Party on

Getting the tone right for the staff Christmas party is particularly difficult in a year like this one. Many sectors that employ chemists have struggled with changing financial and political circumstances: national science funding cut has been cut in countries including the US and Australia; in the UK, several universities have announced plans to close or shrink their chemistry departments; pharmaceutical companies have delayed or cancelled planned expansions of their UK facilities. And across both academia and industry, large-scale redundancies have become more common, leaving the employees fortunate enough not to be made redundant to struggle with increased workloads – as well as the stress of not knowing whether their job will be next on the line.

In such strained circumstances, is it even appropriate to hold a Christmas party?

Certainly a lavish event looks out of touch or insensitive. While a party’s budget is unlikely to be a significant expense compared to most other operational expenses, cracking out the champagne and caviar while employees are struggling day-to-day in under-resourced departments is unlikely to foster much festive cheer.

At the same time, scaling back or cancelling an annual celebration can also be demoralising, as employees feel unrewarded for working under trying and uncertain circumstances. Cutbacks to an established event can even be read as a harbinger of further job or pay cuts to come, further unsettling the workforce.

Yet the most valuable aspect of any company event should be in bringing everyone together, allowing team members to have the kind of informal conversations that bond them and help them to work more effectively with each other. That includes sharing their fears, frustrations and complaints. Even having a dig at the organised fun itself provides a lighter way to vent about wider workplace concerns.

For a work social to act effectively as a team bonding event, it has to be inclusive, so that as many employees as possible both want to and can attend. That means holding at least part of it in working hours to accommodate people with other responsibilities outside of work, subsidising it to make it affordable to all employees, and ensuring it doesn’t encourage inappropriate behaviour. Not everyone will feel like celebrating, but they should at least have the option to do so – especially after a year full of cuts and constraints.