How to deal with bad behaviour at the annual office party

As the festive season approaches, employers are beginning to plan their annual get togethers. And, since many workers are still in remote or hybrid models, there’s more excitement and anticipation to meet up and let their hair down.

For HR leaders, it’s a tense time. Yes, you want your people to celebrate, but there’s always that nagging anxiety that someone will inevitably go “ too far”. So, how can you pre-empt any issues before they arise – and make sure you’re not on the receiving end of a hefty lawsuit?

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“Remember, a company event is still considered “the workplace” for legal purposes,” says Mike MacLellan, partner at Crawford Chondon & Partners LLP. “As such, people need to conduct themselves appropriately. An employer really should encourage their attendees to moderate themselves with their drinking or other recreational indulgences. Ensure all of your guests, whether or not they are employees, are conducting themselves appropriately.”

This extends to drinks, food, and transport home. If an employee is under the influence, you need to make arrangements for the to return home safely – be it with a designated driver or a cab company.  Or, if you’re having drinks at a hotel, it’s a good idea to book your employees some rooms there.

“A lot of the considerations are just common sense, however there’s another less talked about aspect of workplace health and safety to consider,” says MacLellan. “We live in a multicultural society – so it’s important to remember that not all employee will celebrate holidays in the same way. You need to be cognizant of cultural and religious differences – make sure that your party is inclusive not exclusive, and is suitable for all your employees to attend.”

Recently, the issue of workplace health and safety can to the fore in a tragic way in Australia. An employee of Ernst and Young (EY) was found dead at the accounting firm’s office just hours after attending a social event with company staff. The incident led to an internal review around  the company’s workplace safety, security, and social events. And while this was an isolated incident, it did shed light on the importance of up-to-date safety policies.

“If an employer isn’t taking reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable incidents or foreseeable injury, then they could be liable,” says MacLellan. “You need to ensure that everyone’s acting appropriately – that they’re not drinking to excess or putting themselves in dangerous situation. Try providing drink tokens to stop overindulgence, and ensure you’re not giving alcohol to anyone underage.”

So what should HR leaders do if they see an employee acting inappropriately? It’s easy to just write it off to “festive merriment”, but employers can’t use that as an excuse to shirk on their duties.

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“First and foremost, employers need to take care of the health and safety of the worker in question and their colleagues,” says MacLellan. “Remember that health and safety encompasses issues such as workplace harassment and violence. If somebody is out of control, that person ought to be carefully and safely removed from the workplace, and even put in a cab and taken home.”

And it’s not just wayward employees you need to keep an eye on, HR –  as a report found that human resources professionals are the “most amorous” at festive parties. A survey from Ann Summers found that 72% of HR professionals surveyed said they’d embarrassed themselves at the annual office party by kissing a co-worker, having sex with a colleague, or by getting incredibly drunk.

The takeaway for stressed out employers? Before you start planning any parties, you need to lay down the law. Yes, employees can have fun – but not at the cost of workplace health and safety. Ensure that you let employees know that if they do misbehave, they could be subject to disciplinary action – and any bad behaviour simply will not be tolerated.