2009-12-15 10:05:11
By Sarah Bell
BBC News
Christmas office parties for some used to be lavish affairs, overflowing with cocktail sausages and free beer, but now people are increasingly being asked to pay their own way or face no festive bash. So are we seeing the death of this yuletide tradition?
Once it might have been cheap champagne in a venue with a proper disco ball and three different choices of canape at the company's expense.
Now you'll be lucky to cradle a glass of warm white wine in the corner of the office with a Slade tape playing in the background and cheese and pineapple on a stick.
Formerly a staple of the festive season, many firms have sided with Scrooge, cutting or scrapping the funds for office parties as the effects of the global downturn are felt.
Even the most cursory glance at Facebook shows that everyone from teachers to lawyers, insurance brokers to journalists, is experiencing austerity on the office party front.
In fact, fewer than four in 10 office workers will definitely have a Christmas party this year, research by YouGov suggests. Of those who will be given the chance to drunkenly dance in front of their colleagues, one in six said they would contribute to the budget themselves.
One worker for whom Christmas is cancelled is Steve, who works for a telecoms company.
"Officially it was because we made people redundant in November and it would be insensitive, but it was mainly to save cash. In past boom years we have even put everyone up in a hotel for the night," he says.
"The end result has been more drinking because people have gone out more to compensate and there have been loads of leaving dos."
And it's not just lack of money, but also a question of appearances for many firms.
Car firm Honda is not having a party for the first time, after 1,300 people were made redundant at its Swindon branch. "We decided to show solidarity and save as much money as possible," a spokesman says.
At the BBC, "in light of the current climate" the corporation's contribution to staff parties has plummeted from 50 a head to zero in three years.
There is particular scrutiny of big banks, with angst over how quickly some have returned to big bonuses. This is especially evident at the banks bailed out with billions of pounds of tax payers' money. Northern Rock has not had a corporate party for three years, while RBS is making a "small contribution".
"Our staff have worked very hard over the past 12 months. We won't waste bank money but the longstanding tradition of paying a small contribution towards staff parties has been judged appropriate," a spokeswoman said.
If parties are happening at all, it's behind closed doors, as the Lord Mayor of London, Nick Anstee, recently indicated.
"I don't think there is any celebration because that's part and parcel of the city responding to the environment in which we find ourselves.
"It would be very, very difficult for photographs or newsreels to be broadcast showing city workers revelling over what they've got when the rest of the country is suffering."
The end of extravagance means the hospitality industry could be facing the quietest festive season since the 1990s.
"Despite the descent into technical recession, this time last year many corporate Christmas lunches had already been booked, deposits taken, and to cancel would have meant letting staff down," says Stephen Broome, director of hospitality and leisure at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"But faced with the economic realities of this recession company bosses have now had nine months to refine policies and prepare staff for more restrained celebrations this Christmas."
Concerto, a major events organiser, says bookings are down 20% and firms are spending less money.
"This is a 1bn-a-year business, and there's significant money not being spent. With small businesses the knock-on effect could be quite bad," chairman Mike Kershaw says.
He believes it's happened because the media suggests it is inappropriate for companies to throw parties, using terms like "squander".
"There's a perception that spending on events like Christmas parties is somehow wasteful. The point I try to make to people is there's no such thing as good or bad spend, there's just spend in the economy from one part to another. I find this distinction bizarre," he says.
A "drastic" drop in bookings, 50% since last year, has also been felt by Infusion Events.
One of its contracts is with a narrow boat party venue, once popular with blue chip companies like HSBC and British Airways. Last year the boat had 25 bookings. This year it has five, director Rachid Radi says.
The change in climate is striking and catering firms worth 4m have gone under in 2009 because the trade from the City has dropped away, he says.
"Whereas before you'd say to clients 'you're going to have this, this and this' and they'd just agree, now you put it down on paper and they are cutting it down to the bare minimum."
They are also ordering cheaper foods like chicken, rather than lamb, and supplying their own alcohol.
While it may mean fewer red faces the next day as drunken memories flood back, firms are warned that sacrificing festivities could have a destructive effect on business.
The Chartered Management Institute has told employers not to use the recession as an excuse for failing to acknowledge the efforts of their employees. It commissioned a survey which found two-thirds of managers believe Christmas parties are important in helping to improve "employee engagement".
"Particularly this year, people have been working twice as hard just to stand still, it's important to show staff their efforts have not gone unnoticed. If they feel they are going unnoticed they will feel 'why do I bother'," says chief executive Ruth Spellman.
"The whole point of the Christmas party is saying thank you for all the things they have done throughout the year, it's an appropriate time to draw a line under a year and say 'let's move forward now'."
But all is not lost. Some companies are going for quality, not quantity, and are thinking more about what they do, which actually means staff are having a better time.
"We had a bigger one this year," says Matt Pitman, who works for insurance brokers Bluefin in Leeds.
Its regional party was scrapped, instead his branch was given a budget, which it spent on a party at Elland Road football ground with other companies.
"It was a big, posh, sit-down meal with bands and a DJ. So even though we spent the same it felt like a much bigger do," he says.
There will be many others who have to organise their own bashes and pay for their own drinks, but who will remain determined to have fun.
The spirit of the Christmas party lives on.
There's a perception that spending on events like Christmas parties is somehow wasteful - the point I try to make to people is there's no such thing as good or bad spend
Mike Kershaw Concerto
We haven't had an officer party in years as we are busy working all Xmas and new year in essential services to keep you all safe on a 24/7 basis with very little reward - still I retire next year so may even get a Xmas after 30 years of shifts
Steve West Midlands
We have had to knock our Xmas jollies on the head this year as it did not seem right to have a shindig when so may colleagues have been laid off this year - we have to be slim and lean to be ready for when the inevitable upturn in fortunes make themselves felt
Mark, Buxton
No Christmas party for us this year with the amount that would have been spent having gone to a local charity instead - nothing to do with cut backs
Lorraine Stockport