Source // giphy
With the holiday season upon us, work Christmas parties are in full swing. People dressed up in costumes where you can’t quite figure out the theme, booked-out venues and dinner tables filled with people who don’t quite seem like a family are all common signs. Office Christmas parties are a notorious mix of slight awkwardness, seeing colleagues in a different light after they’ve had a few glasses and waiting for the debrief the next day. Here are the five types of people you’ll most likely come across at these parties...or maybe you’re one of them.
1. The ‘Who-Are-You-Again’
You are almost one hundred percent certain that you have never seen this person at your workplace before. Yet somehow they are at your office Christmas party, and not as someone’s plus one. Some people seem to know them - but you don’t. Could they be new? Maybe they're the new legal secretary. Unless you’re certain, it’s probably best to avoid them otherwise you risk a conversation that will most likely go something like this:
You: “Are you new here?”
Unknown person: “No, I’ve been here for five years.”
You: “Oh.”
*twiddles thumbs*
Source // giphy
2. The ‘Hayyyy-Have-I-Ever-Told-You-How-Awesome-You-Are-and-I-Just-Love-You’
There’s always that one person (or several people) who have had too much to drink. They sashay up to you saying “hayyyyyyyyyyyy”, start telling you how much they love you and the words ‘personal space’ start to mean nothing. The culprits are usually the reserved ones yet come Christmas party time, they want to kick on and find the afterparty.
Source // giphy
3. The ‘Gossip-Goat’
You can usually find this person in the bathrooms or tucked away in a corner with a glass of wine in hand, gossiping over who did what, who’s wearing what and who’s talking to who. Their status as gossip goat usually extends past the actual party and the next day, you can find them giving everyone in the office who will listen, their take on last night’s partay. They live by the adage ‘gossip brings people closer together’.
Source // giphy
4. The ‘Did-You-Get-My-Email’
You’re having a great time and enjoying yourself, when your colleague comes up to you, starts off with some small talk then asks, “did you get my email?”. They take your non-response as a silent nod to them to keep talking to you about all things work-related. Precedents, who's getting promoted, the seminar they went to last week. Ugh. #don’tkillmyvibe
Source // giphy
5. The ‘I-Just-Don’t-Feel-Appreciated’
I don’t know what it is - maybe it’s the party setting that makes people feel like it’s okay for them to open up about everything. They start telling you first about their problems at work and their thoughts on the billing system before it escalates to issues with their significant other, their friends and even their cat. The general consensus seems to be that they don’t feel appreciated enough. Best to hear them out and give them some reassurance.
Source // giphy
Hopefully, you make it out of your work Christmas party with no awkward moments, but we all know that’s not going to happen. Happy holidays, folks.
Enjoyed this post? Sign up for the Survive Law weekly newsletter for more.
Comments