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Is Calling Off Your Christmas Work Party Really Going To Save You Money?

With an increasing pressure to save money, many businesses are attempting to budget in every way possible without fully considering the potential knock-on effect for their staff and the downward-spiraling team morale. With many bosses trying to validate that the Christmas party is a ‘squandering of cash’ that couldn’t possibly be warranted after laying off half the team last month, more members of staff are being told to accept that cuts are just to be expected in the current economic climate.

However, loyal long-standing employees are now finding it hard to adjust to after years of lavish Christmas parties in memories past, and the promise that Christmas was cancelled as a one off last year and yet there is no sign of one coming up this year either. For many of our hard-working friends the case is that at best they will have to dig into their own pockets and meet at the pub for a quiet pint or two. This may not sound like anything to worry about for the budgeting business owners, but the truth is that the companies who ARE throwing the awesome Christmas parties are becoming something of an attraction and a desirable company to work for in the eyes of the not so festive Christmas-starved workers. So the question companies should be asking themselves is this; is calling off your Christmas work party really going to save you money? With statistics showing that 2/3rds of company owners feel that Christmas parties make the employees engage better and perform to a higher standard, is this possibly an area where a complete cut is really not worth it just for the initial saving?

What’s worse is that in some cases, companies are returning to rewarding huge bonuses for the select few and yet will not have a Christmas party that would benefit the majority of the team because they “don’t have the available funds to do so”.

The result of this is that many employees are admitting to making up for the lack of a Christmas office party by having numerous mini parties themselves with a few colleagues and their own friends from outside work. There is no longer a time for all of the company to bond, let their hair down and feel like a community to celebrate the festive period together. 

It seems that somewhere along the way in our super-saving action plan, we have forgotten about the core essentials in running a business where the workers feel valued and rewarded for their hard work and loyalty throughout the year.