'Merry Christmas, You're Fired!' Holiday Office Parties from Hell

Dec. 1, 2006 — -- The annual office holiday party conjures images of drunk coworkers, uncomfortable "secret Santa" gift exchanges, cringe-worthy karaoke and awkward business blather.

Most people escape unscathed, relieved that the annual ordeal is over. But stories about employees who don't behave are passed around long after the party is over; besides the embarrassment, drunken antics can even jeopardize their careers.

Nicole Chavas, 25, an accountant for a financial services firm in Chicago, had only been working at her new job for a few months before her office party.

"Since I'm a bit shy, I was hoping the party would be a good way to loosen up and get to know my coworkers better," Chavas said. "Of course, when there's an open bar beginning at 4 p.m., wanting to 'loosen up' became 'getting wasted and losing all inhibitions.'"

As the night progressed and Chavas got more and more inebriated, she called her boss' work phone number and had a co-worker leave a message for the boss saying that she wouldn't be making it into work the next day.

"He promptly left some rambling message about how 'Nicole is probably going to call in sick. You work her too hard. She needs a vacation anyway,'" she said.

When Chavas did return to work, she was, understandably, embarrassed, but even more so when her department serenaded her by playing back the several messages she left for her boss.

"Later, to add insult to injury, pictures from the party were released and there were two of me downing a glass of wine, which was promptly printed and displayed on my coworker's wall for several months," she said. "Luckily, everyone was relatively good-natured about the whole thing."

One of the most obvious office party faux pas is overindulging at the company-funded open bar. Typically the formula goes something like this: take an office full of coworkers, add alcohol. Hilarity ensues.

That's certainly what happened with Chavas, and she's not alone. A recent survey conducted by a professional women's group found that drinking too much was the number one regret of women at their office parties. Sixty percent of the women surveyed changed their opinion of a co-worker after witnessing mojito-fueled hijinks.