Tag : holiday office party

OK, folks – it’s our last holiday pet peeve of the year. Since it’s almost that special day, let’s talk about New Year’s Eve parties for a minute. We all know about the drinking, the desperate pairing up to watch the ball drop, and so on – but what about the company mandated New Year’s resolutions?

We’re not joking – some companies are mandating wellness checks with monetary penalties or incentives for how healthy they think you are. Blood tests, waist measurements, weigh ins and so on are just the start – what if your boss decides a “pedometer” contest is the next “fun” thing to do and people get embarrassed when they don’t rack up the required steps – whether due to job parameters, health conditions or otherwise?

This article talks about the new age of information and your health in the workplace – read it and tell us what you think. Should your employer be able to set your New Year’s resolution? Or is it a gross invasion of privacy?

It’s time for another Friday Chat – and our theme this month is holiday pet peeves at the office – specifically, the holiday office party and gift exchange.

A lot of offices have “mandated” attendance at various holiday office parties and gift exchanges. They can’t exactly demand you show up, but there’s certainly a lot of pressure. What happens when you decline to participate? Do you get shunned by co-workers? Put in your boss’ bad graces? What about the holiday office events makes you nuts?

We’ve noticed several posts lately about ridiculous demands made on lower level employees, requiring them to bring a fancy food item, a secret Santa gift with a minimum value price tag, and so on. Don’t even get us started on assigned times to show up at the holiday office party, or restrictions on certain foods and beverages!

Then again, some offices ban displays of holiday cheer completely. How does your office deal with the holidays? Are you overextended trying to keep up, overwhelmed with the continual chaos, or unperturbed?