no laughing matter

Someone photocopying his or her bare backside on the photocopier at the company Christmas party is usually a very short-lived humorous event, says employment advocate, Mark Nutsford.

“The aftermath is often a serious blot on an employee’s service record and a total distortion of the person’s real character,” Mark says.

Mr Nutsford’s company, Employment Relations Consultants, is now starting to experience a lift in calls following company Christmas-break celebrations.

“But to keep it in perspective, I think we’ll receive about 100 calls over the next month and they will be the cases where there has been an irrevocable breakdown of relationships of some kind.

“I expect there will be 10 more for every one of those cases, where a quiet word in a sober environment settles things down and people get on with business again.”

Mark says the most common example, which leads to a termination of employment, is where an employee tells him, “I got drunk and told the boss what I really thought of him”.

“This is the speech that leads to the breakdown of trust and a parting of ways.

“Another common issue is when employers of ‘blue collar’ skilled people supply unlimited amounts of booze and fighting breaks out.

“I represented a young man recently who was regarded highly in his company but got involved in a fight, the details of which he couldn’t even remember because he was so smashed. I was able to argue with some success to his employer that the responsibility was partly his; he dropped down a large amount of booze with no rules, regulations, or even some friendly advice before they got started.”

Theft charges are also often laid against employees after a Christmas party and the scenario is nearly always the same:

One: Everyone is having a great time and the company has paid for the booze.

Two: The boss thinks everybody has had enough and calls things to a close.

Three: Not everybody agrees with him and some start to talk about taking the party somewhere else.

Four: They take some of the company’s surplus grog with them because they think it’s their property anyway because they’ve worked hard all year.

Five: the management takes exception, isolates ‘culprits’ and lays theft charges.

“It’s so common and so easily avoided if people just use a little forethought,” Mark says.

Sales reps are also vulnerable if they drive company cars home from a company function and are apprehended for blood alcohol excess.
“In these cases, the company often loses otherwise highly productive people who would not have been lost with better planning.”

Sex also becomes a complication at company celebrations.

“Hidden desires pent up for months in a sober office environment, can lead to mutually consenting sex between adults in the toilets, on the boss’s desk, without the boss necessarily being present, or anywhere. I’ve been amazed at the locations where sexual desire knows no boundaries.

“And a bonk between consenting adults on company premises is not really a criminal offence but some do lead to a loss of reputation, which links to respect and authority in the workplace. Again, I think we get a very small percentage of these. Many times more would be settled by a quiet word or a confidential meeting.”

Mark recalls a recent case of one senior manager at a company Christmas party taking a liking to a younger person employed in the same company. While sexual activity didn’t eventuate, the behaviour at the Christmas party lead to a breakdown of professional trust with the senior employee’s superior, and termination was negotiated.

Another senior employee of a large company had a ‘lapse of judgement’ and visited some porn sites, which resulted in a virus that crashed the company’s entire network.

Mark represented the employee in termination discussions.

“But in this case, we were able to mend the bridges. The employee was otherwise highly valued and it would have been very difficult to replace such skill and experience in one person. We managed to negotiate salary increase and holiday concessions resulting in relief for both parties.”
Fundamental advice for both employees and employers to remember over the festive season include:

Employees
1. Plan your exit from the company function. Don’t drive if you intend to drink.

2. Get advice on moderating alcohol intake so that you don’t make the finest speech you’ll ever regret to a boss or colleague.

3. Remind yourself that you’re still at work and a moment’s indiscretion can tarnish a lifetime’s career.

Employers
1. If you want to increase your chances of losing good people, throw a lot of booze at them without any advice on timing, transport, or expected behaviour.

2. Lead by example in behaviour.

3. Be clear on what the company is supplying and not supplying.

Mark Nutsford
www.wehelp.co.nz