A post in another forum inspired me to do a 5 question poll deal.
Do you go to office parties or would you if offered?
Should they be during work hours or in the evening as a more social setting?
What's the best party you ever had?
What's the worst party you ever had?
If you had a choice would you have the party or just divvy up the cash?
1. Not unless it was abundantly clear it would come back to haunt me if I didn't.
2. During work hours!
3. It was more happy hour. I worked at this crappy temp job that was horrible. Everyone hated it there, especially the temps because the permanent employees made it very clear we were of the untouchable caste. Anyway, the temps decided to have a happy hour at a nearby bar and we played pool. That was much more fun than a staid formal party.
4. This was at a small company that dealt with insurance. They said it was a free lunch. When we went into the far too small for 40 people conference room the lunch consisted of bologna sandwiches that were soggy and they didn't even order enough so people were splitting with each other. There was nothing for a non-meat eater. The drink was a can of generic coke and it was room temperature and they didn't have ice. The kicker? It was a United Way presentation. Once the speaker mentioned it I walked out and the bigwigs glared at me.
5. Cash!
Do you go to office parties or would you if offered?
-- Historically I've gone, but then again historically, I've liked my coworkers. These last few years I've avoided them like the plague.
Should they be during work hours or in the evening as a more social setting?
-- Doesn't matter to me, as I don't go.
What's the best party you ever had?
-- I don't have very many parties. Probably when I was 21 and living in Toronto.
What's the worst party you ever had?
-- Not sure. Do you mean BEEN TO or HAD? Because I haven't had that many parties.
If you had a choice would you have the party or just divvy up the cash?
-- Again, if my coworkers were normal, perhaps I'd like to party with them. LOL I like some of my coworkers, though (not the ones I directly work with, though) and I'd prefer to be with them. On the whole, I'd prefer the cash.
Do you go to office parties or would you if offered?
Yes, I go to all office parties I am invited to.
Should they be during work hours or in the evening as a more social setting?
Depends on the nature of the party and the occasion.
What's the best party you ever had?
When I worked for the German bank, they threw great parties! Two of them were at the U.N. and the food was unbelievable. One time I was invited to a holiday party for the brokers, and that was really fun and wild! There were only 20 of us there, but we all danced up a storm.
They also threw a great party in honor of our recently opened Japanese office. It was held at a sushi restaurant hidden away on the 2nd floor of an office building: the type of place that you wouldn't know about unless you were Japanese. The food was so amazing!
What's the worst party you ever had?
Hmm...our holiday party last Sunday kinda sucked. I was just not in the mood for it. The food was good, but the acoustics at this restaurant were terrible. Turnout was light and no one sat with us because they don't like me.
The other sucky ones (tie) were:
- a going-away party for someone at the German Bank: we had it at Heartland Brewery in NYC and it was awful. They crammed us into a tiny corner of the bar and we had to fight off crashers. The manager was a rude asshole. It was way too loud.
- a holiday party at the Belgian bank I temped at, for our department. I was flattered that they invited me, but it was at this fancy, trendy restaurant and it was just not conducive to a party. We were seated at a long table, and it was so loud in there that you could only talk to the people next to you. One of the people next to me was a rude, antisocial person, so my conversation was limited.
If you had a choice would you have the party or just divvy up the cash?
I like a good party, but cash is nice too. Hard to say!
Do you go to office parties or would you if offered?
I do not go, because I live too far to attend. But I would probably go to some, and make friends.
Should they be during work hours or in the evening as a more social setting?
Evening -- more relaxation and potential for alcohol.
What's the best party you ever had?
Meh -- they are all just meh.
What's the worst party you ever had?
Ditto
If you had a choice would you have the party or just divvy up the cash?
Party -- it's fun to try other people's recipes.
Do you go to office parties or would you if offered?We don't have official parties. On Dec. 5, the company had catered "lunch" (people who work the late shift know to get there early and get some to have for their "lunch" break at 8 or 9 or so), GOOD food, but I wasn't working that day. I had to really think whether it would be worth my gas to drive that far for free food. I decided no. I guess it would depend on the people I worked with, whether I went to a real party with them.
Should they be during work hours or in the evening as a more social setting?I can see points either way. I guess it would depend on the type of business, and whether you can stop work for the period of time.
What's the best party you ever had?
What's the worst party you ever had?
I've never been to an office party, so I can't answer these.
If you had a choice would you have the party or just divvy up the cash?Free food is good. I guess it would depend on the people I worked with, but I'm not a party person.
1) I tend not to go to office parties. Whenever we get together, they don't talk about anything interesting and I feel that I don't have much in common with the people I work with. I have read articles saying that it's not good when you decline an office party invitation because it appears that you don't care about the people you work with.
2) I've worked in places where it would be just a lunch. I really prefer those.
3) About 20 years ago I went to a dinner that was put on by the post office that my sister and I worked at. That's when I was living back at Cape Cod. It was a nice place and the food was great. I remembered that the supervisor's wife was flirting with me. She got divorced shortly after that, but their marriage was on the rocks at that time for a while.
4) A few years ago, I worked at a place that I hated. I felt very depressed about being at that place and that Christmas was not far away. I was going to be alone for that Christmas and that depressed me. What made that lunch really bad was a woman (whom I could not stand) sang Christmas songs and she was terrible. I sat at a table all by myself because I did not like the people I worked with.
5) By far the cash! One year, at a place I worked at, we voted either to have a dinner-dance (like they've had before {and I never went to them}) or the cash. The cash won by a long-shot! And yet, we never got the cash!
Do you go to office parties or would you if offered?
I do go to most years to the office Christmas party. I missed last year's party due to being snowed in. This last CEO killed any other office party that might have happened.
Should they be during work hours or in the evening as a more social setting?
During work like late afternoon is how our Christmas parties have been the past 9 years or so. We close the office at 1PM and then whenever the party gets over, we get the rest of the day off.
If they are had in the evening, then you better be allowed to bring your SO. (cut into my off time to hang out with people I work with and there better also be booze.)
What's the best party you ever had?
The best office party was the first one I went to. At a local country club (a couple people in upper management belonged, I am sure), everyone dressed to the nines - I even had my hair done in an upsweep. Spouses were invited. Dinner was a sit-down served by waiters with white towels. Then afterwards, they had a monopoly money casino set up and then you took the money that you won and "bid" on the door prizes.
What's the worst party you ever had?
The year that we went to a nearby pizza joint (about 4-5 years ago). I hate the food there anyway, so that was bad. The week before the party, I had just had oral surgery that included the top of my mouth, so couldn't even eat the salad. And the party committee had made a big push to have a door prize for everyone. I had be able to get 3 sets of Mannheim Steamroller Christmas packs from a friend at a local radio station. One person at my table got one, and said "Well, this is a crap gift." Nice. Oh, and the guy playing Santa was the biggest jerk of the office. As Santa, he insisted that he give EVERYONE a hug. It was really uncomfortable.
If you had a choice would you have the party or just divvy up the cash?
The company has been budgeting more and more every year. So a party with good food is fine, especially when we get a couple hours off.
Do you go to office parties or would you if offered? I go. I generally feel like I have to and most of the time they are OK or fun.
Should they be during work hours or in the evening as a more social setting? During work hours is best for me... I don't like giving up an evening for work.
What's the best party you ever had? When I worked for a private college the entire staff/faculty was invited to the campus center for a VERY fun party. Beautiful catering, wine and beer free, tons of people - just a very, very fun time. I was one of the last people to leave!
What's the worst party you ever had? At that same college there was a party for the women who worked in one division, given by the woman chaplain. It was only mid and upper-level staff, no faculty. I wasn't friends with any female staff outside of our secretary, who wasn't invited, so I felt VERY awkward and didn't have anyone to talk to. I literally counted the minutes until I could leave.
If you had a choice would you have the party or just divvy up the cash? Party. I think the party helps morale and just makes people, including me, feel good.
Do you go to office parties or would you if offered?
I'm a freelance contractor, so I haven't actually worked full time in an office since 1995. But I do have to go to Navy parties nowadays.
Should they be during work hours or in the evening as a more social setting?
When I worked at a TV station they were always at a restaurant or similar in the evenings, and so are the Navy parties. I guess that's best. Rather than saying, Okay, everyone, you've had some fun, now sit back down in your cubicle and get to work for the rest of the day.
What's the best party you ever had?
I've never had a party of my own, but the xmas parties that the TV station would have were usually pretty fun. We'd all get presents, one year I got something pretty good, a hand blender. But the next year I got tickets to a redneck comedian's concert--no, not the Jeff Foxworthy guy, no, not James Gregory, it was this other guy who was mostly famous in the south. I knew the concert would suck and it did, and the guy died from a heart attack a couple of months later.
What's the worst party you ever had?
The Navy parties are almost always awful. You'd think the Navy Ball or the xmas party at a nice restaurant would be kind of cool, everyone in their good uniforms, etc., but they are always, always lame and exceedingly tedious for me.
If you had a choice would you have the party or just divvy up the cash?
Parties are nice if they don't suck.
Do you go to office parties or would you if offered?
I do go to office parties but never feel obligated to attend.
Should they be during work hours or in the evening as a more social setting?
I like the idea of closing a bit early and going somewhere for the party.
What's the best party you ever had?
The best party was actually tonight! The body piercing/tattoo shop I work at closed early and all the staff and any significant others all headed to a fabulous nearby restaurant for dinner. The conversation was hilarious, the secret santa gifts ever funnier and our boss paid for the whole thing!
What's the worst party you ever had?
Definitely the other Christmas party I went to this year for my second job. The food was insulting, they served us canned fruit cocktail for dessert! The DJ was passable and of course, management won the biggest door prizes AGAIN. Plus they jacked the ticket prices up this year and a had a shitty cash bar, yeah, cheapskates.
If you had a choice would you have the party or just divvy up the cash?
I like the party as long as it is executed well. Even at the crappy party, my table was full of friends and we had a blast even if we would have rather been eating McDonalds then the tripe they served us.
Do you go to office parties or would you if offered?
I go if I like the group and it's convenient, but not always.
Should they be during work hours or in the evening as a more social setting?
The best official ones start as a late lunch (somewhere between 1 and 2pm) with the option of finishing up unofficially sitting around and chatting with drinks. Our last couple have been like that... by the time food was served and official business (prizes, speeches, etc) had ended it was about 4pm and a bunch of us sat around talking for another couple hours.
Most years my bosses (as in not just one boss, but only one per year) have invited us over for dinner at their place, in which case it is always on Friday/Saturday and after-hours. We are never expected to go to those but I do if I'm free and can easily get there.
What's the best party you ever had?
Hard to know. The ones that I attend have always been good!
What's the worst party you ever had?
I think that I'm choosy enough that I manage to pick them out ahead of time and avoid them. The boss's dinner last year would have likely been fine but he lives in the middle of nowhere and I wasn't in the mood for having to spend an hour on public transit before having to wait for a ride (he offered to pick me up at the station, which is very sweet, but it's so cold that time of year) and I don't like having to rely on someone to drive me home afterwards. I had a similar situation with last year's office party as it was at a far-flung location and I wasn't in the mood. Lucky for me... it was an easy decision to make as I was travelling to Nawlins with Jo on that day!
If you had a choice would you have the party or just divvy up the cash?
Have the party.