Christmas is cancelled this year…

Bring back the office Christmas party!

I have just been reading a blog post on the Sydney Morning Herald (read it here) about businesses either scaling back their work Christmas parties or not having them at all. This time last year the parties were still in full swing, fancy invites, catering, free grog and prizes. Employees could feel hard done by and would want some kind of celebration to feel appreciated however the reality is that businesses are doing it very tough this year and will do especially in the first quarter in 2009.

According to Prushka Fast Debt Recovery chief executive Roger Mendelson ”Our statistics show the business sector is under greater stress and we expect more businesses to go into insolvency in 2009 with a spike in the first quarter,” he said.

One of the main things for larger businesses according to smartcompany.com.au “experts in the areas of human resources, brand management and organisational psychology have warned that cutting back too hard on Yuletide cheer can hurt your company’s brand and damage staff morale.” Looking for that quick slashing of costs can put a damper on a large organisations image.

When it comes to small business though, cutting the Christmas festivities could be the most obvious thing to do, just don’t forget your employees, your staff need to feel appreciated even if it’s something small.

In our organisation Christmas just doesn’t seem to feel right this year. The jolliness has gone from the atmosphere. Don’t get me wrong we still celebrate here, but the usual invitations to Christmas parties are non-existent as the squeeze continues.