It is official. Being that person who struggles to muster enthusiasm for workplace "fun" activities, including the office Christmas party, is OK.
Some reports on the case have gone as far as saying the worker, who was a senior adviser at a consultancy firm, has been granted the right to be boring.
The fun culture of the firm was no fun for the man dubbed Mr T in the court documents (not to be confused with the actor in the television series The A-Team). He reportedly refused to take part in seminars and weekend social events which his lawyers said involved excessive alcohol consumption and humiliating and intrusive practices, including mock sexual acts and crude nicknames.
He challenged his dismissal, which was supposedly for professional incompetence, and was eventually awarded about $NZ5000 compensation by the French Court of Cassation. It found Mr T was entitled to refuse to participate in work social activities. Such behaviour was a fundamental freedom and not grounds for dismissal.
The court considered an employee was entitled to their freedom of expression and forcing them to partake in fun was a violation of their private life.
Any reluctant starter for "fun" team-building activities, particularly when the relevance of such events is obscure, will be quietly applauding that idea.
Team-building programmes are big business and, while participants might question their benefit, they have provided great comedy opportunities.
Among them was an episode devoted to a management retreat in the late John Clarke’s brilliant mockumentary series about the staging of the Sydney Olympics, The Games. Unsurprisingly, John and his offsider Gina treated the team building with disdain. One activity required participants to release the animal within. While others prowled around, the script says the pair managed "to express the inner animal without resorting to movement". Such rebellion.
Here, we do not hear much about subtle and not so subtle pressure to join the fun of the office Christmas do, but plenty about those behaving badly at the annual shindig.
Such shenanigans might provoke laughter or outrage. The tampering with two hired model sheep at a $26,000 Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Christmas bash a few years ago hit the headlines, along with concern about the cost of the event. It turned out the unspecified damage to the sheep cost $745 to repair, which allowed the then Opposition spokesman for economic development David Clark to claim taxpayers were being fleeced for something which was sheer nonsense, although he mercifully stopped short of saying ‘bah, humbug’.
There can be more serious consequences to employment relationships from party excesses, even leading to dismissal should an employee’s antics bring the employer into disrepute.
Workplace relations specialists Employsure’s head of health and safety Felix Young points out employers also have a duty of care to their employees at work-related events such as the Christmas party.
Staff should be reminded of the standards of conduct at such events before the party.
Proper planning should ensure the party does not turn into "a horror story littered with alcohol-fuelled incidents that can leave everyone mortified. It’s challenging pulling off a great event without enabling unruly staff behaviour that could potentially have long-term consequences for the business, professional relationships and individual careers".
He cautions against offering an open bar, pointing out it is no coincidence some of the biggest Christmas party disasters originated from open-bar sessions which were a recipe for over-indulgence.
This December, with reported Covid-19 cases increasing by thousands a day and still rising, along with admissions to hospital, dedicated party poopers might have good reason to avoid even the most well-planned party if it involves a cramped indoor setting with poor ventilation. Better to be a well wowser than a Christmas Covid cracker.
