Don’t be a Grinch! The career implications of avoiding the office Christmas party

The festive season is a time of good cheer, and unfortunately this often extends to workplaces. Having endured the daily commute from bedroom to home office, or for some unfortunate souls from home to elsewhere, the last thing many of us want right now is enforced jollities with our colleagues from Accounts, Marketing and Despatch and Receive.

The trouble is, refusing to engage in “wet and dry fun” as one of my former managers in academia once described an end of year get together, could have career implications. You might be seen as too “dry” and a bit of a “wet”. Not one of us. Worse, in this world of work increasingly in the grip of an adolescent ethos, you may be seen as not a “team player” and worst of all, you may be cast out of the “family” at work.

This is exactly what reportedly happened to Mr T. Mr T is French and worked as a Director for Cubik Partners, a consulting firm in Paris. He was sacked in 2015 for allegedly declining to participate in workplace meetings and social events held on weekends.

These weekends were described by Mr T as part of the so-called “fun” culture abroad at Cubik. He alleged that “fun” included mock sexual acts, crude nicknames, bullying and incitement to participate in excesses, and he claimed he was even expected to share his bed with a colleague at work functions.

Mr T decided to make a stand for the fun police, and took his employer to court. His dismissal letter, according to court records, cites his refusal to accept the company’s policy and sharing of “fun and pro” values.

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Mr T’s reasons for dismissal were couched by his employer in terms of allegedly failing to take feedback on board and being somewhat demotivating towards his juniors. However, the Court, the highest in the French judiciary, was not persuaded by his employer.

In its judgement of the 9th November, the court found the employer had undermined a fundamental freedom, constitutionally guaranteed, of Mr T’s freedom of expression under Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (amongst other laws).

The problem with parties and other social or not-strictly-what-I-am-paid-for events is that unless a considerable degree of thought and care has gone into their planning, they run the risk of making some people less comfortable. Indeed, for many, the work role is just that – a role, or a set of expectations that serves as a mask to protect one from intrusions into other aspects of one’s life. I’m not sure where the idea came from that to be effective at work, or to interact well with others, one must bare one’s soul. I suspect the “authenticity” mob have a lot to answer for.