How Work Holiday Parties Help Employee Productivity


From an outsider perspective, work holiday parties may seem needless, however, this is not the case. The truth is, such festivities are so incredibly crucial to the productivity of any company by focusing on the employees. Employees and managers should understand the importance of these parties and learn how to best implement them to unlock their full potential.

How work holiday parties help employeeOpens in a new tab. productivity? It gives a morale boost to everyone, it represents the preferred culture of the company and it unites office subcultures. Also, enables employees to interact with executives and team leaders and provides an excellent opportunity for the employer to appreciate and recognize hard-working employees for what they’ve done throughout the year.

In most cases, the holiday work parties are known for being cliché and normal interactions between employees while enjoying a meal and some music. This has created a portrayal of these parties as boring, uninteresting and awkward by the company. This type of portrayal and stigma creates a discouraging feeling from which many individuals will decide to not attend. There is a good reason why this culture has been maintained. It’s because many work holiday parties are focused mostly on the sociological impacts of company employees’ festivals.

However, there is more that these parties offer than just allowing employees to socialize, although that is one of the main goals. Whenever your team comes together, they can commemorate mutual accomplishments, celebrate work relationships hence promoting unity among employees while strengthening workplace bonds. Employees can also reduce stress and boost contentment levels while breaking up daily lives monotony with fun and life aspects. Thus, work-oriented holiday parties can facilitate aptitude and enthusiasm.

That said, it’s important to focus on what you want the office party to achieve in your employees’ work culture and productivity before you decide to throw one. Having a clear goal in mind helps you map the best way to achieve said goal, however, before even choosing a goal you must understand ways in which parties themselves are useful. The following are some ways in which holiday work parties can help you boost employees’ productivity.

It Indirectly Represents the Preferred Culture of the Company

Organizing a holiday party for your team ensures that leaders reinforce company culture that’s ideal in a very rewarding and exciting way. This may be especially useful with employees who may have some time under their belt in the company, it’s always good to refresh old ideals and morale. If you are trying to build and sustain a consistent traditional and formal organization culture, you need to organize a high-class company party. You can make it classic by introducing something good like a dress code or making it diverse culture oriented. Consider choosing a theme that is relevant to the casual nature of your company. This will ensure that the party is not just a party, but it can always be tied back to work in some way.

Note that the holiday organization party should not be a platform for changing everyone’s behavior or culture in a single day. However, you can use it as a strong instrument to improve and strengthen any transitions in your organization’s implementation process. As you give small nibbles of change, the company will be more accepting and it will have a more lasting effect over time.

It Unites Office Subcultures

It’s very easy for organization departments or teams to develop subcultures in different organizational meetings, conferences, and parties. Holiday company parties create a perfect atmosphere and opportunity for workers to interact with different people within the company and those affiliated to the company. Having people step out of their bubble helps them gain a newer perspective. In this case, it helps them understand and relate to what might be happening on the other side of the company. It brings in a sign that employees are part of a big family working towards achieving the organization’s targets and goals.

It’s normal for workers to socialize with each other within the workplace environment. Still, it’s more important that you give your employees a chance to interact with co-workers and teams from other sister and affiliate departments. Also, ensure that the work holiday party is more inclusive, and nobody irrespective of responsibility is left out. You need to ensure that everyone is welcome at the party and allowed to socialize with others.

It is Good Opportunities for Employees Recognition

A bigger percentage of those who leave their jobs always quote bad company culture, offering less or no recognition as to what pushed them to leave. It isn’t right to strictly save all the employee recognition for end year parties and events. Still, a work holiday party offers an excellent opportunity for you to appreciate and recognize hard-working employees for what they’ve done throughout the year.

Your way of employee recognition should be relevant to your organization’s culture and your employee needs. For instance, if your organization tend to stress team efforts rather than individual efforts, ensure you recognize team achievements. Alternatively, if you prioritize personal achievements, you could plan something more specificOpens in a new tab., like a prize-giving ceremony.

It Gives a Morale Boost

Towards the end of the year, organization teams and individuals often have the pressure of meeting deadlines. Managers and departmental heads, and team leaders loose ends and push their respective teams harder to meet their annual organizational goals. Even workers of companies with strong organizational culture often lack morale and motivation towards the holidays. The responsibility to keep the morale is on the leaders to make sure their team is meeting expectations.

Holiday parties and gatherings offer a wonderful opportunity for you to have perfect company communication, revitalize your workers. This can be a wonderful opportunity to remind your employees about your company’s greatness and why they should be proud of working for you. The holiday parties are always filled with a lot of enthusiasm, taking advantage of the feelings of the season. Your employees will have a chance to enjoy dance challenges, talent shows, drinking parties, and many more, the sky’s the limit. During those moments, employees get a lot of motivation and morals and gain more confidence in the organization, one of its values. This can also be a great opportunity to gain some momentum to start the next year in the best way possible.

Enables Employees to Interact with Executives and Team Leaders

It’s evident that in many companies (especially larger companies), many employees don’t get a chance to meet their respective bosses. Upper team leaders, management, or members of the executive team’s don’t have an opportunity to interact with every employee on a one on one basis. Having a meetup with a senior member of an organization is a motivating factor for workers. It makes their management seem so much more approachable and personable which creates a better setting for employees to work for them.

If you want to push your corporate culture to include extra trust in your organization’s management and top leadership, it’s more important to give your employees a chance to meet and interactOpens in a new tab. with the top leadership. So, the holiday parties give your employees a fantastic opportunity to meet and know managers, executives in a serene environment away from the busy workplace filled with work-related pressure. Workers are more likely to get motivated as they trust and approve the top leadership more realistically hence facilitating company communication.

Work holiday parties are great in many ways. However, it would be best if you never got it twisted. These parties should never be treated as just a social event. Parties Opens in a new tab.can be good for the employee’s career move. You get the opportunity to interact with colleagues and network with top executives to boost your organization’s productivity, either directly or indirectly. A strong corporate culture can easily be promoted during work-oriented holiday parties. Take a look into your own company setting and plan the best way to have a fun yet productive holiday work party.

Steve Todd

Steve Todd, founder of Open Sourced Workplace and is a recognized thought leader in workplace strategy and the future of work. With a passion for work from anywhere, Steve has successfully implemented transformative strategies that enhance productivity and employee satisfaction. Through Open Sourced Workplace, he fosters collaboration among HR, facilities management, technology, and real estate professionals, providing valuable insights and resources. As a speaker and contributor to various publications, Steve remains dedicated to staying at the forefront of workplace innovation, helping organizations thrive in today's dynamic work environment.

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