When it comes to mental health, there’s a very tipsy elephant in the room
The silly season is upon us – a time that plants “at least a small seed of fear” across the HR industry. Thierry Lalchere, founder of Thierry Lalchere Consulting- HR, explains how protecting employee mental health shouldn’t stop when the Xmas drinks are poured.
Recently I was sitting with a group of colleagues, chatting about how it’s been founding an HR consultancy this year, and a respected peer turned to me and said to me, “It’s going to be coming into the busiest time of the year for you, with end-of-fear parties and all the stuff that goes on there!” We all laughed nervously, because there is unfortunately some truth to it. There are very few HR people to whom the words “Christmas party” doesn’t spark at least a small seed of fear.
When the common catch-phrase from about October onwards is “I just need to make it through to Christmas” it’s not surprising that booze-filled End-of-Year parties are a much anticipated opportunity to blow off some steam for so many of our people. The escapism of the Christmas Party brings equal measures of excitement, pressure and risk.
