While COVID seems like a near-obsolete factor in planning such events this year, economic conditions may put a damper on the further recovery of holiday festivities.
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Last holiday season, workplace parties were rebounding. Bloomberg reported 60% of U.S. companies surveyed planned some sort of in-person gathering, not quite at the pre-COVID level of 75%, but still a big upswing from the previous year when Omicron decimated holiday plans at both work and home. While COVID seems like a near-obsolete factor in planning such events this year, economic conditions may put a damper on the further recovery of holiday festivities. With inflation creating cost-of-living pressures, companies may be less inclined to spend a lot on celebrations. Whether your business hosts a holiday function, in the office or at another venue, there are ways to spread cheer through the season without extravagant spending.
Give. Choose a charitable project to tackle this holiday season as a company. Perhaps planning to spend the day working on boxing up food or gifts for a local drive while enjoying light refreshments can replace a traditional party. Or, if you do host a party for employees, you can givify the event, by pledging to donate a certain dollar amount to a local charity for every employee who attends, suggests giving platform Percent Pledge.
Document. Setting up a photo booth for the few weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is an easy way to make the mood merry and bright. Indeed.com suggests creating your own using wrapping paper, lights, and tinsel. Since inclusive celebrations are a must, photo props should represent the diverse holidays of your workforce. Be sure to ask employees for input. Be sure to create a link for sharing photos.
Remember remote employees. With hybrid and remote work arrangements and large companies with big geographic spread, figuring out how to collectively celebrate is challenging. Rather than a one-time virtual event, which smacks of the COVID-19 era, consider creating an online forum for sharing fun holiday content. The Enterprise League suggests a Slack channel for sharing festive videos and photos; a similar idea could be applied to your platform of choice.
