Are Office Holiday Parties Gone With The Wind?

A new survey by CFO.com revealed recently that 64% of employees have stopped attending their office holiday parties. We'll dive into a number of reasons for the decline and look at what employees would prefer instead.

First of all, many companies have scaled back or cut out office holiday parties all together due to expense and employee behavior. Maybe you've been at the office gathering where that one employee dips a little too much into the egg nog and does or says inappropriate things. I've heard tales of folks stepping so far over the line at the party that they end up losing their job.

This same study offered up that Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) is one of the most likely groups interested in attending holiday office parties. However, on the other end of that work life balance idea, 36% of people don't attend the party because they like to keep their personal and professional lives separate.

And, nearly a third don't attend because they don't like spending time away from their family. I'm out of luck on that one since I work with my spouse. Luckily, we don't really have a party much to speak of at our company. Back in the day when we did, spouses weren't allowed. So, we joked that since we were married, neither of us could bring our spouse. That's how we got out of attending. LOL.

Now, let's get to what employees would rather have in place of the money companies might spend on office holiday parties. The study indicates 69% of employees prefer a bonus over a holiday party. It's been a very long time since I worked for a company that offered up even a tiny Christmas bonus. And by tiny, I mean we got $50 or a ham. But, I'm with the folks that would prefer the bonus! I mean, who wouldn't? Office parties tend to be boring anyway.

So, if you get a bonus, cheers! If your company has a party...be careful, and make sure you can stay employed in the new year!