It’s regarded as the best way to let your hair down after a grueling week at the office, but the classic work social is different to the typical evening that you might be used to with the lads (or lasses, in other cases).
This is where you’re meant to have fun, but with sensibility being high on the agenda. Whether you are venturing to some of the highly-regarded Covent Garden pubs or looking slightly further afield, the rules stay the same. Let’s now take a look at four things that you should not do, under any circumstances, if you are hoping to get through this next event unscathed.
Rule #1 – Don’t invite non-work friends
Whether or not this event has been organised by the company or not, this first rule will always exist. Sure, your colleagues might not always be your first port of call for a social event, but on this occasion, you have committed to them and inviting others along is a definite no-go.
As the night progresses, it might become more acceptable to meet with non-work friends. However, first and foremost, this is for work colleagues – and inviting others is almost regarded as being disrespectful.
Rule #2 – Don’t use it as an opportunity to complain about colleagues
You’re not sat behind your desk, so your guard might be lower than it usually is. However, even though the setting is different, don’t use this as an opportunity to complain about management or colleagues.
Firstly, this is work-talk, and this is something that you should not be engaging in through the course of the evening. Secondly, you don’t know who is friends with who, or who might be listening in on your conversation. Let’s not forget that as these evenings grow longer, voices tend to get louder and before you know it, your entire department knows that you don’t like Joe in Finance.
Rule #3 – Don’t be the antisocial one
Hopefully, we don’t need to say too much about this point. Suffice to say; there’s little point in attending one of these events if you are just going to sit in the corner and not make an effort. Let’s not forget that on the most part, they are optional, so just standing around and not making any form of small talk is a pure waste of time. Not only that, but it’s not something that gives the greatest impression to co-workers either.
Rule #4 – Don’t drink too much
Let’s save the most famous rule until the very end. Again, it doesn’t matter if this has been arranged by the company or not; getting too drunk is another no-go area on these social events. Unfortunately, there have been far too many cases of this prompting disastrous results for employees.
It all revolves around the fact that you don’t quite know who talks to who, and you also don’t quite know what you are doing when you have had a little too much to drink. When the points are added together, the results can be explosive – and this is the last thing you need if word gets back to the bosses about how the work social panned out.