It’s the most wonderful time of the year — and with that, the obligatory office holiday party. This time of year, we tend to talk about all the things that can go wrong, from the dangers of open bars contributing to predatory behavior and conduct unbecoming of a coworker, to a noticeable lack of leadership present.
Some choices around holiday parties can tell a story of how a company is actually doing — if you can read the room carefully.
“Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio spoke with Greg Hawks, a workplace culture strategist and author of the forthcoming book “Act Like an Owner,” to find out what to look for as you celebrate the end of the year with colleagues. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
David Brancaccio: One thing you could look at right away, I suppose, is who shows and who leaves early?
Greg Hawks: Absolutely. Some people just don’t even bother to show up to the party. It also indicates they’re not really showing up at work either. They’re just physically being there but have checked out emotionally and mentally.
Brancaccio: And also, it would tell you something if the top brass slinks out early. Like you look up and they’ve ghosted you, that’s not a full-bore, full-bodied commitment, right?
Hawks: Yeah, right, and it’s from leadership. You know how it is when they show up, if they themselves gather together, which they have a tendency to do, create their own little party dynamic. It is the indicator of their separation from what’s really happening in the work that’s going on day in and day out. And so, at the holiday party, there’s just more evidence. And the truth is the same reverse. If leaders are engaged and they’re up singing karaoke, if they’re mingling around, it reveals the positive of things that are transpiring during the workweek.
Brancaccio: The holiday party could tell you something if you have been shirking your responsibility and not showing up to the monthly all-staff meetings. Because right, if it was flowing chocolate fountains and luge runs made of ice to chill the martinis last year, but this year, it’s a — I don’t know — 12-pack of LaCroix and a sleeve of Ritz crackers, that’ll tell you something, right?
Hawks: Listen, don’t forget the squeeze cheese either, you’ve got to have that for the Ritz crackers. It’s the elevation of how much we value you or where we’re at as a company. It really is revealed at the party, and people are taking note. People, the employee base, the workforce is coming, and they’re getting even more information about what the future looks like at this present-day party.
Brancaccio: Let’s turn it to perhaps signs that you could see at a holiday party that your organization is, in fact, firing on all its cylinders.
Hawks: Everybody has pressure and stress, but it doesn’t have to create a negative or toxic relationship base with each other, and so you’re looking for laughter. You’re looking for emotional vulnerability in a social setting where people are talking freely, engaging with one another, where there’s the cross-pollination of all departments — that’s a really great sign that things are going well in the organization.
Brancaccio: Yeah, and, you know, it’s not a venue for the boss to, you know, bring a PowerPoint and outline the strategic goals for first and second quarter of 2026, but a party done right is an opportunity to reset, I guess, from the year that we’re wrapping up.
Hawks: Well, certainly. I mean, you’re right. We don’t want a presentation. We don’t want a canned presentation or something like that. But that holiday gathering, if a leader will take five minutes to express gratitude, to acknowledge people’s work from the previous year, a five-minute window to have a human moment of appreciation, that, in itself, is such an indicator and has such an impact.
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