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Office Parties Feel the Chill

nytimes.com

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Re: Office Parties Feel the Chill

#31

Post by Tehnix »

cluoma wrote: post #12

Maybe it's just my inner-millenial but I really dislike office Christmas parties. This year my company rented out a large theatre with a buffet of goose and free beer/cocktails/wine all evening. It started at 6pm and most of the attendees were gone by 10pm, and we are a young company with many in their 20s. I feel like it was really a party for a few outgoing people and those in HR. A Christmas bonus would have been…

Why does that have anything to do with being a millennial? I'm a millennial, and I absolutely love company parties, because we all get a long so well, and it's a nice way to have a more casual conversation with people that you don't usually work with, during week days.

I think cylinder hit the nail on the head, with his remark, about it bringing office culture to the front - if you don't enjoy working with the people at your job, it sure isn't looking bright for the Christmas party either.

Also, a Christmas bonus is waaaaaay more expensive than a (nice) Christmas/office party has to be (unless you rent a fancy venue or something like that). It would feel a bit weird to get a $30 dollar "bonus", at least I would rather pool that together and make some enjoyable memories with people.

Re: Office Parties Feel the Chill

#32

Post by piva00 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #29
lancebeet wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Escape rooms have become quite common and they're provided by many different actors. Given how many there are on Manhattan alone it's difficult to pinpoint exactly which one they mean. If this is advertisement, it's not money well spent.

What is the business structure, though? Are all "escape rooms" independent operations, or are they more of a franchise? I was curious about the "Escape Room" phrase itself - it sounds like a brand, but I did an USPTO search for a trademark, and surprisingly, there's like a metric ton of ones matching ".* ESCAPE ROOM .*".

Completely independent rooms AFAIK. Have seen them in Brazil and here in Sweden, it's just a type of game, not a franchise... Much like a "haunted house" is a type of attraction and not a trademarked franchise-based business.

Re: Office Parties Feel the Chill

#33

Post by pc86 »

fredley wrote: post #23
cluoma wrote: post #12

Maybe it's just my inner-millenial but I really dislike office Christmas parties. This year my company rented out a large theatre with a buffet of goose and free beer/cocktails/wine all evening. It started at 6pm and most of the attendees were gone by 10pm, and we are a young company with many in their 20s. I feel like it was really a party for a few outgoing people and those in HR. A Christmas bonus would have been…

Absolutely this. At a place I worked previously, due to a tight budget, instead of doing the sensible thing and not having a party (or letting teams organise their own smaller bashes), the company cheaped out and rented a basement somewhere into which we barely all fitted. It was cramped, noisy and expensive. One employee got drunk and had a fist fight with the restaurant management after knocking down the sliding wa…

It seems odd that you would forget whether or not this event precipitated you quitting a job.

Re: Office Parties Feel the Chill

#34

Post by toomanybeersies »

gadders wrote: post #14

>>Executives surmised (perhaps wisely) the party’s meager attendance wasn’t enough to justify the $300,000 price tag. So, two years ago, HBO offered its employees an afternoon off with their co-workers to volunteer at a charity instead. That's some reward.

Deloitte (or at least part of Deloitte) have a charity day. I don't think it replaces their Christmas party though.

Anyway, according to one of my colleagues who used to work there, everyone really liked it, it was a way to get help out the community, with the added bonus that you're still getting paid.

The cynic in me assumes that they just do it because it's bloody good PR.

Re: Office Parties Feel the Chill

#35

Post by dep_b »

cluoma wrote: post #12

Maybe it's just my inner-millenial but I really dislike office Christmas parties. This year my company rented out a large theatre with a buffet of goose and free beer/cocktails/wine all evening. It started at 6pm and most of the attendees were gone by 10pm, and we are a young company with many in their 20s. I feel like it was really a party for a few outgoing people and those in HR. A Christmas bonus would have been…

I worked at a bank and that place was full of people that really enjoyed that kind of parties. Those parties were really kind of legendary in all kinds of regards, there were always a few people that had to be fired because of their behavior at the New Year's Party. But I did get swept up in the atmosphere even if I didn't like the music or even generically spoken bank people.

The IT companies I worked for were always notorious for the same 20 people going to every event and the usual 100 no shows. If they know there's a lot of the kind of people that don't like social events where you stand around with a drink in your hand and loud music just go to the local bowling alley and mix the teams up a bit. If you didn't talk to people at least you had some fun.

Re: Office Parties Feel the Chill

#36

Post by jsymolon »

cluoma wrote: post #12

Maybe it's just my inner-millenial but I really dislike office Christmas parties. This year my company rented out a large theatre with a buffet of goose and free beer/cocktails/wine all evening. It started at 6pm and most of the attendees were gone by 10pm, and we are a young company with many in their 20s. I feel like it was really a party for a few outgoing people and those in HR. A Christmas bonus would have been…

As party to one of the organizers, the dollars per head runs slightly above a wedding. Thus expect $120/plate/head.

Not a great bonus.

Add ons that were cut as the budget was cut; Open Bar: (paid at end, but think cocktail rates $11-$20 per drink), "white glove hors d'oeuvre" $13/person.

Re: Office Parties Feel the Chill

#37

Post by dep_b »

I think in general going out just isn't as much fun anymore as it used to be. You're constantly monitored from all sides by people with mobile tracking devices and any misstep will be broadcasted to billions through YouTube because people think it's fun to show your drunk ass claiming you're the Queen of England to everybody. Preferably with your name and LinkedIn profile in it.

Of course that scares the shit and fun out of people.

I don't think any records exist of my (innocent) missteps thank god, but I do feel the pressure if I'm at an event like that since smartphones became more common. I see people filming other people dancing while commenting negatively about it. Really intimidating. Better make sure we don't stand out in the crowd, unless you're the minority of people that really craves other people's attention in any way.

Re: Office Parties Feel the Chill

#38

Post by froindt »

Tehnix wrote: post #31
cluoma wrote: post #12

Maybe it's just my inner-millenial but I really dislike office Christmas parties. This year my company rented out a large theatre with a buffet of goose and free beer/cocktails/wine all evening. It started at 6pm and most of the attendees were gone by 10pm, and we are a young company with many in their 20s. I feel like it was really a party for a few outgoing people and those in HR. A Christmas bonus would have been…

Why does that have anything to do with being a millennial? I'm a millennial, and I absolutely love company parties, because we all get a long so well, and it's a nice way to have a more casual conversation with people that you don't usually work with, during week days. I think cylinder hit the nail on the head, with his remark, about it bringing office culture to the front - if you don't enjoy working with the people…

FWIW, they probably spent more than 30/person on just food and drink, but regardless I agree anything under a couple hundred dollars wouldn't feel genuine.

Re: Office Parties Feel the Chill

#40

Post by deepGem »

froindt wrote: post #38
Tehnix wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does that have anything to do with being a millennial? I'm a millennial, and I absolutely love company parties, because we all get a long so well, and it's a nice way to have a more casual conversation with people that you don't usually work with, during week days. I think cylinder hit the nail on the head, with his remark, about it bringing office culture to the front - if you don't enjoy working with the people…

FWIW, they probably spent more than 30/person on just food and drink, but regardless I agree anything under a couple hundred dollars wouldn't feel genuine.

Thanks, I'm trying to institutionalize this and was wondering what would be a good Christmas bonus. 250$ was my ballpark.
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