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Christmas party 2021?

Kirsty

Hi all,

I'm wondering what everyone else is doing in terms of a Christmas party this year? 

I'm in a traditional manufacturing environment,the majority of staff are not PC-based for their role so online events don't really work for us as a company-wide thing. We're an SME and usually have one big party for everyone.

Last year we didn't have a Christmas party, but there were some online ones arranged in teams who could do this as an alternative. The Company offered gifts/vouchers etc instead. Everyone was accepting of where we are at. 

This year there's a real divide in the workforce (as with everywhere I think!) of people who just want to get on with things, and others who are more covid conscious/ cautious. We're in Scotland where we still have masks / an element of social distancing in workplaces etc, and the business take so far has been to follow all guidelines/guidance and we've all taken measures seriously. A recent staff survey has found that employees who aren't PC-based are really feeling left out or feeling negative towards the measures we've put in place because of COVID, the understanding seems to have gone.

It would feel strange to have a party without masks and all mixing, but then on Monday go back to masks and distancing in the workplace. However, it is technically now 'allowed' - so just wondering what everyone else is up to this year?

Apologies in advance for mentioning the C-word so early on in the year!

  • Hello, 

    I was hoping to get an understanding of what other companies are doing for their Christmas parties this year (2021). We are a Tech company in the Transportation Industry and have had no problems working remotely. About half of our staff (35 people) live near the office, whereas the other half live UK remote. 

    We want to do something where all can come together and no one is excluded. 

    Thank you in Advance, 

    Chiara

  • in reply to Chiara
    Hi Chiara... and welcome to the Community!

    I've 'merged' your thread with this exisiting one. Hope that's OK!
  • It may be controversial, but I think approach CAN differ between event and day-to-day office environment, basis your risk assessment and the mitigation in place to protect against those risks. They are different environments, with different kinds of interactions.

    For example, opting for a well ventilated, spacious party setting that has covid mitigation controls in place (cleaning/hygiene/CO2 monitoring, etc.) combined with mandatory lateral flow testing (regardless of vaccination status) prior to attendance, temperature checks at the door,etc, - and, crucially, giving employees full choice/voice in attending based on their understanding of the risks/mitigations in place, could be an approach to mitigating for risk where social distancing/masks AREN’T possible that may well differ to your approach to an environment where social distancing / masks / screens ARE possible.
  • We have planned smaller events including outside events (weather permitting) the argument from staff was they choose to do it themselves so why wouldn’t the SS support it
  • I'm looking at Christmas Hampers again this year for our employees. Pre COVID though we gave everyone £25 per head towards individual teams Christmas meals but our SMT want to move away from that approach and back to whole company events so we're looking at doing this next year and erring on the side of caution for 2021 and doing hampers and vouchers again.
  • in reply to Jo
    I agree it might be possible to consider a different safety standard for a party vs the workplace. As well as the good points Jo makes, a party is (should be) voluntary attendance. You lay our your safety measures and so long as they are at least minimum requirement, then people assess whether they're comfortable attending that event. You can justify more stringent measures for the workplace because you are compelling attendance there. Having said that, I do agree that caution should still be exercised this year.
  • Hi Kirsty, I work for an Employee benefits provider and we are seeing a real mix, We have done some research into this question and we are finding that its very much a 50/50. last year we sent out alot of e-vouchers, this year we are seeing that trend continue but not to the same level as last year. With the infection rates rising I guess people will monitor it and cancel if need be.