An office holiday party is a great opportunity to celebrate successes and build bonds. It’s also minefield of potential legal and other dangers.
I once advised a tech startup company whose founder and CEO got drunk at a holiday party, assaulted a woman and was fired a week later. It almost put the company out of business.
General counsel spend so much time worrying about all of the potential risks to their companies that they may miss a big one right in front of them – like the office holiday party.
Legal department leaders should be talking to their CEOs and HR chiefs about holiday party planning well before the big bash. Here are a few things to think about that might protect your employees, the company, and its executives.
To Party or Not to Party
In tough economic times like this, it’s tempting for companies to “tighten the belt” and cancel social events in the name of saving money.
The absence of an “official” company event doesn’t solve all of your problems.
Take former Peloton CEO John Foley, for example. Foley threw a lavish “personal” holiday party at the Plaza Hotel in New York last year, hosting friends and Peloton instructors…after putting a freeze on hiring and banning company holiday parties.
Foley later explained that the party was “not officially affiliated” with the company. That didn’t do much to soothe seething employees.
People watch leaders, particularly during downturns. If your company can’t afford a holiday party, it’s probably smart to make your own holiday celebrations low key.
Don’t even try to draw distinctions between “official” and “unofficial” events.
You’re always at work when you’re with someone from work. If the party gets out of hand and inappropriate behavior is going on, it will impact the workplace regardless of who paid for the food and drink.
Watch the Booze
Alcohol and the workplace are a combustible combination. Shift the emphasis away from drinking.
Just say ‘no’ to hard liquor and open bars that continue late into the night. Instead, make sure that there are plenty of nonalcoholic beverages and food available. If possible, target entertainment that’s in line with your company’s mission.
At Airbnb, for instance, we made sure that celebrations included light alcohol and plenty of food. We also invited “experiences” hosts—including a magician and a musician—to come in and provide the entertainment.
Get in the Spirit
Consider doing a company wide holiday event that’s focused on the spirit of the season. Ask teams to pick a day where they engage in activities that give back to the community in which they work, like organizing and wrapping presents for those at a local nonprofit. Then, plan to meet up at the end for a couple of hours of food and drinks.
Mind Your Cues
Finally, set aside five minutes at your executive team meetings to discuss how everyone will conduct themselves during holiday events. Remind each other that employees will take their cue from leaders on appropriate behavior.
I’ve done a funny short video parodying the “bad” holiday party, in which hard liquor is the only thing on the menu and everyone plans to drink heavily. I played the straight guy who showed up in an ugly sweater and expected to do a cookie swap. That led to a constructive conversation about how to approach holiday parties. It was widely viewed across the company and got a lot of favorable comments.
Silence is the enemy of integrity.
Don’t be afraid to speak up and talk generally about how you expect people to conduct themselves. Then make sure you practice what you preach.
Rob Chesnut is the former general counsel and chief ethics officer at Airbnb. He spent more than a decade as a Justice Department prosecutor and later oversaw US legal operations at eBay. The author of “Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution,” Rob consults on legal and ethical issues.
Source: News.Bloomberglaw
