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Office Christmas party etiquette |
Office Christmas party etiquette
AN EMPLOYEE at an IT company got so drunk at his Christmas party at a city bar he urinated off the balcony onto patrons at a restaurant below.
The man, who said he'd consumed 15 beers, was then hit over the head by a colleague who had witnessed the incident, and had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance.
When the man was sacked for his behaviour he had the cheek to claim unfair dismissal. Not surprisingly the Industrial Relations Commission upheld his termination.
Then there was the staff member at a Christmas karaoke cruise on Sydney Harbour last year who was so nervous about singing in front of colleagues he threw back a couple of vodka shots for Dutch courage.
After confidently belting out a tune he vomited in front of co-workers and fell off the side of the boat. The water police were called and reports had to be taken.
Christmas party season is fraught with danger says Patsy Rowe, business etiquette adviser and author of Business Etiquette: achieving a competitive edge in business.
She said it was best to approach the office Christmas party with extreme caution.
Should workers be overly cautious at the office Christmas party, or let their hair down and have fun? Tell us below.
Don’t let it all out
Vomiting and crying at Christmas parties due to over-indulgence was common and a quick way to lose the respect of your peers, according to Ms Rowe.
How do the poor souls who degrade themselves this way front up to work again? “It depends how good the job is. If it’s a really good job and you see a future there you have to go back and ignore what you’ve done,” she said.
“If the boss brings it up, all you can do is apologise profusely and make up an excuse, such as your great grandmother died that day and you’re still recovering from the shock.”
Don’t sleep with workmates
Alcohol and sex often go hand in hand, and if there’s been sexual tension simmering in the office for the past 12 months there's a very good chance it will boil over at the Christmas party.
But Ms Rowe warned workers to keep their hands to themselves.
“I get so many emails from people every year after Christmas because they have found themselves in somebody else’s bed and are appalled,” she said.
“If either party is married or in a relationship it’s best left ignored, and if they are not in relationships it can still lead to major problems in the office.”
Don’t talk about your private life
It’s important not to talk a lot about your personal life at the party, Ms Rowe said.
“When you drink a lot you might reveal you’re not happy with your wife,” she said.
“It can be held against you later on if you have a falling out with a colleague. It’s most important only to tell people things on a need-to-know basis.”
Safe topics to discuss at the Christmas party included sport, restaurants you’ve been to, books you’ve read and films you’ve seen.
“Talk about places you’ve been to on holiday, but don’t talk about staying at that five star hotel in Aspen. That can cause jealousy.” |
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At last, PM Rudd ratifies Kyoto
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has formally handed the official document ratifying the Kyoto Protocol to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
Mr Rudd met Mr Ban this morning before the UN climate change conference on the Indonesian island of Bali.
The new prime minister kept Mr Ban waiting, turning up six minutes late for the meeting.
But when he arrived, he was bearing the instrument of ratification for Kyoto, a document his predecessor John Howard refused to sign for almost a decade.
"I would like to stand and formally hand to you the instrument of ratification on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia to the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention," Mr Rudd said.
"This has been a decision of our Government, a decision taken on the first day that my Government was in office.
"So it is with great honour that I present you with this instrument."
The two men smiled and shook hands as Mr Rudd handed over the document.
Mr Ban thanked him for the move.
"I congratulate you on this ratifying of the protocol so soon after you were sworn in," Mr Ban said. |
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Energy savings on the home front a research winner for UniSA
ARC Linkage grant supports research into home energy savingsThe University of South Australia has won strong support for research projects that will contribute domestic energy savings and better health outcomes as part of a package of Australian Research Council (ARC) funding announced by Minister Julie Bishop today.
The grants announced under the ARC Linkage program, which supports university research undertaken in partnership with industry, will provide funding over the next three to four years.
The total allocation of funding for the seven successful projects for UniSA is almost $1.8 million from the ARC matched by almost $2.5 million from industry. UniSA was successful in winning support for 58 per cent of its research applications under the Linkage Grants scheme.
A UniSA industrial engineering project that aims to advance the thermal insulation performance of Australian roofing systems will hone in on what is being touted in the climate change debate as, all-important energy efficiencies.
Director of UniSA’s Institute for Sustainable Systems and Technologies, Professor Wasim Saman, says the potential to save substantial amounts of energy with the development of advanced insulation systems is enormous.
“We will be working with our industry partners Air-Cell Innovations Pty Ltd and R&D Services Inc to develop cost efficient products and systems that will bring about measurable savings in the residential context – also reducing peak power demand and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
Another energy saver for SA’s valuable wine industry is a research project looking into the application of high powered ultrasound (HPU) technology. The research will look at applying HPU technology to the disinfection and cleaning of wine barrels and to improving and enhancing wine fermentation and the extraction of flavours and colours.
Lead researcher for the project and UniSA research fellow Dr Mark Barnes, says the technology has the potential to lower production costs for wine makers and at the same time contribute to energy efficiencies.
“This technology has high potential to provide, not only improved processing, but also a better product,” he said. “We believe HPU can play a vital role in lowering costs, reducing environmental pollution, increasing water re-use and efficiency and replacing carbon emitting or dirty energy with a cleaner alternative. |
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