“Party ’til you puke” is NOT a good career strategy.
It can be challenging, though, if you only equate drinking at social gatherings with getting drunk in order to have a good time. It should be obvious that losing control of your actions is going to have repercussions the following week when you are working with these people, but let’s go over the reason for office parties before I share this great way to control your alcohol intake.
The Purpose of Office Parties
Businesses will provide opportunities for coworkers to get together in a less-business setting because it’s good for morale. Everybody can relax a bit, the divisions between boss and worker are softened, and people will be more productive when there are some friendships going on. These are networking events, to be honest. This is the time you can talk to the CEO without an appointment, or discover a shared interest with your manager. It’s also a relaxed time to know you are appreciated, since most gatherings are hosted by the company.
But the business gathering is still a business gathering and unprofessional behavior will cost you big time since it affects the way you are perceived. You need to know your etiquette for office holiday parties, and a big part of that is not over drinking. How do you keep from drinking too much?
Choose A Drink That Isn’t Your Favorite
If you are delighted that your favorite cocktail is being served for free, the natural reaction is to get one! And another one! And more! Why? Because it’s your favorite drink and you will just suck it down lovingly and want more. This is setting yourself up for failure. Instead, save the favorite drinks for when you are with friends who don’t care what you act like when you drink.
Choosing a drink that isn’t your favorite means you will drink it slowly. You’ll also be reminded that this is a business function and you have more important things to do than drink.
Of course, I am not suggesting you choose a drink you hate, because then your facial expressions would distract everybody. Pick one you think is okay, just not your favorite. No grimaces, no gulps, just sips and conversation. You’ll have this office party thing down as a success.
It’s that time of year when the holiday parties start popping up on your calendar. Some parties are going to be times to relax and let it all hang out (whatever your particular group of cronies likes to hang out and do), but the office party is a different kind of festive occasion.
Corporate Celebrations Are Career-Oriented
Don’t make the mistake of forgetting about Monday morning when you are in party mode. It’s important to know your etiquette for office holiday parties because everything that happens is remembered and discussed. The party is the company’s way of expressing appreciation for your hard work, but it isn’t an excuse to get drunk or act in ways you will regret.
If you are interested in improving your career, the office party is a great place to make connections with people you would not be able to talk to during normal business operations.
Office Parties Are Networking Opportunities
Think of this occasion as a fancy networking session.
You are dressed up — but make sure you still look like a professional rather than a party animal.
You might be drinking alcohol — but make sure it doesn’t negatively affect your behavior.
The rules are relaxed — so you can talk to the boss or others higher in the organization without an appointment.
You know that there will be memories of the party, so make sure the memories of you are good. Think about that classic 80/20 ratio and plan on listening 80% of the time. You don’t want to wake up the next morning, remember how you acted, and groan. Ask questions, make connections, but don’t monopolize the evening trying to get the boss to notice how great you are. This is a time to be enjoyed, but it also is a time that can be good for your career.
Some industries tolerate a lot more colorful language than others. But even in fields known for cursing, having a foul mouth can cost you big time. Pro football’s Rex Ryan, coach of the Jets, was recently “stunned” that the NFL fined him $100,000 for profanity toward an official. He says he didn’t expect what he thought was a private conversation to result in such a big penalty.
The Things You Say Have An Effect
Probably the language Rex Ryan used was to emphasize what he wanted to say. Then again, maybe he talks like that all the time because he hears it all the time. That old saying, “garbage in, garbage out” definitely comes into play when it comes to our words. So how do we discern when the cost of letting it fly is too high?
Figure out if you have a tendency to use words like the F-bomb without thinking about it. If you don’t realize what your language is like, you already have a problem because your brain isn’t in gear when your mouth is in motion. While it can be argued that an occasional curse word will emphasize a point, that same word littering your sentences is meaningless pollution.
Listen to the way upper level management speaks. If your industry doesn’t condone salty language, your saltiness will keep you from advancing. Swearing around the boss is far more offensive when the boss doesn’t ever swear at work. There might be lots of it tossed around the cubicles, but if management doesn’t do it, then you shouldn’t either.
How do you express frustration or anger to a colleague? A raging rant full of expletives might be a venting mechanism, but it isn’t solving any problems. If all you do is curse the darkness, your contribution is negative. But lighting a candle — working on a solution — shows you have something valuable to offer.
The language we use is part of who we are, but it can give the hearer a negative impression of how you will be in a higher-level position. That false impression is why the language of our lifestyle can ruin a career opportunity. It would be a shame to let it happen to you.
There’s something that can cut deep into the benefit of changing jobs.
Before you actually look for new employment, make sure you understand the benefits you currently have, like health insurance, and how those will be affected. Health insurance is a complicated thing so you have to be aware of how a job change changes your status. In a recent survey, almost a quarter of the respondents said that their insurance benefits and out-of-pocket expenses worsened their financial situation more than anticipated.
That survey is cited in an article at the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) consumer site, Insure U. Job Seekers Beware: Prospective employer’s financial offer is about more than salary is part of some very helpful resources on Job Change that would be good to keep in mind.
NAIC Recommendations For Job Changers
To avoid surprises, consider the following before saying goodbye to a current employer:
See if your current group life insurance plan has a conversion privilege. If so, you may have up to 31 days after leaving your job to apply for coverage.
Find out if you can convert current group disability coverage into a portable disability plan that stays with you from job to job.
If your job change includes a move, check your homeowners’ policy to make sure personal possessions are covered in-transit. If not, consider a trip transit or floater policy.
Insurance rates and coverage vary greatly from state to state. Before a move across state lines, contact your state insurance department so you know what to expect.
Before accepting a new job, compare your current health plan with plans offered to assure the available mix of deductibles, co-pays and coinsurance will cost-effectively meet your needs.
Find out if your new employer has a mandatory waiting period before health insurance coverage takes effect. If so, consider a short-term plan through new health insurance exchanges to cover the gap. More than 10% of NAIC survey respondents said their overall financial situation was worsened by issues related to “the effective date of new health insurance coverage.”
If you have children and anticipate a coverage gap, you may also look into government-sponsored programs such as Children’s Health Insurance Plans (CHIP). These plans may provide coverage at low or no cost.
Finally, if you’re thinking of starting your own business and plan to use your personal car to make deliveries or visit clients, consider business auto coverage. If you’re involved in an accident while conducting these tasks, most personal auto policies won’t cover the losses.
One More Thing To Think About
Before you decide to search for a different job, get acquainted with all the job search resources on our site. You don’t have to explore each one, but the more you know about what you are getting into, the better prepared you will be for making that switch. Something as elementary as health insurance gets missed by many in the promise of a bigger paycheck, so plan carefully.
Do you ever feel like “Casual Friday” in the summer months is like looking at an artistic photo that’s supposed to mean something? The problem is, everyone interprets that meaning in a slightly different way. Business Casual is tricky anyway (the link is to all the blogs on this site that address the subject), but summer heat and vacation mode seem to make “casual” more important than “business” for a lot of us. The problem is that the wrong kind of casual keeps you from being taken seriously.
Break The Code In Your Workplace
It doesn’t really matter what anybody else says about how to dress in the workplace. Really. What matters to you is the written and unwritten dress code that is being used right now where you actually work. So start with the written code — ask for a copy of the official “how to dress for this workplace” dress code that Human Resources should have on paper.
Now take that paper home and pull out everything in your wardrobe that works within the guidelines. Some people even keep their work wardrobe separate from their non-work wardrobe so that mornings are easier on business days. Figure out a basic “work uniform” that will be the foundation of what you wear all the time. Many suggest switching out only one thing on casual days to lighten up the look but stay professional.
Having the written code down lets you evaluate the unwritten code you see around you at work. Notice who is showing a lot of skin, and who is wearing flip flops — what positions do these people hold? Unless you work at a scuba diving shop on the beach, it’s probably not your boss. Every company has a culture, and the clothes we wear reflect the culture. But every company also has a hierarchy and the clothes we wear send signals about where we see ourselves in that hierarchy. If you want to break the code for your workplace, pay attention to what your supervisors and the higher-ups are wearing. You’ll start to see that those who are taken seriously at their job take their wardrobe — even summertime casual Fridays — seriously, too.
There is a great workplace stress-reliever available to most of us, and it is absolutely free.You don’t have to pay any membership fees, you don’t need expensive equipment, and you probably can do it on your next lunch break. Can you guess what it is? Take a walk outside.
Not much of a secret, I know, but most of us don’t do what we already know is a good idea. The benefits of doing this simple thing are big, though, so think through some of your objections and see how to add a walk outside to your day:
park far away so you have to walk to get to work
have a walking meeting with a co-worker or two (more than three gets awkward)
walk inside in bad weather; it’s better than not walking at all
take a walk when you are stuck on a project so you can ruminate on solutions
walk a little bit if you can’t walk much
This is one of the easiest things you can do to reduce your workplace stress, and it’s free. You may have to bring some shoes from home and switch into them, but that’s about it. Your health will improve, your attitude will improve, and you come back inside with a fresh take on problems. What’s the alternative? Sitting at your desk stewing over things, your thoughts chasing each other like hamsters on a wheel and not going anyplace, your body settling into a blob of unhealthiness. So get up, go outside, and take a walk. It’s free, it’s good for you, and it gets rid of some of that stress.
You know when your car needs a tune up.The engine stops running smoothly, there’s a few sputters and jerks when you take off, and the cloud of exhaust doesn’t look good. If you just keep moving, the problem doesn’t go away — it gradually gets worse and eventually you aren’t going anywhere. Your car needs that tune up or there will be permanent damage. Your career can be the same way. You gradually become aware that something isn’t “right” but you aren’t sure what it is. You keep plugging away at your job and things start to sputter. Eventually you realize that you aren’t going anywhere. What should you do before there’s permanent damage to your future? One logical thing to do is give your career a tune up; looking at the overall picture of your job history and current position, checking your skills to see if they are current, evaluating the things that need to change and figuring out how to change them. You could do this yourself with research and advice from experts. Of course, you’d be trying to figure out which experts to heed and what to research, but it can be done. People who have expertise with engines can easily do their own tune ups because they know what to prioritize. Career tune ups can be challenging because most of us don’t know which one of the little issues is the most important in the long run. This is where investing in the right coaching services can make the difference between a career that goes nowhere and one that takes off. So, how do you pick the right coach? It’s a lot like picking the right mechanic. You look for experience, certifications, and happy customers. You might try them out by having a small job done and see how you fit with their personality because that will matter to you over time. The credentials aren’t just pieces of paper; they represent completion of strict standards that can be verified. Career coaches work the same way. We offer Coaching Services in three different packages and an a la carte selection that pretty much guarantees you will find help for your career. Just like the professional mechanics, we have listed the credentials so you can verify them and be confident you are getting help from the best. Your career will get the tune up it needs, attention to the places you need help in and the help will be there. Pretty soon your career will be humming smoothly and you will take off!
If “networking” isn’t working for you, maybe you need to change your ideas about what networking actually is.
Networking means different things to different people. For some, networking is that mysterious executive function only done by the upper tiers of a corporation. For others, networking is connecting regularly with friends for lunch. Networking to the tech team involves software and hardware and creative solutions to computer glitches. All the definitions of networking include the basic concept of interconnecting individual parts. That interconnection creates the larger unit we call a network…and your own definition of networking is influenced by what you see “the network” is in relation to you. Do you think that you have no place in a network? Think again:
are you part of a family?
do you see people during the week?
do you communicate with anyone using some sort of technology?
Each one of those points is a networking opportunity. You are already part of some type of network, and you probably are part of several different networks. The workplace, job searches, religious affiliations, family, even regularly attended locations like a coffeeshop or online social media are networks. If you don’t recognize them as such, then the challenge is to change the way you interact with your networks so that you improve your part of the process. Learn more about what you can do to improve your networking. This can mean everything from deliberately listening when folks talk to you to investing in professional coaching like The Job Search Success System. Subscribe to blogs like this one, as well as to those relating to your interests. Comment on those blogs; that back-and-forth interaction is the foundation of networking. At its most basic level, networking is the acknowledgement that we do not function in isolation. We are part of networks in every area of our lives: from transportation and supply systems…to the way you are reading this post…with all the people your life touches in between. What you do within your networks makes a difference in your future and the future of those around you.
