the companies that communication expert Jack Wheeler works with are opting for DIY celebrations in the form of in-office parties. Some are even considering a small bonus for each staff member, rather than dropping money on a party, he said.
“No matter how much you work the budget, it can cost more than you initially think,” Wheeler said, adding that there is still a range of celebrations, from the in-office BBQ to flying employees from around the country for an Auckland Harbour cruise.
Some companies are trying something new: a toned-down Christmas party paired with a bonus, he said.
Silly behaviour at raucous parties is mostly a relic from the past, according to Wheeler, who has spent his 15-year career in the PR industry, which has a reputation for large parties. One of those parties he attended was at a vineyard in 2010.
One staff member received a large slingshot that required three people to operate it as part of a Secret Santa present swap. It was decided that the slingshot needed to be tested and the object on hand was some ice cream on a cone.
The then Prime Minister Sir John Key was also having lunch at the same vineyard – and the ice cream cone landed about a metre or two away from him.
“It definitely wasn’t aimed at anyone. It was just seeing if this thing worked – and it worked far better than they thought.”
Key’s security details rushed over to the perpetrators (Wheeler was not one of them) and gave some stern words.
“There is always one or two people who get silly beyond everybody else, so that year was quite exceptional,” Wheeler said.
Others who spoke to RNZ and wanted to remain anonymous recalled Christmas parties in the past where a medieval-themed banquet in an Auckland cathedral ended in a food fight. Another party had a corner where employees could get both free shots of alcohol and free tattoos.
Deborah Pead, 65, has witnessed a major shift in Christmas parties throughout her 45-year career in the PR and advertising industries.
Throughout the 1980s, 1990s and into the 2000s, there was “lots of booze. Lots of substances were freely available. Lots of live bands and clients used to come along and absolutely get hammered”.
It’s a major contrast to now, she said. Last week, she went to an industry awards night where the bottles of wine on the table were left unopened and most people drank zero-alcohol drinks.
“I just think people have become a lot more responsible, just wiser and less tolerant of bad behaviour.”
The potential for bad behaviour to go viral on social media holds bosses and employees to account, she says. Women occupying leadership positions have also had an impact.
Pead said “women have become more empowered in the workplace, so we don’t put up with bad behaviour”.
Hnry, a tech company that supports sole traders with filing taxes, doesn’t do Christmas parties, company co-founder James Fuller said. It’s a busy time of year for clients, making it challenging to get everyone together, and then there are staff who don’t celebrate Christmas.
“There are fewer people who are trying to peg everything to Christmas. We have staff working throughout the holiday, and they might want to work Christmas day,” Fuller said, adding that Hnry employees can swap their public holidays off for other work days.
Instead, the company welcomes back employees in the New Year with a celebratory day that often includes team-building activities like a scavenger hunt, archery and golf.
“We celebrate the start of the year as opposed to looking back,” Fuller said.
“It’s more of a great opportunity to start the year off on a good foot.”
– RNZ