The holidays have always been an ideal time to get intoxicated and do embarrassing things that cause irreparable harm to important relationships. I am a big advocate these days for sober parties," said Harris Stratyner, an addiction psychologist and regional clinical vice president at the New York offices of Caron Treatment Centers, a nonprofit drug and alcohol addiction treatment provider. "I think you have to be a fool in this economic zeitgeist to consume alcohol at a holiday business party and risk the chance of doing something that raises eyebrows from your business superiors.
DEAR ABBY: I have a problem that happens once a year - my birthday at work. There's a huge potluck with cake, banners, gifts and a card that has been circulating around the office for a week. I cringe at the attention. Everyone means well, but these celebrations are pure torture for me. I'm a 7-year-old all over again, trying my best to keep the anxiety and waterworks in check. It goes back to my childhood. Growing up, we were very poor, and my parents made it clear that sacrifices had been made for my "big day," which always ended up with me guilt-ridden and in tears.
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A young woman sits down to dinner at a fancy steakhouse. It's her first full-time job and first office holiday party. She and her colleagues are downing cocktails and suddenly she's pinned against a bathroom wall by an older male colleague, fending off his unwanted advances. Such stories and ones with much more dire consequences are all too common this time of year, when companies hold their annual holiday parties. According to Lisa M. Friel, Vice President and Head of the Sexual Misconduct Consulting and Investigations division at T&M Protection Resources, incidents of sexual misconduct at office functions can place employees and businesses at tremendous risk.
It isn't at all that Martina Schramm doesn't like her co- workers, doesn't appreciate the thought, or is an inherent party pooper. The reason she doesn't like celebrating her birthday at work is because there's something forced -- and occasionally juvenile -- about it, like whenever someone grouses over not getting as good a party as someone else. "Everyone forgets that we're adults now," she says. She also doesn't love it because even though it's her birthday, the party isn't really for her. If she had her druthers, she wouldn't have one, and she has said as much. "Since everyone gets a party," Schramm says, "this request gets ignored." So in the two years she's been at her investment firm, she has asked for the day off.
Hide the lampshades - office parties are back. Companies are getting back in the holiday spirit this year after four years of scaled-back gatherings after the September 11 terrorist attacks and a humdrum economy.
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