90% of supervisors also plan on hitting on the intern in marketing.

So, 95% of workers are ungrateful , entitled and lazy? Way to slam the workers of America, subbs.

100% of me never goes to the Xmas party. I hate seeing coworkers in a social setting.

In fairness to my employer, we always have a holiday party, at noon, and then everyone leaves early afterwards. And it's not like we do much beforehand either. So it's celebrating the holidays with our co-workers AND getting time off in one. And we get paid for it.

Also, depending on when Christmas falls, it always seems to be timed in such a way that it's effectively the last 'working' day before the holidays, and we get a day or two off to boot: Christmas is on a Tuesday this year, and our party is on a Thursday. No one will be in that Friday or Monday unless they really want to be, so it's a nice little bonus.

If office holiday parties didn't seem like they were organized by unemployed guidance counselors or kindergarten teachers, we might enjoy them more. Our office went with option C recently, which is the option where you spend no money on employees at all and wonder why they start leaving in droves.

basemetal: So, 95% of workers are ungrateful , entitled and lazy? Way to slam the workers of America, subbs.

Holiday parties cost a lot less than bonuses, and bosses know that. The last newspaper I worked at would just find the bar or restaurant that owed them the most at the end of the year and swap out a deal. It was always a great party, but it was certainly the cheap way out.

We have the shiattiest office parties ever. Like, legendarily bad. We pay for our own food, there's no alcohol, and we're expected to be back at our desks by 2:00 p.m. Nothing like watching stone-cold-sober civil servants do the macarena at lunch time. One year we had a magician going table-to-table doing tricks with elastic bands. He kept trying to guess which card we'd chosen, and failing. After four wrong attempts we just asked him to go. Then the fat girl in HR sings carols.

Another year, we had to make nativity scenes out of the food and centrepieces on our table. I carved a baby Jesus out of a butter pat and hollowed out a bread roll for his manger. Again, sober.

A friend of mine's office is doing an HR "fun training session" plus a potluck.

I swear to god, I don't know what I'd do without the scotch in my desk drawer.

vartian: Holiday parties cost a lot less than bonuses, and bosses know that. The last newspaper I worked at would just find the bar or restaurant that owed them the most at the end of the year and swap out a deal. It was always a great party, but it was certainly the cheap way out.

My wife's company always has a blow out. Great food, ok music and the company is large enough that everyone has a small group of people they actually like.

Generation_D: delsydsoftware: If office holiday parties didn't seem like they were organized by unemployed guidance counselors or kindergarten teachers, we might enjoy them more. Our office went with option C recently, which is the option where you spend no money on employees at all and wonder why they start leaving in droves.

If your office has former rave/party organizers among its technical or HR staff, a budget it can work out pretty well. Rented halls, buffets, a live band maybe or else a DJ, and lots of booze. So that gets it up to the level of a wedding reception.

What you mentioned is nice, but I suspect in places like subby is thinking about, the problem isn't talent or willingness, but tight-fisted management.

My department does a Christmas party that usually ends around 5am- potluck food and plenty of booze, usually is quite a good time.

The only part I dislike is people are invited to showcase a talent while at the party. This is super fun when it's a guy strumming along singalongs on his guitar, absolute murder when a senior professor is spending 40 minutes going through his piano composition.

God Is My Co-Pirate: We have the shiattiest office parties ever. Like, legendarily bad. We pay for our own food, there's no alcohol, and we're expected to be back at our desks by 2:00 p.m. Nothing like watching stone-cold-sober civil servants do the macarena at lunch time. One year we had a magician going table-to-table doing tricks with elastic bands. He kept trying to guess which card we'd chosen, and failing. After four wrong attempts we just asked him to go. Then the fat girl in HR sings carols.

Another year, we had to make nativity scenes out of the food and centrepieces on our table. I carved a baby Jesus out of a butter pat and hollowed out a bread roll for his manger. Again, sober.

A friend of mine's office is doing an HR "fun training session" plus a potluck.

I swear to god, I don't know what I'd do without the scotch in my desk drawer.

Your work place?

I'm in the 10%...hooray?

Sybarite: I'm in the 10%...hooray?

I've been at the same job for a long time and there's never been a work-sponsored holiday party of any kind. The best we can do is have some of the secretaries around the buildings sent out invitations to bring a dish for a potluck. And if anyone even thought about bringing any alcohol to one, they'd be fired before they got in the building.

Perfect...just polished off the final packet from last year's Hot Cocoa Sampler Box this morning.

Ours is usually a great party. Rented out restaurant, good food, lots of booze, dj, cab vouchers for everybody to get home. The boss leaves at 10.

People have such a good time that occasionally an employee who left to work somewhere else still wants to come to our party.

/50-ish employees, 80% between 20-35

kid_icarus: 100% of me never goes to the Xmas party. I hate seeing coworkers in a social setting.

I've been to a couple of them, they're just weird. Gave my NotRSVP today.

My office's "holiday party" consists of a free lunch at a restaurant and the rest of the day off. Alcohol isn't free, but you can buy it. I don't exactly look forward to it, but all in all I can't complain.

CapeFearCadaver: kid_icarus: 100% of me never goes to the Xmas party. I hate seeing coworkers in a social setting.

I've been to a couple of them, they're just weird. Gave my NotRSVP today.

You work here?

kid_icarus: 100% of me never goes to the Xmas party. I hate seeing coworkers in a social setting.

This X about eleventy billion. I have no idea how to interact with these people except in terms of the job. A lot of them are really touchy about some issues, and more than a couple of them I know keep little mental lists of "stuff" on other faculty members. I'd rather be seen as a bit of a standoffish kind of fellow than someone who is too forthcoming about their personal life.

This probably puts me on some kind of "spectrum" or other. I prefer to think of myself as simply antisocial.

Our company holiday is always on a Friday, at 6pm, at some restaurant in the middle of goddamn nowhere. There's free alcohol, but anyone above grunt level always seems to want to direct the conversation back toward work things. I went the first two years I was here, but never again.

The only good thing about it is people start leaving at 3 to take care of kids etc before heading over. So at least I get to go home early.

The holiday party my employer threw last year was massively over the top. ~45 people in the company, only 50 in total (including SO's) showed up. They could have cut $800-$1000 bonus checks to us and it would have cost less than this party. Such a waste.

I really hate mine. I get to see co-workers all day, every day, for 240+ days per year. The last thing I want to do is have them invade more of my time. If it was a choice between holiday party and nothing, I choose nothing. But you are obligated to go.

Yeah, ours it on a Friday at 4:30-6:30pm. How about no.

I worked at a place where they had dreadful holiday parties. The big bosses would give speeches about business. They'd ramble for 20-30 minutes on boring stuff and you could not leave.

I'd load up on cocktails before the speeches began and would have three or four drinks on table. I'd get a good buzz that would take me through.

During a meeting one year, they announced that there would be no raises. People were not happy. The idiot witch HR manager blustered that "well, we have a nice holiday party."

I responded, 'I can't make a car payment with a holiday party.' She hated me even more after that.

kid_icarus: CapeFearCadaver: kid_icarus: 100% of me never goes to the Xmas party. I hate seeing coworkers in a social setting.

I've been to a couple of them, they're just weird. Gave my NotRSVP today.

You work here?

Looking over your shoulder right now.

After lunch: the Trust Fall!

\ unlike the Thrust Fall

basemetal: So, 95% of workers are ungrateful , entitled and lazy? Way to slam the workers of America, subbs.

soapbox
Well, let's face it... they are. They have no appreciation for the job they have, the training, time and effort the company puts into employees, and could care less about anyone other than themselves.

This debate is far more convoluted that just this, but let's face it: most (over 50%) of workers don't like their job, their boss, the company, or any combination thereof. I don't think all business owners are ethical, honest, or are beyond reproach either.

It is up to each employee to decide for themselves if they could be better off somewhere else, then go or stay. If the business treats its customers and employees like crap, leaving the company and going somewhere else is the ultimate revenge.
/soapbox

/I actually helped close down a business
//Took me about a year
///I lol'd for a week