For many professionals, company parties are predictable; but for those in the creative industry, these festivities can be full of surprises.
The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service providing marketing, advertising, creative and web professionals on a project basis, recently asked 250 advertising and marketing executives to describe the most off-the-wall employee behaviour they'd heard of at a company event.
Those surveyed were asked, "What is the wackiest or most outrageous thing you have heard of an employee doing at a company event, such as a picnic or holiday party?"
Here are some of their responses:
"The president of our company came dressed up as a chicken."
"One guy ate the carnations from our dinner table."
"One colleague set another's wig on fire while it was on her head."
"Company events are meant to be fun, but employees must remember their actions are still on display for coworkers and supervisors to see," said Dave Willmer, executive director of The Creative Group. "Inappropriate behaviour can make a lasting negative impression that's hard to overcome."
So-called "party fouls" involving company higher-ups, like the following, can be particularly challenging to recover from:
"Someone wrestled the CEO."
"Someone dumped Gatorade on the boss."
"One person did an unflattering imitation of the company president."
Food is frequently a draw at company festivities, but sometimes it can leave a bad taste in coworkers' mouths:
"Someone jumped into a bowl of Jell-O."
"One employee ate 100 fish sticks to win a prize."
"Someone started a food fight at a holiday party where everyone was dressed up."
"An employee fell into a cake at a company dinner."
Dressing up for a company soiree is part of the fun, and these party-goers pulled out all of the stops:
"One person came to a party dressed as a pirate."
"An art director came with a live butterfly in her hair."
"One employee came to the party dressed like a bear."
Finally, even if the party is a bust, it's best not to let your boredom show, like the following guest: "An employee fell asleep in the bathroom of a restaurant and got locked in after the restaurant closed. The police had to be called to let the person out."