Study Says 22% Will Participate in Virtual Holiday Office Party

According to Digital Hub, the office Holiday party is going virtual in a big way this year. Smirnoff commissioned the study and spoke to 2,000 employed adults to gather results. 22% of the study participants say they will take part in a digital/COVID safe version of an office holiday party.

In addition, the study reveals that 44% of employees think it's important that the year end with some sort of a celebration. 16% say they will arrange a holiday quiz to enhance the festivities.

My company is offering a couple things if I am hearing right. Apparently, we will have one of these virtual parties available to us. This will come complete with games I don't want to play and the smiling faces of people I don't know from outside my market. Let's call that one a hard pass for me.

The other thing we are doing is a small, private, outdoor party for my market only. This is right up my alley. For starters, just like Elsa from "Frozen," the cold never bothered me anyway. Second, I get to talk with people I know and tell them how much I appreciate what we all went through together this year. My people work stupid hard and play just as hard so I know we will have a nice time.

I do believe an end of year party is important just like the 44% in the study. You need to acknowledge the hard work you have all done together and get a brief moment to enjoy these people for the people they are and not the worker.

Everyone needs to take a deep breath and sometimes a collective one. The virtual party is not for me. It lacks the intimacy that I require in a social gathering, plus you don't get to gamble on who will misbehave.

For years, I've done this at every company Christmas party I've ever been to. I take a few minutes to gather in a corner with my closest work friends and make wagers on things like:

Who will have the record for the most inappropriate "touches" of the night? We all know there is one person who touches the small of someone's back when they don't need to. The lip kiss when they could cheek kiss and they are down to do some old school Dirty Dancing like Patrick F'---- Swayze. If you have two or more of these people, you have got one hell of a fun game to play.
Count the drinks - You count the drinks of a select field based on reputation. The field is set from people who either typically drink too much or those who count their spouses drinks. The "spouse count" is worth three points to every one point for the "drink count" of your resident booze bag.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! Have a lame time in your virtual lame-o party. I'll be outside sipping on a cocktail, eating pizza and staring at Ethan Carey like a hawk to see how many lower back touches he can squish into a three hour gathering.