Christmas in the office

One of my first jobs in the early 80s was with an FMCG company and every Christmas each member of staff would get a Christmas hamper full of goodies including wine, spirits and the ubiquitous jar of pickled walnuts.

We had an annual Christmas Ball - one year at the Inn on the Park (and someone from our party stole the doorhandles which had to be found and returned!). The budget spent, all in all, must have been in the hundreds per employee even in those days.

We probably had a few drinks back in the office too, with more than one colleague getting rather 'well oiled' and a little emotional.

Looking at articles on the internet about 'The Christmas Party' they are now nicely Politically Correct, Health and Safety conscious and all about responsible behaviour. As they should be, of course!

I don't recommend going back to the days of the backside on the photocopier, illicit snogging in the stationery cupboard or even the huge budgets spent per employee, but what I fear we do miss these days is the feeling that Christmas was a time of celebration. Not religious celebration even, but a culmination of everyone working hard for a year, of people joining and leaving, personal and business achievements. It was a time when we let ourselves appreciate that we had worked hard and got some recognition for it.

So here are my top tips for Christmas in the office:

Say thank you. Acknowledge and appreciate the help you have had from colleagues.

Say thank you again. Say thank you to your clients and suppliers as well.

Work. If you have to work over Christmas try and keep a positive attitude. You will have some quality time without the usual interruptions!

Stop. Stop working, go outside and look at your world. Whether it's the view of the factory next door, the buildings of your town, rolling fields, the neighbour's curtain or an endless sea of offices. Don't have any preconceived ideas of what to think about during this time. Just look.

Be social to the level that you are comfortable. Show up at the office party, but if you hate office parties, then don't sit there looking resentful, make it known that parties aren't your thing and leave after a couple of mince pies with a smile on your face. If you love parties, then go for it! But remember the good sense rules of not doing anything you wouldn't be completely happy doing on any normal working day.

Use the quiet time. If your business is quieter during holiday periods, put that time to good use and catch up with those jobs that you like to defer, delegate or simply not do.

Things to avoid:

Phoning clients up when you are drunk
Sitting on the mince pies
Spilling any kind of drink on the laptop
Getting locked in the office over the holiday
Giving someone 'knickers in a tin' for Secret Santa

We'd love more Christmas tips from our readers, so please contact us if you have ideas/stories/advice to contribute.

Wishing you the best for the festive season.