‘Tis the season for holiday gatherings and events at the office. Festivities are in the air, and a sense of celebration is pervading through Cubicle Land. But despite all the cocktails and good cheer around, it’s still work. Which also means there are some unspoken rules to follow to navigate any holiday event in the workplace this season:
Unspoken Rule#1: It’s all about balance!
While many will tell you holiday event or not, it’s still work (which basically means zero fun), there’s still a healthy balance to be kept between the “strictly professional”(read talk about the monthly fiscal report during the entire event), and the fun stuff.
Although you should keep it as professional as possible, there’s also something to be said about showing a lighter side of yourself. Try as much as possible to be relaxed while still maintaining a professional attitude, and let some of your personality shine. This is about getting to know your colleagues better, and allowing them to get to know you better as well…
Oh, and the whole balance thing includes being careful how many glasses of wine you consume to…You’d never want to be remembered as the one who told the boss what she really thought of him after a few drinks…
Unspoken Rule#2: Yes, it’s an Opportunity to Network!
You can network anywhere. Especially at a work holiday event. While this shouldn’t be your entire focus the whole time, take this opportunity to build stronger connections with your colleagues and leaders.Leverage this time to informally network with your peers and leaders, and position yourself in a positive light.
If you’re not sure how to go about this whole networking thing, here are 50 networking questions you can start with.
Unspoken Rule #3: It’s Ok to Get Personal!
Ok, now don’t confuse getting personal with teetering on the edge of TMI (Too Much Information) Zone! This is supposed to be a joyful event, so don’t be afraid to step into a more personal zone, minus any cringe-worthy details about your last indigestion or your ex-best friend’s college antics.
Let your colleagues and leaders see a more private side of yourself, by sharing personal details like where you went on vacation last or some of your family traditions, for instance. In addition to revealing another side of you, it’ll also help you relate to your co-workers and managers on a totally different level.
Unspoken Rule #4: Follow Up!
One aspect of navigating holiday events at work that gets rarely discussed is actually what happens after the event. It’s one thing to enjoy holiday events at work, and get to know your colleagues and leaders while doing some positive networking. It’s another to actually take all this great connecting and networking beyond the event, and actually keep developing the relationships you’ve just made.
You can do this by simply sending an email to someone you’ve connected well with the next day or so, to let them know how much you’ve enjoyed your conversation and invite them for coffee. Or stopping by their cube or office, and saying hi. The point is not to stalk people you’ve enjoyed the company of the evening before, but to keep and reinforce the connection.
So many times, we end up meeting people only once, and never seeing them again or barely interacting with them afterwards…Just follow up, you never know if you’ve just interacted with your future manager, mentor or friend…
What other unspoken rules do you have around holiday events at work?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister.
