An interesting read

[Bird]

When I saw the title I thought ****in kill me. 

Then I read it and the first paragraph hit the nail on the head of our xmas party the last 3-4yrs. Our snooze fest is preceded by an email from HR that kills any chance of enjoyment, fun, letting hair down, or want to go to the party 

A friend is imploring his employer to ditch this year's Christmas party. Not because he hates the joint or his colleagues, but because the party has become so politically correct it feels like another boring work function.


The party used to start early on Thursday evening and extend well into the night. The company paid for everything. There was an unwritten rule that staff came to work a little later on Friday and left earlier. There was always some gossip and plenty of fun (those crazy accountants!).

For the past few years, his firm's party has been at lunchtime on Wednesday. Staff pay for their drinks. Most return to work by mid-afternoon, for appearances. Conversation is stilted. The biggest scandal is someone ordering a light beer.


Worse, staff receive multiple emails from the HR department in the lead-up to the party, reminding them of their responsibilities and the firm's expectations. The party starts to resemble a wake, where staff mourn the death of workplace fun.


"It's excruciating," my friend complained. "Christmas parties used to be great. Ours has become so dull that it's not worth going to." Fewer staff are attending each year because they are supposedly "snowed with work", he says.


I understand companies putting the clamps on Christmas parties. There's too much reputational, legal and financial risk from drunken staff who forget the party is at a workplace and that usual occupational health and safety rules, and company expectations, apply. No employee should face or tolerate inappropriate behaviour at their firm's party.


That said, being too risk averse about Christmas parties defeats their purpose. A good party rewards staff for hard work, celebrates success and motivates people. It brings employees together in one room, some of whom rarely meet face-to-face.


In some ways, a good Christmas party has never been so important. As more staff communicate online, hot-desk, work remotely or are buried in mobile devices all day, the chance to get together in person – even if just once a year at the Christmas party – is valuable.


Also, as companies restrain wages growth and expect staff to work longer for the same or less pay, a Christmas party is one way to reward staff without pay rises. Done well, it is a useful contributor to office morale and organisation culture.


A bad party can do harm. I recall an employer who decided employees should pay for their meal, after the firm made record profits that year. Staff complained.


Holding the party at lunchtime and expecting staff to return to work soon afterwards is equally annoying. The flexibility to take a few hours off work during or after the party, within reason, was a way to thank employees for their efforts. Now, staff feel a shortened Christmas party is a yet another way for employers to squeeze them.


Perhaps the biggest loss is not being able to talk to your boss, their boss or a manager of another department in an informal setting. There's nothing worse than being stuck at a boring table and making awkward small-talk with colleagues over lunch. So much for the benefits of company networking at the Christmas party.


Again, I won't downplay the risks of poorly organised Christmas parties. Companies that provide too much alcohol, for too long, and do not monitor behaviour at the event or consider how staff will get home, must share the blame if things go wrong.


The protection and welfare of every staff member at Christmas parties must be paramount in the event's planning. One person being harassed by an alcohol-fuelled moron is one too many and ample evidence why companies should limit their party.


But there's always a risk that companies go too far and become a "nanny state". They forget that 99 per cent of staff do the right thing, treat each other with respect and know which boundaries cannot be crossed at the Christmas party. And that the other 1 per cent can be managed in the lead-up to the event or monitored during it.


With good corporate communication before the party, staff can understand the risks, adapt their behaviour if needed, monitor their colleagues and take early action at the first sign of problems.  And still have some workplace fun.

http://www.theleader.com.au/story/5049656/is-it-time-to-kill-the-office-christmas-party/?cs=2011

[Pottsy]

Political correctness strikes again, it is now trendy to be offended on someone else's behalf even if it didn't offend the target!
Great article in a nameless online 4wd magazine where a bloke proffered Good morning ladies to a group of women only to be challenged as to how dare he presume they were ladies, he responded after her tirade, Good Morning Dragons! Lol!

[Rumpig]

When I saw the title I thought ****in kill me. 

Then I read it and the first paragraph hit the nail on the head of our xmas party the last 3-4yrs. Our snooze fest is preceded by an email from HR that kills any chance of enjoyment, fun, letting hair down, or want to go to the party 

our Xmas party was last Friday night at The German Club....dinner paid for (whatever we wanted) and I drank Bundy all night long, aswell as the builder i work for bought us all funny looking German hats at the bar aswell. When the plumbers apprentice got us kicked out of there for being drunk after he knocked a glass over, we headed to The Storey Bridge Hotel where more Bundy was bought for me, eventually we got kicked out at 2 a.m as it was closing time....not a bad night out.  You can have your office job mate

[Foo]

What friggin company would put a Christmas/end of year party on a forking week day, dipchits?? 

Foo

[macca]

The place i worked before my current gig the biggest alcohol-fuelled moron harrassing staff at the xmas party was the boss, late in the night he started to choke on something he was eating and nobody went to help him, wonder why 🤣 geez I'm glad i got that dipShit out of my life

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[rags]

our Xmas party was last Friday night at The German Club....dinner paid for (whatever we wanted) and I drank Bundy all night long, aswell as the builder i work for bought us all funny looking German hats at the bar aswell. When the plumbers apprentice got us kicked out of there for being drunk after he knocked a glass over, we headed to The Storey Bridge Hotel where more Bundy was bought for me, eventually we got kicked out at 2 a.m as it was closing time....not a bad night out.  You can have your office job mate

How insensitive is your employer, fancy taking staff to of all places the German Club. Surely you could have gone to the a race neutral venue.😝

[speewa158]

l WONT  hold another X MAs/EndOyear Party  , EVER ,,,,,,,,,
 Last time l held such an event it turned to 5H1t  .
The field staff turned up early & ate the food  , drank the  grog  & abused the management  .
This is what l have to put up with as a Sole Trader . Drink the can , eat the 1/2 sandwich & talk to yourself  .

                              What can l tell you                               

[Rumpig]

How insensitive is your employer, fancy taking staff to of all places the German Club. Surely you could have gone to the a race neutral venue.😝

i think he chose there for the 1kg pork knuckles...talk about a bucket load of crackle they were.

[ScarpsD40]

l WONT  hold another X MAs/EndOyear Party  , EVER ,,,,,,,,,
 Last time l held such an event it turned to 5H1t  .
The field staff turned up early & ate the food  , drank the  grog  & abused the management  .
This is what l have to put up with as a Sole Trader . Drink the can , eat the 1/2 sandwich & talk to yourself  .

                              What can l tell you                               

you should have let me know🤔 I could have brought some of the boys over for a few 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺. We know the rule, knock with our elbows. Would it be ok if we bring a bit of home brew😉

[edz]

.

[Bird]

What friggin company would put a Christmas/end of year party on a forking week day, dipchits?? 

Foo

K&S freighters did when I worked at Auburn depot around 94/5...
to add to it, the "Party" started at the yard at 2pm on the Thursday, 8 pizza's, 2 slabs of light beer which were all gone by the time the drivers arrived back at the yard at end of day... The forklift drivers weren't happy either LOL

[Rumpig]

You would have hated todays Xmas party Bird....the scaffolders we use took us to the races  in a corporate suite they paid for, more food then you could poke a stick at (seriously, 30 guys there who ate heaps and so much left over including a whole tray of prawns) , and all the beer you could drink.....just wish I could have picked atleast one winner today, had a shocker

[Pete79]

You would have hated todays Xmas party Bird....the scaffolders we use took us to the races  in a corporate suite they paid for, more food then you could poke a stick at (seriously, 30 guys there who ate heaps and so much left over including a whole tray of prawns) , and all the beer you could drink.....just wish I could have picked atleast one winner today, had a shocker

I wanna work with you mate.
Your gig comes with Christmas parties every weekend for the whole month of December by the sounds of it....




We had our work do last night. No complaints from me.

All interstate staff get flown down to Sydney and put up for the night (last night was the Marriott and the year before was at the Sir Stamford).
We usually get a bar somewhere in the city with a section set aside for us. Food and a selection of free drinks get delivered all night, there was a couple of nice pale ales on the list last night.

Last night the tab got cut off just before midnight and interestingly all the tradies bailed as soon as the freebies stopped.
But they jumped the gun too soon as usual. Our financial controller was just getting warmed up and put on a few rounds of shots and some fancy cocktails just after the big softies toddled off to bed...

Then the stayers made our way to the next bar, then the next bar and finally staggered back to the hotel when the lockout laws said it was time to go.
Was a great night and the only thing I paid for was a couple of beers at the bar in the hotel before we went over the the venue for the night.

[Rumpig]

I wanna work with you mate.
Your gig comes with Christmas parties every weekend for the whole month of December by the sounds of it....




We had our work do last night. No complaints from me.

All interstate staff get flown down to Sydney and put up for the night (last night was the Marriott and the year before was at the Sir Stamford).
We usually get a bar somewhere in the city with a section set aside for us. Food and a selection of free drinks get delivered all night, there was a couple of nice pale ales on the list last night.

Last night the tab got cut off just before midnight and interestingly all the tradies bailed as soon as the freebies stopped.
But they jumped the gun too soon as usual. Our financial controller was just getting warmed up and put on a few rounds of shots and some fancy cocktails just after the big softies toddled off to bed...

Then the stayers made our way to the next bar, then the next bar and finally staggered back to the hotel when the lockout laws said it was time to go.
Was a great night and the only thing I paid for was a couple of beers at the bar in the hotel before we went over the the venue for the night.

nah, just the 2 parties for me this year, both were good gigs though....used to attend a few others where i used to work, but such is life. Sounds like your shindig was a good outing also, where my misses works is polar opposite to these types of Xmas parties, so i do appreciate it when someone forks out the coin it costs to throw a decent Xmas party.

[Liege]

I work with some of the stupidest men I have ever met. I'm a machine operator in open cut mining, I haven't been to a single xmas party in the 8 years I have been there.

the stories that do the rounds every year are the same stupid guys being dicks, trying to start fights and harrassing their female colleagues. Everyone pays their own way and work has nothing to do with the organisation or finances.

I always say to the guys that i get along with, if they want to go to the pub and have a beer, no worries. But no way am i going to waste a night of my life with these people, if I don't have to.

[rotare]

As a member of the executive management team of a mid sized business, I reckon it's no surprise things have gone they way they have - but don't necessarily think it's been proactively driven by senior management!  First thing that comes to mind when reading this thread is "it's all fun while nobody gets hurt...."

As a business we're constantly advised by legal boffins that we have a duty of care to ensure employees don't harm themselves - whether this is at work or at a function organised by the company, like a Xmas party.  It's not enough to just assume that mature adults will be responsible when drinking without politely reminding them.  It's not enough just to verbally remind them once, and to show due diligence we're advised that we need in writing to articulate the expected behaviours leading up to an event.  But provide alcohol to staff, and you need to ensure they get home safely.  It's not enough anymore just to assume people won't drink and drive, so we provide cab charges for people to get home safely.  Provide cab charges to 100+ people and you can imagine it's start getting expensive.

Factor in the cost of putting on a Xmas party for employees and their partners, the legal implications and obligations of the company, then the 10% of staff who complain about the venue, the food, the entertainment, the location, the timing or the fact that they have to pay for a taxi to get to the place if they want to drink...... It all starts just getting too hard, and it's no surprise that the traditional Xmas parties for many companies have gone the path they have.     

[GBC]

You would have hated todays Xmas party Bird....the scaffolders we use took us to the races  in a corporate suite they paid for, more food then you could poke a stick at (seriously, 30 guys there who ate heaps and so much left over including a whole tray of prawns) , and all the beer you could drink.....just wish I could have picked atleast one winner today, had a shocker

Hang on a minute, our xmas do was at Silks marquee at Albion Park on Saturday night.......

Another building company - Seafood buffet, drink what you want, say what you want, do what you want. The ladies were doing Jaeger bombs between the wines - we got out before it all went to sh!t.

Where were you at?

[GBC]

As a member of the executive management team of a mid sized business, I reckon it's no surprise things have gone they way they have - but don't necessarily think it's been proactively driven by senior management!  First thing that comes to mind when reading this thread is "it's all fun while nobody gets hurt...."

As a business we're constantly advised by legal boffins that we have a duty of care to ensure employees don't harm themselves - whether this is at work or at a function organised by the company, like a Xmas party.  It's not enough to just assume that mature adults will be responsible when drinking without politely reminding them.  It's not enough just to verbally remind them once, and to show due diligence we're advised that we need in writing to articulate the expected behaviours leading up to an event.  But provide alcohol to staff, and you need to ensure they get home safely.  It's not enough anymore just to assume people won't drink and drive, so we provide cab charges for people to get home safely.  Provide cab charges to 100+ people and you can imagine it's start getting expensive.

Factor in the cost of putting on a Xmas party for employees and their partners, the legal implications and obligations of the company, then the 10% of staff who complain about the venue, the food, the entertainment, the location, the timing or the fact that they have to pay for a taxi to get to the place if they want to drink...... It all starts just getting too hard, and it's no surprise that the traditional Xmas parties for many companies have gone the path they have.   

We are a mid tier building company. You should see the look on the WHS consultant's faces when they show up to deliver the compulsory training 3 times a year at 3.30 on a Wednesday and we are all drinking beer. Nobody would go otherwise haha. Yes, we get told the same thing - doesn't mean we can't make our own decisions though. The fridge in the office is always stacked and if we have to stay back on a Friday to finish a tender or get on top of a project we are expected to make use of it.

[Spada]

I only tolerate a lot of the people where I work because the "Our Ethics" policy says I have to 

I wouldn't dream of giving up my family time to spend with them. Also if I did have a few sherbets, there is a genuine risk of the thoughts in my head overflowing out of my mouth 


But thats my choice...........nothing to do with the rules of the office party as such.

[Rumpig]

Hang on a minute, our xmas do was at Silks marquee at Albion Park on Saturday night.......

Another building company - Seafood buffet, drink what you want, say what you want, do what you want. The ladies were doing Jaeger bombs between the wines - we got out before it all went to sh!t.

Where were you at?

it was during the day at Doomben, horse races not harness racing

[GBC]

it was during the day at Doomben, horse races not harness racing

Nice one - I spent half my night explaining how pacers can trot so fast

[Bird]

another interesting read

IN SEPTEMBER 1914, an Australian submarine with 35 crew members vanished without a trace.

Now 103 years later, the AE1 submarine has been found off the coast of PNG following a search effort which began only days ago.

Since vanishing at the outbreak of World War I, solving the mystery of the 50m long vessel has been a topic of interest for treasure hunters, the Royal Australian Navy and even French adventurer Jacques Cousteau.

The successful find of the vessel came after a $1 million expedition captured images of the intact submarine on the sea floor south east of the Duke of York Islands, 300m below the surface.

Using a state-of-the-art gas exploration vessel — the same one used to hunt the lost MH370 flight — researchers were able to confirm the discovery the HMAS AE1.

As the upper conning tower hatch was still shut, researchers believe the incident was the result of a catastrophic diving accident.

Defence Minister Marise Payne said there would be no attempt to retrieve the vessel, with the site to be considered a war grave.

“Following the discovery of the submarine, a small commemorative service was conducted by those on-board the survey vessel to remember those officers and sailors who lost their lives 103 years ago,” Senator Payne said today.

“Efforts are being made to contact the descendants of the crew.

“The current search was jointly funded by the Australian Government, the Silentworld Foundation, the Australian National Maritime Museum and Find AE1 Ltd; using Fugro Survey’s vessel and search technology. Its success is due to the efforts of these teams.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/long-lost-australian-submarine-found-after-being-missing-for-103-years/news-story/c2ed0bdd8cdb30cb31cf0367412bf211

[rossm]

Ah,  Christmas parties.

In my first job at a newspaper in Bunbury in WA in the early 70s workplace  parties weren't really a thing but on  Christmas Eve the management would put on a 10-gallon keg.

The printers would work at finishing up by about 4.30, the keg would be tapped in the factory, everybody could have a couple of drinks and head wherever  after about an hour. All very civilised. 

One year a beancounter decided that a five-gallon keg would suffice.

The printers were enraged. The emptied it in about  10 minutes and the front office staff, who had been at the pub,  wandered back to find the party was over.

We had a bigger keg next year.     

[edz]

http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-ae1  for more information on the AE-1       and       http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-ae2     for AE-2   ..

[Bird]

http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-ae1  for more information on the AE-1       and       http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-ae2     for AE-2   ..

one of the forum members was involved in the mapping of it