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AIBU?

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Original poster

To find christmas work parties a bit sleazy. . .

101 replies

hilzypop · 06/12/2015 22:17

Do you? I happy to be shouted down on this but I am starting to wonder. . .I have been to a few of these bring a party to a party things and a few work leaving doos and I find everyone gets a bit carried away. Men who I usually like and respect start to get a bit over friendly and give me the creeps by being a bit touchy feely or a bit personal. Then there is the dancing- two members of staff basically simulated a sex act on the dance floor- the sleazy music that was being played didnt help we had getting giggy with it sex bomb sex is on fire do u think Im sexy! Im no prude but its a bit cringe! I've also been to a party where u had to play games like pass the balloon etc which all got a bit ick as well. I love the chance to socialise with work people but it always gets weird, I see it as an extension of work in a way and wouldnt want to get too pissed and do someting I regretted!

OP posts:
Pico2 · 07/12/2015 12:45

I've seen some grim things at Christmas parties (not in my current job). They fall into the 'I had a great night, I drank so much that I can't remember anything' culture that I really don't understand.

Vinorosso74 · 07/12/2015 12:47

I've usually found it'seems the younger ones who do all the flirting and snogging and that includes me in my younger days.
There are sometimes attention seekers doing the sexy dancing. Mostly it is drunken fun though often one person who has too much.
However one job I had a number of years back had eventful parties. One year there was a full on fight when we came out and the police came along. Another year a couple went off and were up to "something" they fell through a ceiling resulting in the girl breaking her leg.

JimmyGreavesMoustache · 07/12/2015 12:47

ours are fine
we are predominantly middle aged (I am the second youngest at 37) and predominantley female (i think 1 man to every 4 women).
so we usually have a meal out, followed by slightly too much bad pub wine, and then everyone gets the last tram home. I usually make a bit of a dick of myself by talking drunken shite all night, but I remain respectable nevertheless.

FreeWorker1 · 07/12/2015 12:48

If you have ever watched the film The Wolf of Wall Street. That's what our Xmas parties were like. Grim.

AlpacaPicnic · 07/12/2015 12:52

We had ours last week... an average dinner in a carvery followed by a pub quiz and everyone leaving by 10.30pm. Nobody gets too drunk because everyone drives.
Plus we are all women and I'm the youngest at nearly 40.

Occasionally we go dancing. We mostly storm the dance floor to 80s classics then need a bit of a sit down because of our knees/hips/backs.

squoosh · 07/12/2015 12:54

Ours are never sleazy.

Nice meal, lots of free booze, lots of very bad dancing. And that's about it.

My scandal radar is always turned up to 10 but there's rarely so much as a snog between two single staff members.

Titsalinabumsquash · 07/12/2015 13:05

DP's is a dinner this year followed by a pub crawl, he'll be leaving after the dinner. (His choice before anyone tells me I'm being controlling Wink) he doesn't usually go at all but he's agreed to a meal and that's it, even though the directors have all asked him his drink of choice so they can y him with it, he's teetotal so that won't work well Hmm

vladthedisorganised · 07/12/2015 13:15

YANBU.

DH's firm seem to go for the 'everyone gets incredibly drunk' approach. Apparently last year half of the firm were banned from a hotel as they'd wrecked the place: those that remained at the venue were passing out on the dancefloor and throwing up in the street. DH and one of his mates spent the time switching the soundtrack, since they felt the now comatose directors were too pissed to know whether the best of Rod Stewart was being played or not..

At the other extreme, we had a lunch out with the MD which was restrained and buttock-clenchingly awkward. Nobody wanted to say anything controversial, so nothing at all was said until someone came up with a stilted "So! Anyone else redecorating their dining room at the moment?"

PurpleHairAndPearls · 07/12/2015 13:15

Free worker I was coming on to say one of my employers was similar to the Wolf of Wall Street GrinThe police had to attend the last Christmas party! Shock

When DH was a SAHD I used to take him out for a meal and call it his Christmas party (my God we are sad) We were making plans to get drunk and shag over the photocopier but the closest we could find was the PC printer in the DCs' room. So it wasn't a goer Smile

notquitehuman · 07/12/2015 14:30

I've never been to an office party that's been in an actual office. I feel like I've missed out on photocopying my arse, but that seems more of a pre-smartphone era thing.

reni2 · 07/12/2015 14:58

Office parties inside the actual office are the worst. Nothing spreads festive cheer like seeing the harassed and stressed secretary looking still harassed and stressed but also drunk and wearing a paper crown. Or the leery bullyboy boss still being leery but now pissed and reading out cracker jokes instead of barking orders.

The tristesse is unbelievable and since they tended to be in working hour one would have to take annual leave (frowned upon on party day) to avoid.

FreeWorker1 · 07/12/2015 16:32

At my last office party they bussed in 2 coach loads of escort girls to entertain the men. I think this was designed to prevent them harassing the secretaries and hence prevent any office scandals.

The initiative abjectly failed though as the party still made the national newspapers for all the wrong reasons.

At another place I worked somebody decided to arrive at a party by driving a landrover straight through the front window of a very famous London hotel.

squoosh · 07/12/2015 16:33
Shock

What industry do you work in FreeWorker?

squoosh · 07/12/2015 16:34

Investment banking?

Daisysbear · 07/12/2015 16:48

Freeworker

Has you organisation ever considered cancelling the Christmas party Shock

notquitehuman · 07/12/2015 16:58

Is it wrong that I want to go to Freeworker's christmas party? Shock

FreeWorker1 · 07/12/2015 16:59

Commodity trading. It made investment banking look staid. Some of the stuff that happened was simply unprintable.

squoosh · 07/12/2015 16:59

I'll be your plus one notquitehuman.

notquitehuman · 07/12/2015 17:00

Is it wrong that I want to go to Freeworker's christmas party? Shock

FreeWorker1 · 07/12/2015 17:02

Commodity trading. It made investment banking look staid. Some of the stuff that happened was simply unprintable.

I should add I left that world a long time ago and have been a SAHD for well over a decade.

FreeWorker1 · 07/12/2015 17:08

notquitehuman - there is other stuff but its unprintable. I should add I left that world a long time ago and have been a SAHD for the last decade.

toffeeboffin · 07/12/2015 17:14

I want to go to a commodity trading party!

toffeeboffin · 07/12/2015 17:21

I want to go to a commodity trading party!

x2boys · 07/12/2015 17:36

ours were always sleazy [ i,m a nurse] there was always someone shagging someone they shouldnt be shagging, i,m nt working now and havent been to an xmas do in about ten yrs but they are still the same by all accounts.

thelouise · 07/12/2015 18:33

I am very thankful that I work in a predominantly female professional. We eat good food, drink a few cocktails and just chat. No pressure, no sleaze. That said, I work at a local authority, so scandal rarely happens.

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