It was John Lennon who sang, “So this is Christmas, and what have we done? Another year older, a new one just begun”. But where are we as HR professionals this Christmas? What type of festive challenges do we face? Quentin Colborn looks at what Christmas means within HR.

As I talk to various organisations at this time of year, a number of hardy annuals always seem to come out as issues that businesses need to address. First, there is the annual party and what to do about drunken behaviour. Second, there are the health and safety aspects of putting trees and decorations up, and finally there is the question as to whether you can call Christmas, Christmas – or is it simply the festive season?

It’s a sad fact of life that for many, enjoying themselves seems to require copious amounts of alcohol and the ability to get so blind drunk that the previous evening remains a very distant blur. Nothing to do with work of course, as long as the employee is fit for duty the next morning and doesn’t bring the organisation into disrepute.

But what about the office Christmas party? For many years it was the excuse to get drunk at the company’s expense with the prospect of a liaison with Rita from the typing pool in the stationery cupboard. Thankfully in most, but I suspect not all, places the sexual harassment that used to accompany these events has now disappeared. On the whole people have learnt the bounds of acceptability – and if not, HR are held out to be the corporate police officers who will sort you out. Strange how line managers can sometimes disappear when these matters arise.

But why do we continue to have Christmas parties? I’m certainly not suggesting they are stopped but, and this is a very big but, why do business leaders organise them? Are they a reward for a year’s hard effort? Sometimes yes, although if that’s the case why are poor performers invited along? Are they a teambuilding exercise? If so, who can point to the improvements? Is it simply part of the ‘social contract’ between employees and employers? If so, is it working? I’m not saying don’t party, but if we do, let’s figure out why and make sure we achieve the objective.

Deck the halls

So is the office Christmas tree up yet? Chances are that for many it can’t be put up unless an electrician has been round to check the wiring, someone else has run a course on working at heights and the decorations have been checked for dust particles. Sorry to sound cynical, but do we face an overburdening approach to health and safety management?

Clearly employees need their health and safety at work protected from the unscrupulous employer; the cockle pickers who drowned in the North West were testimony to that. However, we need to keep in perspective that overall the UK is a relatively safe place to work when compared to other European countries. There are still hazardous occupations and work still needs to be done on building sites, in agriculture and fishing.

However, erecting Christmas trees features pretty low on the risks faced. Life is a risk and we run the risk of removing sensible personal decision-making if we rule everything out of bounds.

In this article I have easily used the term ‘Christmas’ – and that’s quite deliberate. To me, it’s not the ‘festive season’, it’s Christmas. However, many will take a different view and feel we should not impose a festival from the Christian faith on those of other faiths, or perhaps no faith at all. There is a perception in some quarters that we should not refer to Christmas for fear of offending others who have a different belief system.

But why not refer to it? If we remove the story of Christ’s birth from Christmas, what are we left with? A celebration of materialism? A series of year-end festivities? In which case, why bother to have the 25 December as a holiday?

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make allowances for others and recognise that some will have different beliefs and values, but can we go too far in not wishing to offend? My view is that we should celebrate Christmas as it was intended, not in an ‘in your face’ manner, but with respect for what it really means. Happy Christmas!

What issues do you face as an HR professional at this time of year? Do you feel there are pressures to perform some form of balancing act between differing faiths and beliefs? Let’s have your thoughts and experiences.

Quentin Colborn is an independent HR consultant based in Essex who advises management teams on operational and strategic HR issues. Quentin can be contacted on 01376 571360 or via Quentin@qcpeople.co.uk. For further information, please visit: www.qcpeople.co.uk.