If you’re not looking forward to the office Christmas party, you’re not alone.
One in three of us dread the work Christmas do, according to a survey by Mecca Bingo. Fears include being made to get up on the dance floor in front of our colleagues, making a fool of ourselves in front of our superiors and being trapped talking to the dullest person in the company.
So if you’d rather stay at home relaxing on your La-Z-Boy lounger, here’s our guide to getting out of this year’s Christmas party.
- Pull a ‘social sickie’
If you don’t want to admit you’d rather be at home watching TV than at the work Christmas do, feigning an illness might be for you. Known as the ‘social sickie’ as it is used as an excuse to avoid events, you may need to start complaining of a headache or exaggerating a nasty cough a few hours before the party is due to start. Those who choose this route are likely to be the only people in work the next day who actually do feel well. Beware though as pretending to be ill often seems to open the door to genuinely feeling a bit ropey.
- Keep it vague
One sure-fire way of getting out of any social occasion is to say you cannot make it for ‘personal reasons’. Most people will be too polite to ask what those reasons actually are and if they do, you can head them off at the pass by replying that you’d rather not say. Being vague means you won’t risk getting caught out in a complicated lie and you’re less likely to end up contradicting yourself later. It is also true, it’s just that your personal reasons are that you’d prefer an evening on your sofa to getting drunk with your boss.
- Be careful of social media
Whatever reason you give for failing to attend your workplace party, be cautious about what you post on social media. It’s no point claiming to be sleeping off a heavy cold if you then post selfies on Facebook. If you really can’t stay off your accounts for the evening, make sure nothing you put contradicts what you have told your colleagues.
- Don’t be sad if no one notices
You might imagine your absence will leave a massive hole your workmates will struggle to fill but in reality it may go unnoticed. Be prepared for some colleagues to assume you were there anyway or to not even ask you where you were. And don’t feel too put out if you actually end up feeling like you’ve missed out on a good night out after all.
- Honesty is the best policy
If intrigue and excuses aren’t your thing, you might want to consider telling the truth about why you don’t want to go. You might find quite a few of your colleagues feel the same way and it might even be the first step to organising something different that the whole team will enjoy.
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