Don’t Cancel Secret Santa

Image via Wikipedia

It seems like everywhere I turn I am hearing about companies that have decided to cancel their holiday parties this year.  Citing dropping stock prices, sinking revenues, overall economy worries, etc., organizations of all sizes and types are joining the trend. Even companies that are doing well are forgoing the yearly festivities because they would be “inappropriate” or “insensitive” in this time of RIFs and layoffs. Apparently scaling down from previous year’s party is not enough--the whole tradition has to go.

I’m here to call b^llshit on this decision.

Celebrating the holiday season has a very human basis to it that is independent of whether these are good times or bad. It’s no coincidence that every major religion has a holiday in the depth of winter--it’s so people don’t lose it and kill each other when they only get 5 hours of daylight (look it up). Ok, I’m obviously no anthropologist but my point is a good one--companies can’t treat a traditional event, even one as unnatural and stilted as subjecting everyone’s spouse to your drunken co-founder’s reflections on “08,”   like a reward for good performance. You spend so much time around these people during the year that it is seriously therapeutic to get a quick peak into who they spend all their other time with--and what they are like while half-in-the-bag. I understand not wanting to insult RIF’d employees, but what about your current employees? Doesn’t their morale count? What about all the local businesses that depend on an uptick in business around the holidays?

Bono via last.fm

Sure you have to be sensitive to budgetary concerns but that should mean scale back, not phase out. Jigsaw had two parties this year, one for each office. Given the trajectory we are on as a company this would have been the year to get both offices together and really blow it out. But we are trying to get profitable so we kept them separate and only our CEO attended both events. Maybe this year Google can’t fly their entire company to Aruba and have Bono play Christmas requests, but surely they can slum at the Oracle Arena and get a local musician (maybe Metallica?) If your office got pummeled this year then just gather everyone on a Friday afternoon for food – go pot luck if necessary.

Of course I would suggest booze, but that’s your call. Just do something