"Tis the season to be jolly." It is not the season to be stupid! After twenty years in human resources, it still boggles my mind that some adults lack the restraint to behave properly at a company sponsored holiday party. Managers have been terminated for getting drunk and making a pass at the boss's wife or a subordinate. I attended a party and was called to the side. "There are some employees in the parking lot smoking weed" I was told. My goodness, couldn't they just behave for one night?! At another event, I was called into duty because the establishment personnel felt one of our employees had too much to drink. He wasn't belligerent or acting weird; he just had a half dozen drinks. I was asked to tell him he was being cut off for the remainder of the evening. I did and also made sure he had a designated driver. To the casual observer, you wouldn't know he was under the influence. But alcohol impairs judgment and reaction time. He was gracious and said he understood.

So what not to do at the holiday party? Get Drunk. Tell off color jokes. Take advantage of the mistletoe to kiss, grope or feel up another employee; fall down on the dance floor and have your lovely holiday dress end up over your head. (yes, it happened.) Display behaviors that back in the light of the office will still have people gawking and talking. You don't want to be that person. At least in the case of the people that really went over board, they were fired. You would have the humiliation of still working there.

"Tis the season to be jolly." A good time can be had without placing yourself in a precarious situation. We are adults: behave accordingly. Happy Holidays!

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