5 Things to Know About Halloween Office Parties
Throwing a Halloween party at the office can be loads of fun for the "all work and no play types" - or it can be full of HR headaches. Read the 5 essential things to know about throwing an office Halloween bash.
(PRWEB) September 21, 2005 -- Halloween is being embraced and observed in the workplace as never before. According to Human Resource Managements 2000 Benefits Study, more than one-third of U.S. companies offer some sort of workplace Halloween celebration.
Thats good news for employers looking for new methods of teambuilding. Employers, especially those in companies with high demands and expectations, find that Halloween events are a great way to reduce employee stress and inject fun into the workplace. Beyond that, Halloween can help managers spot creative and participative talents among employees.
By encouraging employees from different departments to share a common activity, the company can actually improve communication and inter-departmental cooperation. All of this gives management another opportunity to find employees with hidden talents in a non-hierarchical setting.
If you are the lucky one throwing the Halloween office party this year, this is what you need to know:
1) Keep it all professional - and optional. Above all other considerations you must remember that your office is a place of business. Any observance of Halloween must therefore be kept on a professional level. Just as it would be inappropriate for you to come to work in your "zombie streetwalker" costume, it would be inappropriate, perhaps even offensive to some, to decorate the office with blood-soaked "corpses" and devilish ghouls.
2) It is important for you to remember that one of the biggest reasons companies avoid Halloween observances is the concern that some people will have religious objections to such a thing.It is important to be sensitive to the beliefs and opinions of others and give them every opportunity to opt out of any festivities.
3) Consider the most appropriate event for Halloween. Let your companys values and those of its employees dictate the style of office celebration you do each Halloween. There are a number of things you can do to bring Halloween to your office.
- Have A Halloween Party -- The most traditional of Halloween festivities is the Halloween party. Lunch is usually the best time to have your office Halloween party. Reserve the lunch room or cafeteria in advance. Allow time for decorating the space. Your budget will dictate whether the lunch includes catered food, sandwiches, punch and cookies or a potluck feast. Having a lunch time party increases the time that employees from different departments will interact and provides a venue for judging a costume contest if you have one. It also gives employees who cannot (or choose not to)participate in the costume contest an opportunity to interact with those employees who do.
- Sponsor A Costume Contest http://www.socreepy.com/halloween-costume-ideas/ -- Establish all rules well in advance of the contest. Make sure the rules are approved by management. We recommend adopting a minimum clothing requirement to avoid watching an employee marching through your contest wearing only a diaper and a smile. True story! Set up and publish the contest rules, including categories. You may want to have separate contests for teams and for individuals. Award prizes for best, most original and scariest costume. To tie in the company setting, you can award a prize to the contestant whose costume best captures the company spirit, values or mission. Above all, have fun with it!
- Host A Trick-or-Treat Parade -- Halloween is, first and foremost, a holiday for the children. Your company may want to consider inviting employees to bring their children to work for a costume parade. Nothing helps employees let their hair down and have fun at work like bringing their children to the office. Having kids in the office brings fun and laughter to a setting that could often times use more of both. It also recognizes the families of your employees and promotes your companys commitment to employees and their loved ones. Ensure that plenty of candy is on hand to reward the trick-or-treaters.
- Have An Office Decorating Contest http://www.socreepy.com/2005/07/14/halloween-parties/ -- Nothing tests the creativity of your companys personnel like a good old fashioned Halloween decoration contest. Making sure the rules are established, approved and publicized well in advance of the contest, allow employees to use a pre-determined amount of time to decorate their group areas in a manner reflective of Halloween. What the employees come up with tells you something about the people in the group. How well they do it says a lot about their team spirit. Keep an eye out for the informal leaders who emerge during the process.
- Create A Pumpkin-Carving Competition http://www.socreepy.com/2005/09/19/history-of-pumpkin-carving-jack-olanterns/ - This is an excellent teambuilding exercise that says a lot about your employees. By breaking everyone out into impromptu teams and giving them a pumpkin and a time limit, you would be amazed at what people can create together. Make sure it's a level playing field, however, and that everyone has similar pumpkins, the same carving tools and supplies as well as the same number of teammates. Pick impartial judges in advance and watch the creativity fly!
4) Legal Considerations
Despite all your best efforts, it is important to remember that Halloween parties in the workplace could potentially raise legal difficulties such as potential discrimination, harassment and safety issues.
Possible legal issues include:
- Concerns about workplace violence. In this age of heightened sensitivity to workplace violence, an employee coming to work wearing a mask, carrying a toy gun and making jokes about hurting people could leave the company open to legal difficulties. Your human resources department should make clear that certain types of costumes or props such as fake weapons are not appropriate.
- Sexual harrassment. You should also establish ground rules for sexy" costumes to avoid offending anyone in the office.
- E-mail harassment in the guise of holiday pranks. Workers who send obscene or threatening e-mails as Halloween jokes might expose employers to legal problems. Make sure your company policy already addresses such activity, and remind everyone of this before the Halloween party begins.
- Decorations that could be viewed as indicative of a hostile working environment. That Freddy Krueger poster you hang over your desk might get lots of compliments, but it could also inspire an HR complaint.
- Policies on time away from the workplace. Your company should review existing rules governing short absences from work. If you plan to let employees bring children to participate in celebrations, be prepared to answer employees questions about whether they must take vacation time to pick up and bring their children or whether the time will be covered in other ways.
- Religious accommodation. Some employees, such as followers of the Celtic-based religion Wicca, might consider Halloween itself a religious holiday. Employers could get into trouble if those employees request the day off as a religious holiday and the employers do not accommodate them. Employers should be prepared for this type of request.
5) Ask yourself these questions as your company prepares for its Halloween party.
- Has HR been notified and has management signed off on all festivities?
- Have all arrangements been made?
- Have all notifications to the employees been sent in a timely manner?
- Does the company handbook or written policies address all issues that might come up?
- Have employees been given the opportunity not to participate?
- Are all decorations and food offerings safe and within guidelines set by fire codes and company policies?
- Are all HR people in the office for the duration of the festivities?
If the answer to all of the above questions is YES, your company is ready to sponsor a safe and successful office Halloween party. Happy Halloween! http://www.socreepy.com
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