4 dangers that lie in wait at the corporate party

In most Russian companies, it is customary to arrange New Year's corporate parties. Sometimes it’s an organized trip to a restaurant, sometimes it’s a gathering right at the workplace. Someone treats corporate parties well, someone, on the contrary, hates them, wishing at least before the holidays to take a break from colleagues and save themselves from participating in stupid contests. But few people think that corporate parties are not as harmless as they might seem. Here are some of the serious dangers that await such a holiday.

1. Too much alcohol

It's not even about the fact that they can be poisoned and die. Heavy drinking people sometimes tend to behave noisy, defiant, cheeky, and sometimes aggressive. It's one thing when it happens in the company of friends or casual acquaintances. And it is completely different when you are in the company of colleagues, who before that saw in you only a serious, buttoned-up professional, respected and called by name and patronymic.

Due to drunken dances on the table, harassment, rude and vulgar jokes, insults or even quarrels and fights, you can at least lose face, and in especially neglected cases, even work. 9% of survey participants on a large job search site said that they themselves or their colleagues were fired at least once for inappropriate behavior at a corporate party.

It will be especially easy to do this if the holiday is celebrated on the territory of your company. Then it turns out that you appeared drunk at work, and this, according to the Labor Code, is a completely legitimate reason for dismissal.

Since you are over 18 years old, most likely you already know how to behave when drunk. If you lose control of yourself, become too violent and relaxed, you will have to limit yourself to drinking at least for the time of a corporate party. Count the consumed amount, alternate alcohol with food and soft drinks. If you feel that you are "carried", stop drinking, call a taxi and go home. Better to leave in the midst of the holiday than to go overboard and disgrace yourself.

2. Harassment

According to VTsIOM, every tenth Russian has faced harassment at work - offers or demands of a sexual nature.

How many people had to go through the harassment of colleagues during a corporate party, polls do not speak. It is clear that informal settings, alcohol and smart clothes can serve as catalysts for such incidents. Due to the increased incidence of harassment, some companies in the United States stopped holding corporate events or began to make them as formal as possible.

Harassment is a very unpleasant and even traumatic situation. And the worst thing is that in Russia there is no punishment for such actions yet. But do not be afraid to loudly and clearly state that this is unpleasant for you, move away from the offender, ask him to stop what he is doing. If all else fails and he behaves persistently and rudely, call for help, attract attention, resist. Yes, the scene will turn out to be very ugly, but you will be safe.

If you have adequate leadership and company policies that prohibit harassment, you can share what happened so that whoever behaves inappropriately gets a fair punishment.

3. Casual sex

Sometimes it also happens that flirting with a colleague comes in handy and ends with sex. If you are not a couple and do not plan to enter into a relationship, it can be embarrassing.

True, no awkwardness, gossip behind your back and even the need to change jobs cannot be compared with sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. So, if you are free and admit at least a negligible chance of going all bad after a corporate party, take care of contraception: take condoms with you.

4. Aggressive behavior

Even if you yourself are exemplary, careful with alcohol, and offending no one, this does not guarantee that others will do the same. And the walls of a home office or a cozy cafe, unfortunately, do not protect against conflicts or physical violence. There is a possibility that one of the colleagues will go over alcohol and try to start a quarrel or, worse, a fight.

If you see that someone is behaving aggressively and things are going to a serious conflict in which you do not want to participate, you can move to the next room or go home.