Firms Lift Morale Without Holiday Parties
Dec. 16, 2002 -- Longer Lunches, a Seattle-based networking group for free-lancers and consultants from different industries, held a "No-Company Company Holiday Party" last week for its 100 members who didn't have a company party of their own to attend.
Almost 300 people showed up.
A $10 cover charge bought champagne for the first 150 guests, hors d'oeuvres, wine tasting, live music and $5 drink specials for a club full of free-lancers who didn't have a corporate holiday function to attend this year. But people whose companies weren't holding parties also came along.
Longer Lunches founder Liz Kiley, who was surprised by the robust turnout, says she decided to throw the event after discovering that many of the clients from her marketing business weren't celebrating the holidays.
"I must have hit 100 companies and they all said we're not doing a party this year," says Kiley. "It's kind of sad, what's going on."
With the recession prompting many firms to forgo the traditional holiday party this year, many employers and workers are seeking alternatives to boost employee morale. Some 64 percent of companies surveyed by Lincolnshire, Ill.-based human resources consulting firm Hewitt Associates said they were holding holiday parties this year, down from 67 percent last year, when the Sept. 11 attacks put many company festivities on hold.
"Many companies are trying to seek out alternatives to the party that became particularly flamboyant in the late '90s bubble years," says John Challenger, chief executive officer of Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Welcome Relief or Buzz Kill?
Though some workers might view a break from forced socializing with their co-workers and boss as a welcome reprieve during the hectic holiday season, Challenger says acknowledging employees' contributions in some way at this time of the year is still important for employee morale.
"Something needs to be put in its place," he says. "Recognition is important. I don't think the lavishness is necessary, but the event, doing something on the year-end … taking stock in where you've been, that isn't going to disappear."
Financial news provider Bloomberg, known for holding extravagant holiday bashes in venues like New York City's Museum of Natural History, has decided to skip the tradition in favor of a week dedicated to working on charitable causes.
Called BOB week (for "Best Of Bloomberg"), the program allows its employees to take time off from the workday to participate in charity events. In New York City, Bloomberg set up a special tent to host different activities during the week. For example, the company gave workers a $25 voucher for Toys 'R Us, where they bought presents for the wish lists of children from various charities and went back to the tent to wrap them.
Bloomberg started doing charitable events in lieu of a holiday party last year out of respect for the victims of Sept. 11, and has since decided to make BOB week an annual event, says company spokeswoman Chris Taylor.
"I think that everybody felt good about doing this last year, and we thought, why not going forward do this for the holidays, making it more festive and organized," she says.
Some Miss the Party Days
Taylor says employee morale hasn't suffered from canceling the party, noting that Bloomberg still holds an annual summer party — usually on a Saturday in early August — where employees and their families gather at locations in the major cities where the company has offices.
"It's not like we're not having a party," says Taylor. "It's like a party with a purpose."
But one New York-based employee said that while he enjoyed participating in the charity events, he is still wistful for the days of the holiday party.
"It doesn't have to be elaborate as it usually is," he says. "But it would be nice to have something."
Magazine publisher Time Inc. also canceled its holiday parties this year for the first time in recent memory, says company spokesman Peter Costiglio. Instead, all of the company's U.S.-based workers are getting $100 gift certificates for use at Target department stores. The move will save the company more than $1 million, estimates Costiglio.
"We generally felt that people would probably enjoy much more the opportunity to spend time with their families," he says. "And quite frankly, it saves us money as well."
Tough Times for Techs
Indeed, a holiday party for a company whose work force has been trimmed substantially this year may not be seen as appropriate, says Challenger. Instead, quieter gatherings, or even some extra time off, might offer employees a morale boost, he says.
Lucent Technologies, which has lost about 30,000 workers this year and has been hit hard by the technology slump, has not held a holiday party for the past few years. As an alternative, many of the company's departments go out to lunch or dinner for quiet celebrations on their own dime.
And Centra Software, a Lexington, Mass.-based firm whose stock has fallen some 87 percent since the beginning of the year and now trades at around $1, has decided to hold its company party after the holidays in January for the second year in a row to save money.
In its heyday, Centra used to host a lavish party aboard a luxury boat in Boston Harbor, flying in its representatives from as far away as Europe, says company spokeswoman Ellen Slaby. But given the company's financial condition, and the fact that it has let go around 10 percent of its staff this year, the company decided that low key is better.
"This has been a really tough year for us," says Slaby. "The thinking was to try to jump-start the new year with a clean slate and get people motivated for 2003."
As for bolstering morale, Slaby says the fact that the company is still recognizing workers with a night out has an impact.
"I personally would rather have it in December because I'm much more in the mood," she says. "But it's still a nice thing to do."