Igniyte’s research finds 1 in 4 are planning to ‘drink less’ at this year’s office Christmas party

Behaviour at work events and on social media is becoming a real issue for companies who are unsure of what is and isn’t acceptable, and how they should be monitoring this risk.

Igniyte researched the behaviour of over 1,000 UK employees across eight different sectors to find out just exactly what our Christmas party antics involve.

How does the UK behave at office Christmas parties?

The research gleaned some interesting stats, take a look at what behaviour employees admitted to in the past:

• 1 in 10 admitted drinking so much alcohol that they didn’t turn up for work the next day
• Over 1 in 4 have kissed a colleague
• Almost 30% admitted having flirted with a work colleague
• 1 in 10 employees in the property sector have received a verbal or written warning following their office Christmas party behaviour
• 14% of energy & utilities employees have even been dumped by their other half following their antics
• 1 in 4 travel employees have waited for the work Christmas party to tell a colleague that they like them

The problem many HR departments and management teams are facing nowadays is the amount of inappropriate behaviour which makes its way online. High-profile brands in particular must be careful to manage how their employees are behaving online, as an ill-judged photo or status can attract attention almost instantaneously and affect professional and company reputation.

How is the UK preparing for this year’s Christmas parties?

• 1 in 5 have admitted that they fully expect to say or do something embarrassing at this year’s festive party
• 15% are even going to change their Facebook settings before the party so that they have to approve a ‘tag’ in a photo or a status
• 1 in 10 are planning on telling a colleague that they like them
• 10% of travel employees aren’t even going to their work’s Christmas party for fear of embarrassing themselves
• 1 in 4 are planning to “drink less” at this year’s Christmas party to limit the chance of saying or doing something embarrassing
• 14% of energy & utilities employees are going to use the Christmas party to confront a colleague or tell them they don’t like them

How can companies prepare?

Occasionally, inappropriate behaviour at work events can go too far and not only offend or upset fellow co-workers, but if it’s online, it can do a lot of long-term damage to the reputations of those involved and the company they work for.

Ultimately, your employees are a risk to your company reputation and you have to take steps to limit this risk. Even if you’re not a particularly corporate or formal company, some basic social media and conduct guidelines can go a long way to protect your company from a crisis.

Download this free guide on Protecting Your Company’s Reputation From Employee Risk which clearly outlines how you can implement an effective social media policy and avoid a crisis.

Get in touch with me in complete confidence at simon@igniyte.co.uk or on 0203 542 8689 if you’d like to discuss protecting your company from an online crisis.