Who should pay for the Christmas party?

The silly season is almost upon us and in thousands of businesses around Australia, some unlucky soul (or a group of them) has been charged with the thankless task of planning the work Christmas party.

This is a process fraught with agonising decisions and huge ramifications.

Dinner or just drinks and nibbles?

At work or off-site?

Partners or no partners?

Karaoke or dancing?

Speeches or no speeches?

And the toughest decision of all – should the company foot the bill, or at least part of it?

It’s a question that has been answered in emphatic fashion recently at Seven Media Group. According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, the big all-in Christmas parties held around the country have been canned due to “tough trading conditions”.

Department Christmas parties can be held, but the company won’t be chipping in – apparently managers will be picking up the tab for some quiet bashes.

I would imagine there will be plenty of businesses in a similar position as Christmas approaches. While we are seeing some signs that the economy is starting to gain a bit of momentum (three straight months of rising retail sales are a good sign, as was this week’s rate cut) there will be lots of businesses that remain a long way off their first-half targets.

But is cutting the Christmas party or making your workers pay for it really something you want to do?

Now, everywhere I have worked I have been lucky that the employer has funded the Christmas party (and last year, in a life saving move, post-Christmas party sausage rolls).

But a straw poll around the office reveals a very different story. A number of colleagues have been asked to pay for Christmas parties, sometimes with company subsidies and sometimes without.

What’s my feeling? I think that at Christmas, it is the thought that counts. Even if times are so tough or the business is so small the Christmas party needs to be reduced to a barbeque in a park of some sandwiches and a glass of Champagne in the office, the employer needs to pay.

This is one way you can recognise and thank the work of your staff for a long year. Even if you can only give back in a small way, it’s an important symbol.

But that’s just my thoughts. We’ve created a quick SmartCompany straw poll for you to cast your vote.